Students, graduates, and professionals living and working in Bradford are being urged to apply to train as tutors with us so that we can continue to roll out tuition in schools across the city. And we’re out and about in Student Central at the University of Bradford today (8 February) and back on campus on 9 March – so look out for our distinctive blue hoodies and come and say hello!

We’re looking to expand our tutor pool following a successful online tuition pilot in 10 schools in Bradford last summer, when we supported 375 pupils. Following that, and with generous support from the Morrisons Foundation and University of Bradford, we officially launched in the city in August, making it our fourth across the North of England. 

Now, with 10 Primary and three Secondary schools partnered with us in Bradford, and enquiries from others, we’re recruiting part-time tutors, who can expect to receive £20 to plan and deliver every hour-long tuition session.  The new tutors will join our first full-time tutor in the city, Rameesah Ahmed, an Adult Nursing graduate from Leeds Beckett University.

“The pilot programme went really well, and schools gave us some really positive feedback after they were able to experience first-hand how impactful tutoring can be,” say Tutor Trust Co-Founders Nick Bent, Chief Executive, and Abigail Shapiro, Executive Director.

“This academic year has been our busiest to date – almost 3,400 pupils across our city regions have started tuition since September and we have new schools coming on board daily. 

“With this rapid growth in demand, we’re encouraging students and graduates from the University of Bradford, as well as other professionals living in the city, to train to tutor with us. Their support means that we can continue to deliver impactful, face-to-face, small group tuition to even more young people who have lost learning due to the pandemic. And because we value what they do so highly, we pay them £20 to plan and deliver each tutoring session.

“In the last 12 months we’ve seen a huge upsurge in interest from schools because of Covid, and because they can now access our tuition at heavily subsidised rates through the National Tutoring Programme or use funds from the school-led tutoring grant, it’s a very affordable option. As we are now on the countdown to exam season, we’re expecting even more enquiries as schools will want to ensure their pupils benefit from the 12-hours-plus of tutoring that has the most impact.”

Barkerend Primary Leadership Academy in Pollard Park, Bradford, School was one of the 10 schools whose pupils took part in the online pilot programme.

Vice Principal Victoria Hinchliffe said: “The pandemic has affected learning for a lot of young people, and we identified a number who we knew would benefit from tuition in small groups.  Whilst the tutoring was online, and we know that greater benefits come from face-to-face sessions, the pupils definitely made progress and the sessions were invaluable in enabling them to catch up on any missed learning.

“In the 12 weeks that we worked with Tutor Trust, we noticed a marked improvement in pupils’ understanding of the subjects they were being tutored in, but there were also spill over benefits in other subjects, and more generally, in terms of their self-confidence and resilience.

“It was a great opportunity for our pupils, and we have signed up for more sessions this year which will run face-to-face.”

Individuals wanting to make a positive impact in their communities can find out more information and how to apply at: https://www.thetutortrust.org/Pages/FAQs/Category/how-to-apply.