Accolades
Action Tutoring is incredibly proud of the impact it has on young lives and in working to tackle education inequality. We really value the external recognition we receive to help raise awareness of the attainment gap and work towards our shared goal.
School Partnership Provider of the Year
We are absolutely thrilled and incredibly proud to announce that Action Tutoring has won the prestigious School Partnership Provider of the Year award 2025! This remarkable achievement is a testament to our impactful collaborations with schools across the country, all dedicated to supporting disadvantaged pupils.
This award, presented by The Tutors’ Association as a “celebration of excellence” in the tuition sector, holds particular significance for us. In a category largely dominated by private tuition companies, our win as a charity truly underscores the unique and powerful solution we offer in tackling educational inequality.
If you’re looking for a proven way to close the disadvantage gap at your school, you can send us an enquiry here.
Charity Times Award shortlist
In 2025 we were shortlisted for the Corporate National Partnership of the Year with a Financial Institution at the Charity Times Awards, recognising our fantastic partnership with QBE Insurance.
Charity Governance Awards shortlist
In 2023 we were delighted to be shortlisted to the final three in the ‘Transforming with Digital‘ category of The Clothworkers’ Company’s Charity Governance Awards. Our brilliant Trustee Board was recognised for their stellar support during our journey to incorporating online delivery in 2020, through which they championed our ambitious venture, sharing their wealth of insights and experience to help us pilot, test and scale this new delivery model.
The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award
In December 2022, Action Tutoring was thrilled to be announced as one of the 20 winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award. We received this award in recognition of the work of our inspirational volunteer tutors and the impact they have on the young people they support.
This one-off award was created to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and 20 years of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS). The Jubilee Award aimed to recognise 20 national charities whose work empowers young people aged 16-25, with volunteers playing a key role in delivering this.
The award submissions were judged over the summer by an expert panel chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis CBE (Chair of QAVS). Following the panel’s selection, His Majesty The King personally approved the 20 awardees. You can read more about the award here.
Fair Education Alliance Scaling Award
In July 2020, Action Tutoring was thrilled to be announced as one of seven winners of the Fair Education Alliance Scaling Award a two year accelerator programme designed to provide bespoke support for deepening charities’ impact.
Action Tutoring is a proud member of the Fair Education Alliance; working towards a world where children’s educational success is not limited by their socio-economic background. This is a world where disadvantage no longer determines literacy and numeracy rates at primary school, GCSE attainment at secondary school, the emotional wellbeing and resilience of young people, participation in further education or employment based training and university graduation.
Charity Awards
In May 2022 Action Tutoring was delighted to have been shortlisted to the final three for the Civil Society Charity Awards (education and training category). We were recognised for our response to the Covid pandemic and our impact on the education of young people facing disadvantage.
Awards judge Yvonne Field said Action Tutoring’s application was ‘very lucid and expansive on their internal pivoting as an organisation and what they had to do to redesign materials, attend to their organisation, furlough staff, and then deal with the implications of that. Also, they were working from the hyper-local level through to the national level, in that they were influencing government policies and plans around online learning. That was really impressive’.
Judge Martin Edwards commended the speed with which Action Tutoring pivoted and scaled up. “They delivered 61,000 sessions and 86% of these took place online over 2020 and 2021. And they recorded the same amount of academic progress shown by children in 2020 to 21, as in 2018, which is amazing.
Best Companies Awards 2022
In 2022, Action Tutoring was proud to make the list of 100 Best Small Companies to work for. We are grateful to see our commitment to our employees and fantastic work culture recognised. Workplace engagement is a vital part of our organisation’s success, and our team are proud to work for Action Tutoring.
The Centre for Social Justice
In March 2018, Action Tutoring was proud to be awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the Employment, Education and Skills category at the Centre for Social Justice Awards. Following over 300 applications in this particular category.
Cyber Essential certification
Action Tutoring holds Cyber Essentials certification; a Government-backed, industry supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common online threats.
‘The significant attainment gap that exists between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers has only been exacerbated by Covid-19. Having been an engaged member of the Alliance for years, we’re delighted to see Action Tutoring selected as a Scaling Award Winner for 2020-22.
Having grown their reach consistently to work with over 3,000 pupils, we’ve been impressed by the way they have rapidly adapted to take their provision online whilst retaining a laser focus on growth with impact.
We will be supporting them to plan and manage the next phase of scaling their provision as they prepare for rapid scale due to the increased demand for their programmes, and to develop their internal capacity and organisation structures so that they can reach more disadvantaged pupils in the areas where support is needed the most.‘
Siwan Davies, Head of Scaling Award, Fair Education Alliance
Charity supporters
In 2025 Action Tutoring partnered with philanthropist and Lions, England and Saracens rugby captain, Maro Itoje and his organisation, The Maro Itoje Pearl Fund. Here’s what Maro had to say about the partnership:
‘I’m proud to partner with Action Tutoring as we expand The Pearl Fun’s mission into the UK. At the heart of our work is a belief that education should be a bridge, not a barrier. Action Tutoring’s commitment to closing the attainment gap resonates deeply with my passion for education equality. Through this partnership, we hope to empower more pupils with the support they need to thrive, regardless of their background or postcode.’
In 2024 former Labour Party MP and ex-Secretary of State for Education and Employment Lord Blunkett supported our campaign to continue the National Tutoring Programme:
‘Every year, GCSE results highlight the uphill battle disadvantaged pupils face. The attainment gap is widening, and intervention needs to happen now. Reinstating funding for tutoring programmes is necessary to ensure equal educational opportunities. Every child deserves access to quality education, and for those from a disadvantaged background, government-funded programmes are essential.’
Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips, following a visit to an Action Tutoring programme at Ark Victoria Academy, Small Heath, Birmingham in July 2021, said:
“The pandemic has meant that pupils, particularly those that are disadvantaged have fallen further behind their peers, and programmes like this one are providing invaluable support to young people in Birmingham and across the country.”
Nottingham North MP, Alex Norris, visited a programme at Heathfield Primary School in Bulwell, Nottingham, in July 2021:
“Volunteer tutors can have a powerful influence on pupils’ grades – it’s important to raise the profile of their outstanding work at Heathfield Primary and the nine other schools with which they partner in Nottingham.”
