Twenty years ago, private tutoring in the UK was mostly a quiet, occasional thing — a few weeks of extra help before a big exam, or a well-off family giving their child an edge.
Today, it's a mainstream part of secondary education. Nearly 1 in 3 secondary school students in England and Wales has received private tutoring at some point, up from roughly 1 in 5 two decades ago.
That shift didn't happen by accident, and it isn't evenly spread across the country. This piece breaks down what's actually driving the surge, who's using tutoring and why, and what the numbers suggest for parents trying to decide whether it's worth it for their own child.
The Headline Numbers
I. 29% of secondary students in England and Wales have had private tutoring at some point (up from around 18% two decades ago).
II. In London, that figure jumps to 45%, nearly double the rate in the rest of England (27%) and Wales (24%).
III. 73% of tutored students are being tutored in Maths, by far the most requested subject.
IV. 23% of students from the lowest-income households have had tutoring, compared to 30% from the highest-income households — a real but narrowing gap.
V. The global online tutoring market was valued at roughly $12.8 billion in 2026.
These aren't small shifts. A rise from 18% to 29% over twenty years means private tutoring has gone from something a minority of families considered, to something close to a third of all UK secondary families have actually done.
Why has tutoring grown so much?
1. The end of the National Tutoring Programme pushed demand into the private market.
During the pandemic, the UK government ran the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which funded in-school tutoring for disadvantaged students. That programme wound down in 2024, and in-school tutoring provision has fallen sharply since. For many families who'd come to see tutoring as a normal part of school life during that period, the response wasn't to stop — it was to start paying for it privately instead.
This is one of the clearest cause-and-effect stories in UK education policy over the past few years: state-funded tutoring support disappeared, and private demand rose to fill the space it left behind.
2. Exams feel higher-stakes than they used to.
Selective school entry (11+ and grammar school places), competitive GCSE and A-Level subject choices, and increasingly competitive university admissions have all made single exam performances feel more consequential to families. Where a generation ago a disappointing mock exam might have prompted extra revision at home, today it's more likely to prompt a search for a tutor — particularly in subjects like Maths, which is compulsory to GCSE and a prerequisite for most science-related university courses.
3. Online tutoring removed the biggest practical barrier.
Fifteen years ago, arranging a tutor usually meant finding someone locally, driving your child to a session, or having a stranger in your home. Online tutoring removed all three barriers. A family in a small town can now access the same specialist Maths or Psychology tutor as a family in central London, and sessions can be booked around school and after-school activities rather than around a commute. This is a major reason online tutoring specifically (not just tutoring in general) has grown so quickly.
4. Tutoring has lost its stigma.
Tutoring used to carry a quiet implication that a child was struggling. That perception has largely faded. Today, tutoring is as often used by strong students aiming for top grades or specific subject mastery as it is by students who need to catch up — which has widened the pool of families willing to consider it in the first place.
Why is London so far ahead of the rest of the country?
The gap between London (45%) and the rest of England (27%) is one of the more striking figures in UK tutoring data, and it comes down to a combination of factors:
I. Higher household incomes on average, making private tutoring more financially accessible.
II. More competitive school landscapes: London has some of the most oversubscribed grammar and independent schools in the country, driving demand for 11+ and entrance exam tutoring specifically.
III. Greater awareness and normalisation: Tutoring is simply a more visible, commonly discussed option among London parent networks than in many other regions.
IV. Higher tutor supply and density, particularly for in-person tutoring, though this gap narrows considerably for online tutoring, which isn't geographically constrained.
That last point matters for how the market is likely to evolve: as online tutoring becomes more dominant, the geographic gap between London and the rest of the UK may narrow over time, since a family in Newcastle can now access the same tutor pool as a family in Kensington.
Why does maths dominate tutoring demand?
Maths tutoring accounts for 73% of all private tutoring in the UK. A striking concentration in a single subject. A few reasons explain this:
I. Maths is compulsory through GCSE, meaning every student sits it regardless of ability or interest, unlike optional subjects.
II. It's a prerequisite for most science A-Levels and a large share of university degree courses, so underperformance has knock-on consequences beyond the GCSE result itself.
