We find it hard to believe that it has been 25 years since our Head of Centre Dr Anthony Monks set up 3A Tutors. We are proud of the success we have had over these years. We never underestimate the important role we play in helping students on their educational journeys.

There are very few, if any, private exam centres in the UK with such a long history in helping private candidates achieve their exam goals. At this time, we are not only looking back at our achievements but also ahead to the future.

It all started with Dr Monks

Dr Monks was a pioneer for private candidates when he founded 3A Tutors. He started providing high quality tuition after realising there was high demand for these services. After adding fast track courses to its offering, in 2000 3A Tutors became a venue for students to take their exams. From small beginnings, in the first exam series there were two candidates! 3A Tutors has now supported over 10,000 students with exams and tuition.

An experienced team

Every successful company needs a great team to flourish and 3A Tutors has a massive amount of knowledge retention within its staff. There are over 50 years of experience between the core staff members, including our founder Dr Anthony Monks, Exams Officer Paul and Exams Co-Ordinator Peter. As far as we know, no other exam centre has this level of expertise and experience.

This knowledge base means we can help all our candidates, whatever their needs, to have the best chance at exam success.

The development of different qualifications

We have always looked to pioneer alternative exam opportunities and have seen the popularity of IGCSEs develop and grow. The IGCSE is now very much considered part of the educational landscape across England and Wales. We like to think we had a small part to play in this, and this year further increased the number of IGCSE exams we offer across the Summer and Autumn exam series.

The changing educational landscape

The last 25 years have seen huge changes in education. There are far more students, from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, now following an alternative educational pathway. One of the reasons for this is that we offered a place for them to achieve recognised qualifications.

Our exam centre provides a place for students who are not in the school environment to take their exams successfully. We have had candidates who are retired and students who are home schooled. All are welcome at our centre.

The increase in popularity of online tuitionblonde woman on laptop

The pandemic saw a massive increase in the demand for online tuition however we were embracing this way of working over 12 years ago! Before many people even knew it was an option, we were at the forefront of the technology to make online tuition work effectively. This experience has been incredibly helpful in helping us provide superior online tuition to our clients.

The upheaval of the COVID pandemic

When looking back at our past there is no way to avoid the pandemic. The educational sector was one of the most affected by the restrictions put in place. The cancellation of exams was an unprecedented situation which forced us to work completely differently to help our students during an incredibly stressful time.

We very quickly put in place a system to help our private candidates achieve their grades. We are very proud of the work we did during this time to help every student. It showed us that we could be flexible and dynamic when the need arose.

Continuing to offer great opportunities for our students

Once of the services that really sets us apart is our A-Level Biology, Chemistry and Physics practical endorsements. We are able to offer students the opportunity to do this part of their course in the incredible laboratory facilities at the University of Bristol. These labs are really second to none and can make a real difference to our candidates. Why take your A Level Science practical endorsements with 3A Tutors?

We also offer a large suite of GCSE, IGCSE and A-Level Modern Foreign Languages for students. This provides students with the chance to take language exams which are not available through mainstream schools.

Offering expanded access arrangements for exams

We have always sought to provide the opportunity for as many candidates as possible to take their exams with us, whatever their requirements. By creating a dedicated computer suite, we have been able to support a greater number of students requiring a word processor. We have also expanded the number of dedicated staff we have that can act as a scribe and / or a reader.

We are excited to be able to increase our offering in this area and hope to do more in the future.

What next?

The vast changes we have seen in education throughout the last 25 years is set to continue. We are proud of the way we have embraced change and will continue to do so in the future.

We hope to continue to expand the number of subjects we can offer our candidates, often providing exam opportunities that cannot be found elsewhere.

We have always been at the forefront of technological changes and we are excited by the future of onscreen and online exams. This could be quite daunting for some centres but we are already in the process of embracing new technology so remain open minded to these new developments.

Thank You to all our students

Our students are always at the heart of everything we do and we would like to thank all our students over the years who have made 3A Tutors such a success. We can’t wait for the next 25 years and the chance to help many more students achieve their goals.

If you would like to discover more about us, Contact Us