Students in the UK are being overcharged for private tuition, according to research carried out by thetutorpages.com, a tutor comparison website based in London.

‘Although the private tuition industry is in fact unregulated by government, tuition agencies act as quasi-regulators, and convince parents and students to pay over the odds for their lessons,’ the website states.

The research concurs with a report by the World Bank, which confirms that the UK government could take steps to monitor the private tutoring industry and make it more competitive.

‘The UK tuition market is valued at well over £1 billion a year, yet it is still dominated by agencies which standardize prices and keep them artificially high,’ states the founder of The Tutor Pages, Henry Fagg, himself a private tutor. ‘They were set up in a pre-internet age, but in an unregulated industry there is no reason why parents and students shouldn’t employ a tutor themselves on the basis of quality online information.’

Research carried out by The Tutor Pages reveals that parents and students have to fork out at least £5 extra for every hour of tuition when using an agency. In contrast, The Tutor Pages allows browsers to compare the quality and price of tutors online, and then contact them for free. ‘We ask tutors to decide a price and then submit an article on their area of expertise, so that parents and students can make a considered choice over who to hire,’ notes Mr. Fagg.

Subjects on The Tutor Pages range from academic subjects and languages, to musical instruments, business skills and the Alexander Technique. A quick Tutor Pages search in Birmingham, for example, brings up GCSE Maths tutors charging between £10 and £25 an hour, and piano lessons in South East London cost between £18 and £35 an hour. Compared to the standardized prices quoted by agencies, the cumulated savings over a series of lessons are considerable.

‘We present parents and students with everything they need to make a safe and reasoned decision, including the opportunity to see references, recommendation letters and other important information about a tutor before they contact them.’ says Mr Fagg.

The World Bank report published this autumn reveals that, compared to other countries, the UK government has always taken a hands-off approach to private tuition. Next year, however, measures will be introduced in the UK to tighten up on child safety, with the introduction of a compulsory register for all individuals who work with children.

For more information, see www.thetutorpages.com.