43 per cent of teachers have tutored outside school, research shows

43 per cent of state school teachers have been paid to tutor outside of their normal school teaching role at some point in their career, according to research from the Sutton Trust.

Th report is the most comprehensive analysis to date of private tuition in the UK and values the market at up to £2 billion a year.

The proportion of pupils receiving private tuition has risen by over a third in the past decade, from 18 per cent in 2005 to 25 per cent in 2016, with around 280,000 students receiving private tuition in the last year.

26 per cent of all pupils were found to have received tutoring at some point in their schooling, with this rising as high as 42 per cent in London. The research also found that those receiving private tuition were disproportionately from well off backgrounds, with only 17 per cent of 11-16 year olds eligible for free school meals (FSM) having received tuition.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “Private tuition is widespread and increasingly so. Nearly half of teachers have tutored and a quarter of teenagers have been tutored. But with costs of at least £25 per session many cannot afford to benefit from this extra support.

“The Trust is recommending that the government introduce a means-tested voucher scheme to enable lower income families to provide tuition for their children.”