The Tutor Trust Post-16 Tutoring Programme evaluation
24 June 2026
Achieving a grade 4+ in GCSE English and maths at Key Stage 4 is critical in supporting positive study, training, and work transitions beyond formal education, with students not achieving this level at the end of Key Stage 4 currently required to resit these subjects post-16.
However, the proportion of students achieving a grade 4+ in resits remains low. To address this, the Tutor Trust piloted a post-16 tutoring programme in 2024-25, aimed at supporting resit students in disadvantaged communities.
Tutor Trust’s trained tutors aimed to provide a minimum of 12 hours of one to one online or in-person tutoring to 240 learners across 20 settings.
This pilot used a mixed-methods approach to explore the feasibility of implementation, evidence of promise in terms of short-term outcomes for learners, and readiness of the pilot programme for trial.
Methods included:
- collection and analysis of monitoring data
- analysis of a screening test designed by the Tutor Trust
- analysis of GCSE results
- interviews with the Tutor Trust
- a focus group with trainers
- two focus groups with tutors
- student baseline and endpoint surveys
- a tutor proforma
- qualitative case studies and interviews with staff and learners involved in the programme.
Key Findings
- The programme was successful in relation to tutor recruitment, tutor training, and support.
- Initial recruitment of students was successful, yet retaining them was challenging, with substantial student dropout.
- Student attendance and engagement were most positive when there was a proactive Programme Lead in the setting to motivate students and if students saw the benefit of passing resists to reach future goals.
- There was evidence of intended outcomes for participating students, including increased motivation to achieve and confidence in their abilities.
- Just over a quarter of students for whom GCSE grades were received achieved a grade 4 or higher. This is higher than national pass rates, although this should be treated with caution due to lack of a comparator.
- Implementation challenges, including lower than expected attendance and staff engagement in some settings, suggest that the pilot programme is not ready for trial in its current form. Adaptations are being considered by the Tutor Trust.