Tutor Trust Impact Report 2024/2025 - Report - Page 5
The current challenge: Tackling
regional inequality amid a school
funding crisis
The attainment gap for socially disadvantaged pupils in Hartlepool is twice
that in London2, and one of the reasons for that is that you are twice as likely
to receive private tuition if you grew up in London than you are if you grew up
in Hartlepool. We know that tuition helps to close that gap, so if you consider all
the reasons a parent might pay for tuition for their children, we try to replicate
that for those whose parents can’t afford it. Ed Marsh, The Tutor Trust CEO,
ITV Tyne Tees, Feb 2025
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The young people we support face
signi昀椀cant challenges due to welldocumented regional inequalities. This,
coupled with a school funding crisis, is
making our work harder for schools to
access at a time when it is needed most.
By age 昀椀ve, socially disadvantaged
children in London are already
outperforming those in the rest of
England, and this gap widens throughout
their educational journey.3 This year’s
GCSE results show that 71.6% of young
people in London achieved a grade 4
or above, while this ranged from 63.6%
to 64.9% in the regions we support.4
This attainment gap is widely
acknowledgedin the education sector.
There is an urgent need for support
for young people in the North of England,
but with schools under considerable
and growing pressure, it has become
more di昀케cult for them to cover the
costs of tutoring.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
estimates that schools’ costs will outgrow
available funding in the coming academic
year5, and research by the Sutton Trust
shows that 46% of school leaders report
being forced to spend Pupil Premium
on day-to-day running costs.6
This has created a challenging
environment for us, prompting us to
adopt more innovative approaches to our
work, while cutting the costs of tutoring
to keep it accessible for schools. In the
face of this growing challenge, we remain
committed to delivering high-quality
tutoring to young people across the
regions we work in. By providing a route
into tutoring that prioritises need over
ability to pay, we are making progress
in closing the attainment gap.
Targeted support from The Tutor Trust has helped strengthen our pupils’
knowledge in key areas, and we’ve seen a marked increase in their con昀椀dence
as a result. Our pupils approached SATs with self-assurance and a positive
mindset. I hope funding can be secured to enable us to continue participating
in the programme. Amanda Eldridge, Principal, Dukesgate Academy,
Greater Manchester
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2 https://epi.org.uk/
annual-report-2025regional-gaps/
3 EPI-LocalDisadvantage-Gapsin-England-FINAL.pdf
4 GCSE and Level
1, 2 results –
Summer 2025 – JCQ
Joint Council for
Quali昀椀cations
5 Annual report on
education spending
in England: 2024–25
| Institute for Fiscal
Studies
6 https://www.
suttontrust.com/
our-research/schoolfunding-and-pupilpremium-2025
Tutor Trust Impact Report 2024/25
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