The five pillars of a group tuition programme
This is the framework behind every group programme we help tutors build. Read it in one sitting or one pillar at a time. Keep a notebook nearby: each pillar ends with one small action.
Prefer paper?
Perhaps a group has already crossed your mind. Perhaps you’re not sure how to set one up, or you’ve tried one that didn’t quite work out and you’re wondering what to do next.
Wherever you’re starting from, you’re in the right place. When a group hasn’t worked, it’s rarely about you. It’s usually about the structure.
Finding a group model that works took us years of testing and refining. What came out of it is the method we now teach in The 2 Hour Tutor Programme: a simple structure that grows your income without growing your hours. It rests on five pillars. None of them needs to be perfect on day one.
Download the printable workbook: every action and reflection from this guide, with space to write, plus the scorecard.
Nail your niche
We specialise in order to scale.
A group works when everyone in it wants the same outcome. That means choosing GCSE Maths Foundation or Higher, A level Maths for OCR or AQA, rather than offering everything to everyone.
Narrowing what you offer lets you become known for one thing and get very good at it. It also makes it easier to charge properly, because a specialist is easier to value than a generalist. We’ll come back to that in Pillar 5.
List every type of student you work with, or could work with. Then cross out any that:
- don’t bring you much joy
- leave you feeling like an impostor
- would need a lot of preparation
Choose your niche from what’s left.
Want a guided way to choose? The Nail Your Niche planner is a £7 add-on when you get the Group Tuition Toolkit.
Create your core curriculum
A course for the content, a live group for the accountability.
Our model takes the content structure of a course and adds the accountability of a live group. Once your niche is clear, mapping the steps your students need becomes much easier.
1:1 tuition gives individual attention, but you’ve probably seen how it can also create reliance on the weekly lesson, with little progress in between. In a 2 Hour Tutor style programme, students watch a short video lesson each week before the live session. They take ownership of their learning, arrive prepared, and the live time goes deeper. The result is a “better than 1:1” experience for them, and a manageable week for you.
With your niche in mind, bullet out the steps your students need to get from where they are now to where they want to be. Those steps become your group curriculum.
Keep the structure simple
Before, during and between: three parts that do the heavy lifting.
Three elements work together. Between them they deliver better progress than weekly 1:1 lessons, while saving you hours each week.
Pre-session set-up
Students get the week’s lesson ahead of time. It can be as simple as an email with a video and worksheet, or a student portal. They arrive confident, and you’re not repeating yourself.
High-impact group sessions
They already know the “what”, so live time is for the “why” and “how”: questions, misconceptions, discussion, games and breakout rooms. The best of the classroom, without managing a full class.
Personal feedback that doesn’t drain you
Short screen recordings or voice notes students can replay, plus a simple way to message you between sessions. It feels like having you in their pocket.
Pick one tool for each job. In The 2 Hour Tutor Programme we use Vimeo and Slack, but Google Meet and a WhatsApp group work just as well. Jot your choices down:
| Job | Examples | Your choice |
|---|---|---|
| Recording your lessons | Loom, Vimeo, Zoom | … |
| Hosting live sessions | Zoom, Google Meet | … |
| Screen-recorded feedback | Loom, Vimeo, voice memos | … |
| Messaging students | Google Classroom, WhatsApp, Slack | … |
The Group Tuition Toolkit
Your next step after this guide. It’s the practical side of all five pillars: our breakdown of the tools we recommend, programme planning templates and the Tutor’s Profit Calculator, so you can turn what you’re reading into a plan.
You can add the Nail Your Niche planner for £7 at checkout.
Magnetic messaging
Once you’ve chosen a niche, marketing gets much easier. Instead of wondering which offer to promote or which students to attract, you have one ideal student in mind, and your message stops being mixed. A confused audience rarely buys.
If you already have an email list or social following, you can start seeding the idea of your group programme now. If you haven’t done much marketing yet, start by working out where your niche audience already spends time.
Magnetic messaging is simply empathy, written down.
Picture the challenges your student is facing with your subject, show that you understand them, and give something useful that helps them move forward.
List the ten things you’d most like your ideal students to know about succeeding in your niche (for example, how to approach the GCSE French speaking exam). Each one can become:
- an email newsletter
- a social media post
- the starting point for your own free guide
Package-based pricing
It’s a common belief that 1:1 tuition is better value than a group. In practice, 1:1 rates often sit between £30 and £80 an hour. Weekly, for an open-ended period that often runs past a school year, that can come to well over £2,000 per student, before travel or the cost of gaps between lessons.
A well-structured group programme led by a specialist typically sits between £500 and £1,000. For families, that’s a clear saving and a defined outcome. For students, it’s a more efficient way to learn. And for you, it’s a calmer week.
What parents value most is often time.
The right-fit parents are happy to pay upfront for a programme they trust will solve their child’s challenge. What wears them down is the weekly payments, the endless scheduling, juggling activities and cancelling when their child is ill. A package removes all of that.
Play with the numbers
That’s 12 groups a year: 3 live sessions a week, with 12-week programmes run 4 times a year.
At what point does it start to feel exciting?
For illustration only. These figures show how the maths of a group programme works using the numbers you choose. They aren’t a forecast or a promise of what you’ll earn: your results depend on your subject, pricing, marketing, costs and circumstances.
Take your numbers further
The Tutor’s Profit Calculator in the Group Tuition Toolkit adds your costs and hours, so you can see what a programme really earns before you launch it.
Say your new price out loud. Does it feel exciting, a little too low, or scary high? Write down why.
See the five pillars in action
Mel walks through pricing, niche, programme design and how the right families find you, with real client examples. Watch it here, or in our app alongside our other free resources for tutors.
- Around an hour: dip in and out
- In the app, pick up where you left off
- Free: you just create an account
What changed for them
“I replaced my teaching salary in 6 months and am tipping to the point of exceeding it, teaching far less hours.”
Charlotte Crystal, former Head of English, Crystal Clear English Tuition
“What 2HT gave me was clarity, not just on what to create, but why and how.”
Anna Meldrum, Spanish tutor, Soltura Spanish
“I officially have a full group of 6 to start in September.”
Kelly Wilby, Science tutor
“I’m finally the one who’s managing everything and having it go my way.”
Zaynab, GCSE English tutor
Results and income figures shared by our clients are their own experiences. Individual results vary with effort, experience and circumstances, and we can’t guarantee any particular income or outcome.
Your group tuition scorecard
Let’s slow down for a moment. Score each area from 1 (not yet) to 5 (all in place). There are no wrong answers, and nothing you tap leaves this page.
Keep your scorecard
Which of these tutors feels most like you?
There’s no right answer, and no rush. Each of these is a calm next step from where you are today.
You’re like Dani
A brilliant tutor with back-to-back 1:1 lessons and a sense there’s a better way. Curious about groups, not ready to change everything yet. Wants a simple way to explore what’s possible.
You’re like Hajimar
Has run groups, but sign-ups have been slow and something isn’t quite clicking. Ready for expert eyes on the business and a clear plan for what to change.
You’re like Annie
Knows group tuition is the next chapter and wants a clear, structured way to build it, with a team alongside. Likes to see the full picture first, then talk it through.
“Not all progress is loud. Some of the biggest shifts are invisible: confidence, clarity, self-trust, identity. If reading this guide has sparked even a quiet sense of possibility, that’s progress. Honour it.”
Ellie Baker, Founder
We’re a family-run business school for tutors. We can’t wait to support you with your next step.