Teachers looking to make extra cash by tutoring pupils on a private basis can expect their pay to vary by more than £20 per hour, depending on which subject they specialise in, new research shows.
A study by Tutor House, an online tutoring platform, found that Mandarin was the most lucrative subject for tutors to teach, with an average hourly cost of £53, followed by physics (£47.50) and chemistry (£45.80). At the other end of the scale was history, with tutors earning an average of just £32 per hour.
The study, which tracked more than 50,000 data points from counties across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, also looked at the most lucrative areas for teachers looking to take on private tutoring sessions.
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At the top of the list was Hampshire, where tutors can expect to make £39.56 per hour. The region was, on average, £10 per hour more profitable than Gloucestershire, which came bottom of the table.
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The research, which was based on the platform’s internal data, also revealed that where there was a high concentration of private and grammar schools, private tuition cost an extra £5.80 per hour on average.
In September it was revealed that one in four secondary students had had private tutoring. A poll of 2,809 students by social mobility charity the Sutton Trust found that 27 per cent of 11- to 16-year-olds had received private tuition in the past two years, compared with 18 per cent when the survey began in 2005.
In addition, nearly a quarter of secondary school teachers - 24 per cent - had taken on private tutoring over the past two years.
According to the report, teachers were most likely to have taken on tutoring after direct contact from parents.
The study found that the 10 most lucrative subjects, based on their average hourly cost, were as follows:
- Mandarin - £53.00
- Physics - £47.50
- Chemistry - £45.80
- German - £45.20
- French - £42.95
- Maths - £40.56
- Spanish - £38.90
- Biology - £37.00
- English literature - £35.40
- Psychology - £34.37
The most lucrative regions were:
- Hampshire - £39.56
- London - £39.01
- Surrey - £38.89
- Manchester - £38.77
- Warwickshire - £38.10
- Somerset - £37.35
- Buckinghamshire - £37.12
- Oxfordshire - £37.02
- Sussex - £36.97
- Wiltshire - £36.55
The least lucrative regions were:
- Gloucestershire - £29.33
- Yorkshire - £29.60
- Kent - £29.92
- Cornwall - £29.98
- Dorset - £30.05
- Norfolk - £30.56
- Isle of Wight - £30.83
- Lincolnshire - £31.10
- Middlesex - £31.74
- Staffordshire - £32.02
Alex Dyer, founder of Tutor House, said: “For thousands of students every year, private tuition is the difference between obtaining the results they want and being disappointed.
“Being privately tutored is becoming ever more common and affordable, but what many people don’t consider is how much the cost of tuition can vary, and, like with most things, location plays a big part in what is charged. So we decided to show people just how much the price fluctuates based on where in the UK you are.
“Our findings were somewhat surprising, as we expected London to be at the top of the list. However, Hampshire is an affluent area, so it’s logical that tuition will be on the pricier side. What is very clear from the data is that there is a North/South divide, and like house prices, tuition costs more in the South of England.”
