Tutoring aims to respond to the individual needs of the pupils within the boarding community and forms a vital part of the College’s pastoral care structure through which it is committed to the highest standards of pupil welfare.
Virtually all full-time members of the teaching staff are tutors, and the team is supplemented by many experienced non-teaching tutors drawn from the wider college community. All receive training.
In general, tutors take a friendly, informed interest in the pupils in the boarding house to which they are assigned, contributing to the life of the boarding house through social and extra-curricular activities, as well as through specific duties.
More specifically, each tutor is responsible for a small group of tutees, providing them with on-going support and monitoring. Tutors act as a sounding board for opinions, as a mediator and confidant, and they interpret and reinforce the standards and values of the College. They promote friendly dialogue and act as common-sense listeners through the sometimes choppy waters of adolescence.
Tutors are able to offer specific academic advice, reviewing academic progress on a regular basis and assisting with academic subject choices. They also help pupils frame their ideas for development beyond Marlborough.