The Tutor Trust is a Manchester-based charity that aims to provide affordable small group and one-to-one tuition, predominantly to disadvantaged pupils in schools in challenging communities. The tutors are university students and recent graduates, enabling tuition to be provided at a competitive rate on a not-for-profit basis.
This three-year evaluation assessed the impact of the Tutor Trust on the English and mathematics GCSE results of 1,029 Year 11 pupils. Tuition took place in the academic years 2011 – 2012 to 2013 – 2014. Students received different numbers of hours of tuition, and some received tuition in multiple academic years between Year 9 and Year 11. The evaluation also explored schools’ perceptions of the need for affordable tuition and their assessment of the quality of the service provided.
Qualitative fieldwork took place in eight schools and was based on interviews with senior leaders, classroom teachers, tutors and pupils.
The project was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Manchester City Council and payments from participating schools. A separate evaluation of the impact of the tuition on the English and mathematics attainment of Year 6 and Year 7 pupils is available on the EEF website.