“Private tuition has become a multibillion-pound sector”

Disruptive tuition model sees the numbers adding up for Mathnasium, as the successful education franchise expands across the UK

Winchmore Hill and Whetstone in London are the latest communities to benefit from the maths tuition revolution being driven by Mathnasium as it scales up across the country.

The two new centres bring the UK total to 15, with over 1,100 Mathnasium centres globally. James Land will open Mathnasium of Whetstone in January, while City finance expert Jeff Akwaboah recently opened in Winchmore Hill.

Jeff is the latest in a string of franchisees to have come from the corporate world, all ambitious to own a business that delivers a real impact as well as the kind of income they’re used to. Franchisees employ a team of highly trained instructors to deliver bespoke tuition, meaning a background in education isn’t necessary.

“I wanted to find a franchise which I understood and where I felt I could add value for myself and to a community,” says Jeff, who has spent more than a decade working in finance.

“I used to go to Saturday classes and have tutors when I was growing up, so I understood the value of education.

“I believe in the Mathnasium model. I believe in learning face to face. I would only invest in something I’d do myself – I would definitely bring my own child to Mathnasium. The tuition is high quality, it doesn’t give homework, it’s fun, and it delivers results.” And those results are significant: over 90 per cent of parents say maths results, attitude and wider school grades have improved since their child started with Mathnasium.

The Mathnasium difference

“It’s because our approach is so different and so bespoke,” says managing director John Preston, who bought the Mathnasium UK license in 2020 after growing his own franchise to be Britain’s top-performing centre.

“Private tuition has become a multi-billion pound sector. But there’s a cottage industry of tutors providing inconsistent tutoring or just using rote learning – memorising facts. “We teach for understanding instead.

We’ve broken maths down into hundreds of building blocks, like layers that build on top of each other. When each student first arrives, we diagnose their skills and their weaknesses and put together a tailored individual learning plan that builds on what they already know.

“This teaches them not simply to memorise facts, but to develop critical thinking skills that can be adapted to different situations – like an exam.

“We’ve also evolved our own proprietary materials over more than 20 years. Franchisees and their instructors have over 22,000 pages of resources to call on, continually adapted to the UK curriculum. No other tuition provider comes close.”

Remote learning

Lockdown highlighted the power of the brand’s global stature for local franchisees, with the launch of Mathnasium@home – online, face to face, real-time tuition from the same instructors as in a centre – after three years of development. The tech platform helped franchisees grow revenues by 109 per cent in the first 12 months after John took over.

“We’ve got world-class systems, technology and support in place,” John says. “And because we’re just getting started in terms of our UK growth, there are prime locations available. The value of each franchise will naturally grow as Mathnasium becomes number one for maths tuition in this country.”

John left a successful career in investment banking to start his franchise after a health scare made him realise that he wanted to make an impact, not just make money.

“When I saw the results, what parents were saying about Mathnasium, I was blown away,” he says.

“My story’s similar to many of our franchisees. The corporate world can give you the money, but with Mathnasium I get value too. We change lives through maths. There’s nothing better than feeling like you’re making a difference.”

At a glance

Established:

2002

Number of franchised outlets:

1,100+

Location of units:

Worldwide

Investment range:

£100,000-£160,000

Minimum required capital:

£30,000

Contact:

franchising@mathnasium.co.uk