by Liz Allen

Created on: March 04, 2009

There always seems to be a great demand for extra tuition, especially in the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science. Working as a private tutor is an excellent and rewarding way of earning a supplementary income for those working part-time or for retired teachers. Even full-time employees who need to earn a little more could offer one or two hours of tuition at weekends.

It is preferable to hold a degree but not necessarily essential to have had classroom teaching experience in the subject you are offering. I personally have a degree in Fine Art and taught English abroad for a number of years. I speak fluent French and have studied the language with the Open University in the UK. When I first began tutoring, I offered English and French as my main subjects but soon found that many of the younger pupils required tuition in Mathematics as well as English. My Maths qualification was a Grade A at GCSE level, so I was able to offer tuition in Maths to pupils up to the age of fourteen. In general, the tutor is required to have a qualification at least one level above the level being tutored; to teach at GCSE level, you would thus need to have successfully studied your subject to A level. To tutor to Advanced level, you would require a degree. If you are not currently teaching in a school, you must of course have an up-to-date knowledge of the curriculum, but this information should be easy to find on the Internet.

As well as considering academic qualifications, you will in the UK need to apply to the Criminal Records Bureau for an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. This is usually compulsory if you register with a tuition agency now, and is advisable if you set up your business independently unless you intend to tutor solely adults. Registering with an agency is an easy way of obtaining introductions to new students, but you will of course have to pay around twenty to twenty-five per cent of the tuition fee to the agency as commission. This may sound a lot, but you will be introduced to students that you would not otherwise have encountered and you will avoid advertising costs. Advertising in the Yellow Pages directory, however, can be an excellent way of developing your business. In 2002 I placed a free listing of my name and address under the Tutoring category, and my income from that listing in that year was GBP3,000. Some of the students stayed with me for several years. I decided that it would be worth placing a small paid advertisement in the directory

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