Tutor Hunt

Tutor Hunt is a UK tutoring marketplace where students and parents search for private tutors, compare their profiles, message as many as they like and book lessons, either face to face or online through Tutor Hunt's own whiteboard. Its copyright line runs from 2005, and the footer lists Tutor Hunt sites for the United Kingdom and the USA. The search covers every level from primary school to degree and adult learners, plus the IB, across academic subjects, languages, music, arts, IT, professional subjects, lifestyle, and health and fitness. It is built for learners and their families, and it is free for tutors, who create a profile, advertise their services and search for tuition jobs.

How it works

The home page sets out four steps. First, search and compare online and local tutors by subject and level; the search box switches between in-person and online and offers the levels Primary, KS3, GCSE, A-Level, Degree, Adult Learner and IB. The search text adds that whether a learner is looking for primary, GCSE, A-Level or adult tuition, Tutor Hunt lists "all personal and private tutors closest to you", so for in-person lessons the results start from the learner's location. Second, view each tutor's qualifications, feedback and experience. Third, contact as many tutors as you would like through the messaging system, before committing to anyone. Fourth, select the tutor and book the first lesson. Lessons are then managed through Tutor Hunt's bookings system, which the home page also calls a simple scheduler.

For students, the "Join as a student" box makes four promises: search for online and local tutors, all tutors verified and DBS checked, lessons managed through the bookings system, and "If you are not satisfied with your tutor we will refund our fee." That last line tells a family two things: Tutor Hunt charges a fee of its own, and it will return it if the tutor does not work out. One customer testimonial describes the sequence from the other side: "Tutor details provided immediately fee paid." The home page does not state the fee itself, and tutors' lesson rates appear on their profiles rather than on the home page.

Online lessons

For online tuition, Tutor Hunt invites learners to "Use our whiteboard to experience live interactive tuition lessons from your home." The Advanced Whiteboard, it says, allows two-way video, screenshare and document upload, so a tutor can see the student, walk through a problem on screen and work on a past paper or worksheet the student uploads. Tutors are told they can teach "both face to face or online using our interactive whiteboard," so many will offer either format, and families can filter for the one they want.

Vetting

The home page says all tutors have an Enhanced DBS check, are referenced and ID checked, and have passed Tutor Hunt's onboarding process. Profiles then show qualifications, feedback from previous students and experience, so a parent can compare candidates before sending a message.

Subjects and locations

The popular subjects list gives a sense of the range: maths, English, biology, chemistry, physics, science, history and geography; Spanish, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic; piano, violin, guitar, singing, drums, saxophone, keyboard, music and composition; creative writing, drawing, painting and acting; computer science, computer programming, Python, Matlab and C++; and law, management, accountancy and economics. A full subject index sits behind "Browse All Subjects."

For in-person lessons, Tutor Hunt organizes tutors by county and by city. London is split into areas (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW and central), and the location section highlights subject pages such as maths, English and physics in London, chemistry in Bristol, biology in Leicester, 11+ in Birmingham, French in Glasgow and Spanish in Bradford, along with Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Coventry.

Tools and resources

The student menu goes beyond the directory. It lists a Tutor Bot, a game called Maths Chase, assessment tests and admissions statistics, and the resources menu adds a blog, research, an internet safety section, a foundation and resources for tutors. An Academic Questions section and footer pages on safeguarding and for schools sit alongside. The blog and research posts on the home page deal with UK schooling: VAT on private school fees, GCSE results day and the numbered grading system, summer learning, and the history of organized education in England.

What customers say

The search panel shows a Trustpilot rating of 4.7 / 5. The home page also carries testimonials marked as coming from Google reviews or Tutor Hunt's feedback form, and most are tagged with the subject taught. A psychology student describes two tutors, one for psychology and one for business, as knowing their subjects well and being reliable and conscientious. A physics parent says her daughter is now full of confidence before her exam. Other parents describe finding a maths tutor for a daughter, a devoted French tutor, help with maths and architecture for two sons, a tutor working well with a granddaughter in English, and subject specialists for two children over two years; one writes that it is "easy to register and search for the subjects you are looking for", another calls it "A useful site straightforward to use", and another "Quick and efficient." A Google reviewer praises "Very reasonable rates" and a site "without any complicated charges."

Who it suits

Tutor Hunt suits UK families and adult learners who want to choose a tutor themselves: compare qualifications and feedback, message several candidates, and decide between a local tutor at home and an online one. It covers the main exam years (GCSE, A-Level and the IB), primary and KS3 support, 11+ preparation, university-level subjects and adult learning, and it reaches into music, art, languages and programming. The DBS checks, references and ID checks give parents a baseline, and the fee refund if a tutor is unsatisfactory limits the cost of a poor match.

It suits less well a family that wants an agency to choose the tutor for them or to run a structured program across all lessons: Tutor Hunt is a directory with messaging and booking, and the teaching plan is between the family and the tutor they pick. Tutors looking for students will find it a low-risk place to list, since the site is free for them: they build their own profile, teach in person or on the whiteboard, and can search tuition jobs, which the site groups by subject, with maths, English and physics jobs featured on the home page.