Did You Know That You Can Narrow the Attainment Gap With Private Tutoring?

Did You Know That You Can Narrow the Attainment Gap With Private Tutoring?

by GT Scholars

Nowadays, learning is not limited to the traditional school approach. There are various approaches to learning, including online private tutoring. During the pandemic, many students were negatively affected due to in-person schooling being cut and moved online. This has led some students, especially those from lower-income homes, to fall behind without access to tutoring.

However, since the pandemic, there has been a spike in the use of online tutoring to help students prepare for exams, especially in Maths and English. Recently, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) released a report on how one-to-one tutoring can be a solution for scholars globally. Implementing this model is a possible solution to the growing attainment gap.  

In this blog, we provide some insight into how private tutoring can be useful and effective in narrowing the attainment gap among scholars in the UK. 

What Is the Attainment Gap?

The attainment gap is a difference in educational performance or achievement between subgroups of students, especially based on socioeconomic status, and other factors. This is an important metric in measuring school performance in the UK. 

Research shows that students from lower-income households, even if they excelled in primary school, are less likely to gain admission to top universities compared to their peers from higher-income families, even if those peers were less capable initially. This gap starts as early as preschool and continues to widen through tertiary education and even in the workplace. 

The Role of Tutoring in Attainment

One of the best solutions to bridging the attainment gap is high-quality tutoring. This should be considered an investment in your child’s future, and you should take action as a parent to support them in their academic and professional journey. 

With access to a top-class tutor, children can achieve their goals and improve their self-esteem, all while building good study habits. It also offers students a unique learning experience which they can share with another child who might need that help later in their lives.

Implementing interventions such as this should be viewed as a marathon rather than a sprint. This means it may be slow going in the beginning, but if you and your child persist in using tutoring to improve attainment, the benefits will become clear as you get closer to achieving your goals.

It Is an Opportunity for Personalised Support

In today’s competitive academic environment, providing children with the best possible educational support is essential. Tutoring offers numerous benefits that can significantly enhance a student’s learning experience. From personalised instruction tailored to your child’s individual needs to the development of strong study habits, private tutoring is a powerful tool that can help bridge educational gaps and unlock your child’s full potential. 

1-to-1 tutoring enables individualised support. According to the Department of Education, the average primary school classroom has 27.1 students. Large class sizes mean students get less one-to-one engagement than they need to succeed. A private tutor offers one-to-one lessons that allow students space to learn and address the subjects or topics they are struggling with the most. This is how tutoring can lead to success.

1-to-1 Tutoring Facilitates Flexible Pacing

Also, working with a private tutor allows students to work at a pace that is more suited to their learning styles and needs. With the large class sizes, it can be difficult for some students to keep up with the teacher, who could be going too fast or too slow for everyone to be on the same page. Personal tutoring allows students to work at their own pace and stop to address the concepts they may not understand as easily as other students. 

Additionally, private tutoring provides a distraction-free space for your child to focus on their learning. Even with online tutoring becoming the main method throughout the pandemic, and taking into account the large class sizes, it allows a student to work in an environment that they control and that has fewer distractions than in the classroom.

It Maximises Goal-Oriented Learning

Setting clear academic goals is fundamental to the tutoring process. Tutors collaborate closely with students to establish specific objectives and develop structured plans to achieve them. Through regular assessments and progress evaluations, personal tutoring can help students remain on track and continuously progress toward their academic goals.

 It offers students the advantage of accessing top-tier instruction from skilled private tutors without leaving home. This approach not only saves time and eliminates travel concerns but also ensures a comfortable and familiar learning environment where students can concentrate effectively.

Tutoring Boosts Future Prospects

Tutoring is renowned for its ability to significantly enhance students’ academic performance in a relatively short time frame. There are instances of some students moving up a grade in a subject within a year of engaging a private tutor for academic support. This illustrates the profound impact of private educational support that addresses individual learning needs. 

This means you should consider personal tutoring as a valuable investment in your child’s academic success and future opportunities. By using this method of educational support, students can achieve significant improvements in their academic performance, which can lead to enhanced prospects for scholarships, university admissions, and career advancement.

Your Child Will Cultivate Essential Employability Skills

The personalised guidance and learning support offered through private tutoring can help your child develop additional skills that are important for their career. For example, when they are trying to master complicated subjects, they might engage their critical thinking skills. Communicating with their tutor might help your child sharpen their communication skills by talking to someone of a different age with whom they might not be familiar. Additionally, when solving maths problems, your child is also developing their problem-solving skills. 

Essentially, tutoring enables your child to develop beyond the subjects and concepts they are learning. Through this type of learning engagement, we challenge and encourage them to adapt to change and build their resilience, amongst other skills. These skills will be crucial for the future of their academic and professional careers. 

Addressing Concerns About 1-to-1 Tutoring

As a parent, you might not be convinced that the benefits of tutoring would outweigh the concerns you have. You might have a concern about the cost of engaging a private tutor, but we can resolve this by finding the programme that best suits your budget. 

On the other hand, some parents might be concerned that the tutor may not be a good match for their child. We all have different personalities, and students need a tutor who can offer them the best experience possible while understanding how they learn and adjusting style and pace to suit their child. But the best tutoring programmes take into account you and your child’s goals and what the tutor is best suited to help you with.

Some parents may be nervous to leave their children alone with a tutor they do not know. However, with online programmes becoming more popular, parents can have some control over the environment in which their child is learning. It is also worth noting that reputable programmes such as GT Scholars also implement safeguarding policies and practices with volunteers to ensure your child’s safety at all times.

Finally, as a parent, you and your child might not be on the same page about the whole process. It might be a choice that you made for your child as a parent. Because of this, students may feel obligated to attend tutoring instead of actively engaging in it. Having qualified and passionate tutors can help your child to be more inclined to participate in the sessions and fully engage in the process to reap the benefits

What Can GT Scholars Do for Students?

It is our mission to narrow the gap by offering new and innovative programmes, private tutoring, and skill-building to young people from low-income homes so that they receive the same support provided to those from wealthier homes. 

Private tutors’ prices vary and can often include travel or other expenses incurred in the tutoring of students. With GT Scholars, we offer qualified professional tutors without having to pay any additional expenses. This allows us to keep our costs affordable for all parents.

GT Scholars offers tutoring programmes to guide students in setting goals and learning about how having a growth mindset can help to develop their talents and abilities. 

Who Are Our Tutors?

All of the tutors brought on by GT scholars come from some of the best universities in the UK. They have a degree in or related to the subject that they are tutoring. We also have some qualified or retired teachers who tutor with us.  We ensure that there is a DBS check and role training for all our tutors.

All 1-to-1 tutoring sessions with GT Scholars last for one term of the academic year. After that, it is up to the parent to choose whether they would like their child to continue in the programme for the next term or not. Over 60% of scholars in our programme improved by at least 2 grades within a year.

Whether you are aiming to boost grades, strengthen study habits, or prepare for important exams, 1-to-1 tutoring offers personalised support tailored to students’ unique learning needs.

Are You Ready to Start Your Journey With a Private Tutor?

Embrace the opportunity to excel academically and develop essential skills that will pave the way for future success. Take the first step towards achieving your goals with the guidance of a dedicated tutor who will be committed to helping your child reach their full potential. Start the journey today and unlock new possibilities in your child’s educational path with GT Scholars 1-to-1 tutoring programmes. Find out more at this link or contact us to register your interest in our programmes.

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