Why do families turn to full-time private tutoring? It most frequently comes down to one of these four reasons.

More UHNW families are opting for full-time private tutoring to ensure their children receive the best possible education. There are four reasons driving this choice:

1. To maintain control over the curriculum: With a full-time tutor the curriculum can be customised to suit the family’s individual beliefs, values and goals.
2. To gain the best educational outcome: Homeschooling allows for a personalised and flexible education tailored to the child's needs and interests.
3. To address a lack of support from school: A full-time tutor can provide the individual attention and customised learning plans that may be lacking in traditional school settings.
4. To fit with a family’s lifestyle: A tutor can adapt to the family's schedule and travel plans, ensuring consistent education no matter where the family is.

Let’s explore each of these areas, and how a private tutor can support students to achieve their potential: 

1. To maintain control over the curriculum

Many UHNW families are concerned about the suitability of the standard curriculum, which often fails to align with their beliefs and values or prepare their children for future roles in leadership, business, and philanthropy. 

“The ability to recall facts and figures and repeat them in exams is very out-dated. This Victorian rote learning is still very much the crux of our school system, and doesn’t allow for personalised learning based on individual student’s strengths and learning styles. To promote a deeper understanding of subjects, build confidence, develop essential skills, and inspire a genuine love for learning, private tutoring goes far beyond what the classroom can offer.” - Adam Caller, CEO and Founder of Tutors International

Children set to inherit significant power and wealth need an education that covers financial, cultural, and social literacy. Traditional schools often use outdated, rote-learning methods from the Industrial Revolution, which don't prepare these children for their unique futures. 

For instance, a family involved in philanthropy might find traditional schools lacking in lessons on social responsibility and charitable work. By hiring a private tutor, they can integrate these values into their child's education, including lessons on global issues, ethics, and running a charitable organisation. This hands-on approach helps prepare them for future responsibilities.

Additionally, children who will manage large estates or family businesses need advanced financial literacy, covering investment strategies and asset management. They also need leadership skills like negotiation, public speaking, and strategic thinking, which are rarely covered in depth in standard curriculums. 

Full-time private tutoring allows families to customise the curriculum to better suit their needs, while aligning with traditional family values and beliefs.

2. To gain the best educational outcome 

We’ve talked a bit about private tutoring being the gold standard of education. Take a look at Benjamin Bloom’s Sigma-2 model from the 1980s. It’s undeniable that one-to-one private tutoring delivers the best academic outcomes for students. Since then, and propelled by the global access we now have to recruit the best tutors in the world, UHNW families are increasingly turning to full-time home tutoring to enable their children to achieve the very best results they can, setting them up for future success. 

Full-time home tutoring is also a viable option to help prepare students for future entrance exams, school integration and when no suitable school placements are available. Home tutoring is a flexible, holistic solution that can be surprisingly cost-effective.

Client comment: “It’s hard to imagine that [our son] could have had a finer education last year. He learned so much, to write incisively and to think critically and creatively. He went way beyond completing his required senior courses (for example, reading sixteen books, which were not on the syllabus). Most important the experience with Tutors International turned him into a real student.” Mrs F, New York and Puerto Rico

3. To address a lack of support from school

Another other reason private tutors are sought out for full-time education at home is to remedy a lack of support or specific problem with the child’s school, or the classroom setting in general. Let’s be clear, however - making the decision to engage a private tutor isn’t a negative! In fact, it’s a very positive, proactive decision to make for your child when school isn’t a good fit. 

Here’s a testimonial from one of our students: 

“Despite my initial skepticism about recruiting a full-time tutor, the benefits of working with [the tutor] for the last four years have been tremendous. Apart from his outstanding academic support, which has improved my performance at school, he has also has become my mentor, someone I trust and seek advice from, and my friend.” High School Student, California 

Even the best schools in the world aren’t one-size-fits-all. Even with small class sizes, dedicated SEN support, zero-tolerance policies to bullying or racism, private or specialist schools can let down some students.

Parents pay huge fees to private schools in the belief that they are securing the very best education for their child. But some independent schools lack openness and candour in disclosing problems at an early stage, fearful that pupils’ parents may take their child, and their money, elsewhere.

If your child is struggling with their friendships at school, or with keeping up with schoolwork, or has underlying anxiety or SEN needs, the classroom might not be the best place for them to realise their full potential. 

A tutor allows a child to express themselves individually and learn according to their own needs and interests. This is invaluable for confidence building and instilling crucial study habits and skills. We've seen children who were previously disinterested in academia rediscover a love of learning through one-to-one attention provided by our tutors.

4. To fit with a family’s lifestyle

Private tutoring caters precisely to the uniquely privileged lifestyles of UHNW families, supporting their children’s diverse and mobile lifestyles. Focusing on a strength-based method of education personalises the learning experience according to the child's individual interests and talents, while leveraging the ‘world classroom’ to explore places, people, the natural world, culture and languages. 

Client comment: “We are thrilled with [the tutors]. They arrived at the boat fully packed and prepped, with three different year levels organized. Amazing the diversity of stuff they brought - ready to cover all bases. They are very bright and great with the girls… and good company for us.” Mrs R, Yacht Charter

We’ve also supported personalised, flexible education for young athletes, musicians, actors and royalty, where the practicalities of attending a school can simply be too challenging. Some students are expected to have particular focus in certain areas, and the tailored curriculum a private tutor and mentor can provide for them prepares them for their future as business leaders, heads of family, and leaders in their chosen field.

Joanna Dunckley-Phillips, who has tutored with us for many years and has a veritable atlas of placements under her belt, spoke at the Prestel & Partner Family Office Forum last year about the exciting benefits of travelling or relocating with a private tutor:

(And you can read more about Jo’s experiences as a travelling private tutor in this article by Superyacht Life)

We understand that everyone’s circumstances are different, and that personalised private tutoring can make a real impact on children’s lives, have a look at our case studies. 

Homeschooling with a full-time tutor offers personalised and flexible education tailored to each child's needs and interests. With one-on-one attention, students often achieve better academic results, and can fully reach their potential.

Tutors International has been a leading provider of private tutors, partnering with prominent education consultancies like Quintessentially Education and EducAd, to deliver outstanding educational outcomes for 25 years.