A NEW, more affordable way of providing a private tutor for your child, has arrived in the North-East.

Tutoring has a reputation of being the preserve of only wealthy parents, resigned to paying 35 an hour plus but thanks to London dad Robert Grabiner that could be changing.

Frustrated by his search for affordable, high-quality tutoring for his own two daughters, Robert - a former City worker - came up with an idea which enables children to receive private tuition at less than half the usual price - and from the comfort of their own homes. So Robert set up mytutorweb.co.uk - an online community which brings together the UK's highest-achieving university students from universities in Durham, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Warwick with young people wanting to be tutored for GCSEs and A Levels. Personalised, one-to-one lessons take place in a state-of-the-art 'virtual classroom', accessed by both parties at the touch of a button.

"It started with my daughter's friends, many of whom are now thriving at various top universities including Durham. They were keen to use their significant skill sets to support others, gain experience and to earn some money whilst studying. It occurred to me that they are experts in their field and could provide high-quality tuition across the internet. The early sessions were very successful and since then it has snowballed."

Mr Grabiner said: "Our student tutors are all exceptionally high achievers who have themselves obtained A or A* star grades and who are continuing to study the subjects they tutor as a major element of their degree.

"We've found that those being tutored often feel more comfortable being supported by someone who, being close in age, relates to them easily and faced the same academic challenges."

For more information visit www.mytutorweb.co.uk