IV. Maths is a subject where gaps compound. Struggling with one topic (say, fractions) makes later topics (like algebra or ratio) harder to access, which pushes families toward intervention earlier.
V. Unlike essay-based subjects, Maths has clear right/wrong answers, making it easier for parents to notice when their child is struggling, and easier for tutors to demonstrate measurable progress.
Interestingly, Psychology has also emerged as a fast-growing tutoring subject, now the third most popular A-Level in the UK with tutoring demand up around 25% though it remains far smaller in absolute terms than Maths tutoring.
Is there a fairness problem?
The data shows a real but narrowing gap: 23% of students from the lowest-income households have had tutoring, compared to 30% from the highest-income households. That's a seven-point gap. This is meaningful, but smaller than many assume, and considerably narrower than the London-vs-rest-of-England gap.
This has become a genuine policy concern. Organisations like the Sutton Trust and Action Tutoring have highlighted that private tutoring risks widening the attainment gap between wealthier and lower-income students, particularly since the National Tutoring Programme (which specifically targeted disadvantaged students) has wound down. It's also part of why the UK government announced plans in early 2026 to introduce AI tutoring tools in schools, aimed specifically at disadvantaged pupils, with a pilot scheduled for 2027 — an attempt to replicate some of the benefits of private tutoring without the cost barrier.
What this means if you're deciding whether to get a tutor.
The rise in tutoring doesn't mean every family needs one, but the data does offer a few useful signals:
I. If your child is struggling with Maths specifically, you're in the largest and most well-established segment of the tutoring market — there's a strong supply of subject-specific expertise available.
II. Online tutoring has made cost and location far less of a barrier than they used to be, and is typically £5–10 cheaper per hour than in-person tutoring.
III. Tutoring is no longer just a "catch-up" tool as plenty of strong students use it to aim for top grades, particularly around Maths grade 9 strategy or 11+/entrance exam preparation.
IV. The growth in demand also means it's worth being selective about who you choose, since supply has grown alongside demand, subject-specific experience and a clear approach to tracking progress matter more than simply "having a tutor"
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is private tutoring in the UK really becoming more common, or does it just feel that way?
A: Data backs it up. 29% of secondary students in England and Wales have had private tutoring, up from around 18% two decades ago, a genuine and well-documented rise rather than a perception shift.
Q: Why is tutoring so much more common in London than the rest of the UK?
A: A combination of higher average household incomes, a more competitive school admissions landscape (particularly for grammar and independent schools), and greater normalisation of tutoring within London parent networks all contribute to the gap.
Q: Why is Maths tutored so much more than other subjects?
A: Maths is a prerequisite for many further courses, and is a subject where gaps in understanding compound over time — all of which push families toward tutoring earlier and more often than in optional or essay-based subjects.
Q: Does online tutoring work as well as in-person tutoring?
A: Online tutoring has grown rapidly precisely because families and tutors have found it effective for most subjects, particularly Maths and other subjects with clear, structured content. It also removes geographic and scheduling barriers that limit in-person options.
Q: Is tutoring only for students who are struggling?
A: The answer is No. While tutoring is still commonly used to help students catch up, a significant portion of demand now comes from students aiming for top grades or specific subject mastery, reflecting a broader shift in how tutoring is perceived.
Glossary
I. National Tutoring Programme (NTP): A UK government scheme that funded in-school tutoring for disadvantaged students during and after the pandemic, wound down in 2024.
II. Attainment gap: The difference in academic performance between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
III. Selective schools: Schools, such as grammar schools, that admit students based on entrance exam performance rather than catchment area alone.
IV. Comparable outcomes: The process used by exam boards to keep grading standards consistent across years of varying exam difficulty (relevant context for why exam pressure has intensified).
Related reading: GCSE Maths Revision: The Complete Guide (www.myedupady.com/blog/gcse-maths-revision-the-complete-guide)| GCSE Maths: Strategies to Get a Grade 9 (https://www.myedupady.com/blog/gcse-maths-strategies-to-get-a-grade-9).