A UK online tutoring company that began with a £1,500 overdraft has received a King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade after expanding its academic support to students in more than 120 countries.
The Profs, founded in 2014, now supports more than 10,000 students a year through one-to-one online tutoring and university admissions support.
The company works with hundreds of tutors across school, university and postgraduate subjects, helping students prepare for exams, improve their academic confidence and apply to leading universities.
Helping students access academic support wherever they live
Dr Leo Evans, CEO and Co-Founder of The Profs, said the award reflected the growing importance of online education and international academic support.
“We started with a £1,500 overdraft and a belief that excellent tutoring should not depend on geography,” he said.
“To now receive a King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade is a proud moment for everyone who helped build The Profs.”
The company supports students applying to universities including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Imperial College London.
It said its tutor network is highly selective, accepting about 3% of applicants. University tutors, and school tutors, include academics, exam specialists and industry professionals.
Dr Evans said many overseas students use The Profs while preparing for British qualifications or applications to UK universities.
“Some of our students are thousands of miles from London, but they are preparing for British exams, British universities and British qualifications,” he said.
“This award recognises the tutors and staff who help make that possible every day.”
Why tutoring matters
Dr Evans said his own experience of tutoring helped inspire the company.
“At 13, I was tutored for an academic scholarship, which opened the door to an educational journey that eventually took me to Imperial College London,” he said.
“That experience is a big part of why I founded The Profs: to give students, wherever they are in the world, access to the kind of support that can genuinely change their future.”
The Profs said it is the first online tutoring company to receive a King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise recognise UK businesses for outstanding achievement in areas including international trade, innovation, sustainability and promoting opportunity.
Winners can use the King’s Awards emblem for five years.
