Tutoring outside of the classroom has been proven to be advantageous for learners, however, not all young people are able to access the same learning opportunities.

For many young people and their families, the costs associated with private tutoring are completely prohibitive. This inequality is outside of the control of young people, however, they are the ones who are losing out.

With this in mind, a North East based start-up has developed an innovative new mobile application, designed to make tutoring available and affordable to every student across the UK through peer-to-peer learning.

The mobile app has been designed to create equal access to learning and provide a low cost, high quality alternative to traditional private tutoring. It’s the first of its kind and gives students the bespoke support they need, anytime, anywhere, 24/7.

Household income shouldn’t dictate education outcomes

Peer Tutor CEO and Founder Wayne Harrison explains: “Whilst teachers work incredibly hard to close the gaps in academic attainment between students during the school day, the support that families with more disposable income are able to provide their children through private tuition cannot be underestimated. Peer Tutor has been developed precisely to bridge this divide, by providing accessible and affordable tutoring for all.”

Peer Tutor provides a secure online platform for pupils to access instant one to one support with homework and revision when they need it most. Learners can request a live one to one lesson within 15 minutes, request feedback on their work and take a photo of specific questions and receive a step by step guide and model showing how to tackle this type of question going forward.

Safe, cashless and high quality tuition

“We take learners’ online safety very seriously,” Wayne added.

Peer Tutor has a number of built-in safety features, including the latest AI screening technologies to moderate documents and feedback. All of the tutors are DBS checked and have passed their own exams at Level 6 (Grade B) or above and tuition is supported by Collins approved resources. This ensures the quality of the tutoring sessions and the safety of everyone who accesses the app.

Peer Tutor is operated on a credit-based system, where ‘gems’ are exchanged for question and answer based support, essay feedback or a 30-minute live tutoring session. Cheaper than private tutoring, where sessions can cost £25 and more, learners and parents have the option to purchase gems on the app on a pay as you go basis.

Peer Tutor has been seeking support from businesses to sponsor schools and give learners access to the app allowing even more young people to access private peer tutoring for free. By supporting young people whilst at school, businesses can help to develop the future talent of their region whilst also delivering on their own corporate social responsibility objectives.

Peer Tutor is wholly owned by North East based educational charity, awarding organisation and education services provider, NCFE.

The company, which also counts education and healthcare qualifications brand, CACHE, and e-learning company, Skills Forward, in its portfolio, will be working with Peer Tutor to help develop and moderate the app’s content to promote successful outcomes for learners.

David Gallagher, chief executive at NCFE, commented:

“At NCFE, we are committed to promoting and advancing learning to help students of all ages to reach their learning and career goals.

Investment in technology and pushing innovation is one of the key ways we look to achieve this, which is why we are really excited about our new partnership with Peer Tutor.

Peer Tutor is available to download now from the App Store and Google Play. To find out more, visit https://www.ncfe.org.uk/schools/peer-tutor.