Research published in February 2026 published by The Sutton Trust highlights that over the past few years children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to benefit from a private tutor, compared to their more affluent peers. The findings are from the Ipsos Young People Omnibus survey, in which young people are classified as ‘best off’ or ‘worst off’ using a self-reported measure.  Despite a slight narrowing of the gap between ‘worst off’ pupils and their peers, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils receiving tutoring has remained stubbornly low – from 21% in 2019 to 23%.  Polling for the Sutton Trust* revealed that 58% of schools had reduced their tutoring offer compared to the previous year. This matters, because school-based tutoring can be the only way many poorer pupils can access a tutor. A similar proportion of the ‘best off’ (19%) and ‘worst off’ (22%) pupils receive one-to-one or small group tuition in school. School-based tutoring is also more likely to be undertaken by those falling behind than those doing quite well (27% v 18%).

The Government’s current focus is on introducing AI tutoring tools in schools. The Department for Education recently announced a pilot for 2027, with plans to support up to 450,000 children eligible for free school meals in Years 9-11. While this initiative could prove useful, the Sutton Trust argues the valuable role of in-person tutoring should not be forgotten.

Carl Cullinane, Director of Research and Policy at the Sutton Trust, explains: ‘Although AI tutoring tools have the potential to ease the burden on teachers and improve support for pupils, the evidence is not there yet. Any rollout must be managed carefully to ensure that existing inequalities aren’t further entrenched. A whole new digital divide risks being opened up if gold standard in-person tutoring remains the preserve of those who can pay, while disadvantaged pupils receive low-cost AI. If we’re to avoid this, then design and implementation will be key, in particular how AI tools interact with and complement human educators.

Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said: ‘Tuition has the potential to significantly improve the performance of disadvantaged young people, yet they’re the least likely to gain access to its advantages. This makes the task of tackling the huge attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged young people even harder.  ‘The loss of the previous Government’s National Tutoring Programme, which made great strides in levelling the playing field in access to tutoring, is still being felt. Without an ambition to ramp up in-person tutoring support, targeted at those who most need it, we face an uphill battle in closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged pupils.’

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