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As schools face budget squeeze, what resources are available to supplement education?

Through a combination of measures to mitigate the impact of rising inflation and soaring energy bills, the IFS has estimated that during the 2023-24, spending per pupil is set to fall to 1% and continue to stagnate, leaving schools purchasing power to 3% lower than in was in 2009-10. There are fears that student’s quality of education could also be receiving the brunt of the cuts, with the cuts leaning toward larger class sizes and less one-to-one learning opportunities. To help supplement any potential learning losses, MyTutor – the UK’s most trusted tutoring platform – has launched their discounted summer courses, costing £12-18 for a 2-hour session and £90 for a 5-day course, allowing students a path outside of school to find new passions and to start thinking about their future.

MyTutor’s discounted summer groups are aimed at reversing the tide of exaggerated learning disparities across the UK’s cohort of students. With young teens having already experienced such turbulence to their academic careers across the last two years, the necessity for continuity in their education could not be more indispensable, with MyTutor finding that 20% of Brits account for their education as the reason why they are unable to improve their socio-economic outlook.

Deputy Headteacher, Michelle, emphasises the importance of tutoring to propel children’s learning:

“MyTutor enables our students to work at their own pace, at their own level, and have that one-to-one tuition they need to take them forward.”

MyTutor will be hosting 75 new online courses throughout the summer, where kids aged 13-18 can take part in creative and educational programmes tailored to them from wherever they have WI-FI. From courses in creative arts and cultural issues, to tech subjects, science, and reading clubs, rounded off with expert help in planning careers and university, MyTutor’s courses have been designed to make learning fun, exciting, and interactive. Kids learn in groups of up to eight, so they can enjoy being social while discovering something new. The full list of courses along with booking information is available here. Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

Build curriculum knowledge with real world Maths and Science
If your child loves Maths and Science but still finds them to be an uphill battle, MyTutor’s academic courses can be a great option. They’re designed to make learning fun and exciting, while boosting their knowledge of the curriculum and grades. They can try learning Trigonometry with Architecture, Geometry with sport, or understand ratios with baking. With real life examples of these subjects, they can get excited about topics that might’ve seemed boring or irrelevant in the classroom.

Pick up professional and creative skills with tech courses
MyTutor offers courses that turn summer hobbies into useful future career skills. If your child loves music, they can now learn how to record, mix, and produce it. If you can’t tear them away from video games, MyTutor has summer groups focussed on video game design that could turn that addiction into a potential lucrative career. A few of these courses include coding language Python and programming the game Roblox, and many more courses that sharpen students’ tech skills and prepare them for a future facing career.

Start planning their career
If your teen is always thinking of business ideas, fancies themself as the next Elon Musk, or loves to solve problems in the world – this summer they can learn how to become an entrepreneur with MyTutor’s courses, “How to build a business” and “How to build an online business”. In a few years, they could be the next big thing on Dragons’ Den.

Learn about things they care about
Teens today are really tuned into the issues facing the world, and often they can spend a lot of time worrying about what the future may look like for them. MyTutor is offering courses which can harness that energy and put it towards a passion for learning how to solve the problems they care about. In “Science to Save the Planet”, teens will learn about environmental science and sustainability. If they are an advocate for racial justice and want to understand it better, MyTutor’s reading club dissecting “Natives” by Akala will help them understand how they can be a force for good.

Get ready for university
If you don’t know someone who’s gone to university, or studied what your teen wants to study, working out how to help them get onto their dream course can be a real challenge. MyTutor’s educators have all been there, and they’re offering a series of two-day courses to help teens plan their university applications that will get them where they want to go. They can learn how to get into Psychology, Law, Business, Medicine, Computer Science and more. Plus, they’ll learn how to plan their personal statements and how to ace university interviews, all from current students and graduates from top universities.

Get ready for next year
Since the series of school closures in the last couple of years, a lot of teens have learning gaps as a result. To help everyone get back on track, MyTutor is offering a series of courses to help them get ready to start GCSEs and A-Levels, and to prep for their exam year too. In focused five-day courses, MyTutor’s expert students will help them get up to speed and ready to ace the autumn term.

Bertie Hubbard, co-founder of MyTutor, discusses the role that EdTech can play in helping struggling students:

“Many parents ask us how they can best support their children to make the most of their summer break, so we wanted to create a wide variety of courses that would interest and inspire students during the holidays. From tech courses that turn hobbies like gaming into potential careers, to expert help with uni prep and impactful sessions on science and the environment, our courses are designed to help students develop useful skills for the future, build knowledge in areas they are passionate about, and learn new subjects outside of the curriculum.

“MyTutor’s summer courses are led by highly-skilled tutors who, as current university students, are experts in their subject areas and act as relatable role models to our students. By running these engaging, interactive and sociable group sessions, we hope that teens can develop their knowledge in an area that they care about, whilst also meeting other like-minded learners for a truly memorable summer experience.”