In a study linking exams and financial success, it has been reported that if teens improve their GCSEs by just one grade, they may earn over £200,000 more in their lifetimes. Over the course of the pandemic, teens have experienced immense disruption to their education, meaning achieving these higher grades may not be realistic with the resources available to them. In response to these educational challenges, Brits have developed a far more international approach to private tutoring, akin to Asian and a growing American culture who consider private education to be a mandatory element of both pre and high school education. The BBC has cited a forecast which says that the global private tuition industry is booming and will be worth $227bn by 2022, primarily fuelled by this growth in Asia. Indeed, Japan currently offers ‘jukus’ (cram schools) which have been operating since the 1970s where parents send their 2-3 year old kids to start learning before they enter formal education. In fact, Japan was somewhat of a trendsetter in private education spending $10.9 billion on tutoring in 1991 when it was not as popular in Western culture.

Leading EdTech platform MyTutor, has conducted a study on how the pandemic has shifted our perceptions in private tutoring. The nationally representative research has found a nation now acutely aware of the value of tutoring. Where it was previously seen as a premium luxury, personalised education is now considered a critical resource, instrumental in keeping children on track through a period of significant disruption. It has been revealed that almost half of the nation used to think that tutoring was unnecessary but now since the pandemic have found it is very valuable, with 44% agreeing that they will continue to invest in online tutoring post-pandemic. In fact, parents have cited that they’d happily spend an average of £1,223 to on educational support to help their children reach the top grades. Furthermore, almost a third of the country agree that pre-pandemic they would never have publicly discussed using online tutoring as they worried it might make their child appear less intelligent, but now they no longer feel this is the case. This is in stark contrast to previous national data commissioned by MyTutor pre-pandemic, which revealed that one third of parents who hired a tutor to help their child with their school work kept it a secret, with one in four confessing that if directly asked about it, they would rather lie than admit to doing so.

Historically, the UK’s education system has always been an uneven playing field. With only 6% of the UK’s school population attending private schools, educational exclusivity is very apparent to British society. Indeed, previous research from MyTutor has found almost a quarter of the nation agree that their socio-economic class affected their performance in school. The impact of the pandemic has unfortunately exacerbated this issue as the middle classes and regions with more infrastructures in place have far better access to better resources. This can also be seen in international cultures, who also unwillingly take part in the ‘educational arms race’, creating fierce competition between societal groups.

Key stats*:

48% used to think tutoring was unnecessary but since the pandemic they now think it’s really valuable
48% are now more likely to share and discuss their child’s experience of private tutoring with others
42% agree that their child has the highest levels of stress they have observed in his/her lifetime
30% agree that before the pandemic they would never publicly discuss using private tutoring for fear it might make their child appear less intelligent, but post-pandemic they no longer feel this is the case
44% will continue to invest in online tutoring for their children post-pandemic
24% agree that their socio-economic class affected their performance in school
*(nationally representative research commissioned in April 2021, in full compliance with the British Polling Council Guidelines)