Family, Student and Tutor: How Teamwork Built One Success Story

Meet An Thi, mother of one of Bauhaus Education's very first students...

My son Vinh started with Bauhaus Education at just 10-years-old, revising for a Mensa test in his local library. Today, he's 21 and in his second year at the University of Bath, studying Aerospace Engineering.

I've known Tutu and Olaseni, the founders of Bauhaus, for almost as long as the company has existed, and when I look back at everything that's happened between then and now, one thing I'm particularly proud of is that none of it happened by accident - it worked because all three of us pulled together: Vinh, Bauhaus, and me.

Seven Years of One-to-One Tuition: A Parent's Perspective

We found Bauhaus almost by accident. Graham - who worked for Tutu at the time - spotted Vinh revising in the library and got chatting to me. Not long after, Graham got in touch to see how he was getting on, and that's really where it all started.

My husband Yung and I had identified a good local school that we wanted Vinh to go to, and we felt that English tuition would benefit him in getting there. I remember meeting Tutu for the first time - that warm smile, that welcoming feeling. From that first meeting, I trusted her.

Not Just a Tutor - A Team

Initially Vinh studied English with Bauhaus, with maths at the weekends, and later chemistry and physics too - all through the kind of one-to-one tuition Bauhaus is built around. What I have always believed and have shared with other parents, is that it is not just about handing your child over and thinking that's the job done. Some parents may think, "I'm paying for this, so it's the tutor's responsibility now." That's the wrong way to think about it.

Success only happens when there are three of you committed to it - the student, the teacher, and the parent. It's a three-way relationship. My job was to encourage Vinh, to support him at home, and to find the money to make it possible. Tutu and Olaseni's job was to find exactly the right person to teach him and to understand how his brain worked. And Vinh's job was to do the work, to show up, and to do his best. When all three of you are invested - heart and soul, not just financially - that's when you see real transformation.

I've seen it go wrong for other families. I remember a colleague telling me she'd started tutoring for her son just five months before his GCSEs, thinking that was plenty of time. Five months is enough for a good teacher to find where the gaps are in a child's understanding - but it may not be enough time to fill them. Vinh started years earlier, from around Year 6. That's the kind of commitment I mean.

Shaping How He Learns - And Who He Became

What struck me most about Tutu and Olaseni was how they treated Vinh as an individual, not just another student to push through a curriculum. They challenged him specifically, in a way that suited his personality. When he achieved something, they moved him forwards - always encouraging him to strive for more in a way that felt safe and manageable.

They taught him proper exam technique, guided him through what to do and how to do it, and they were never afraid to hold him to account if his homework wasn't done. I sat with him through his exam periods, so I saw it for myself - firm, but always with real care behind it.

He achieved the physics grade Cambridge had asked for, although it was initially marked lower than it should have been and his school appealed on his behalf to have it corrected to an A*. Unfortunately, by the time the revised grade came through the place at Cambridge had already gone. But the door to Bath University opened instead, and Vinh has never looked back. From eleven years old right through to eighteen, Tutu and Olaseni weren't just teaching him a subject - they were shaping his character, his calm, the way he carries himself and ultimately his future.

Full Circle

One of the things I'm proudest of is that after his GCSEs, Bauhaus employed Vinh to teach maths to their younger students. Watching him go from the little boy revising in the library to someone trusted to teach the next generation - that tells you everything about the relationship we built with Bauhaus over the years.

More Than Tutors - Family

Tutu and Olaseni are not just teachers to us. They are trusted friends who have spread their heart to us whenever we've needed it, and I trust them completely. Trust has to be earned, and it has to be returned - by staying involved, by not just leaving everything to them, I became part of the team and benefited almost as much as Vinh.

My Advice to Other Parents

Don't wait until the last few months before an exam to get support - start early, from Year 7 or Year 8 if you can. Nobody is perfect, and nobody knows everything. If you can't fill the gaps in your child's understanding yourself, let a teacher who genuinely cares do it - but stay involved every step of the way.

Encourage your child. Support them at home. Give them the rest and reassurance they need, and don't ignore it if something isn't working - speak up, just as you'd want the teachers to speak to you. Success isn't something you can pay for and step back from. It's a team effort between the student, the parent, and Bauhaus. Together, we really are stronger.

Considering long-term tuition support for your child?

Explore our one-to-one tuition programmes and career guidance support to see how Bauhaus can help your child build lasting confidence, from GCSEs through to A-Level and beyond.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I start tuition before GCSEs?

Starting early gives the biggest benefit. A good tutor can usually spot gaps in a child's understanding within a few months, but filling those gaps properly takes longer. Starting from Year 7 or Year 8 - or even earlier, as Vinh did from Year 6 - gives far more time to build real, lasting confidence rather than last-minute cramming.

What is one-to-one tuition?

One-to-one tuition means a student works individually with a dedicated tutor, rather than as part of a group or class. This allows the tutor to fully understand how a child learns best, adapt their teaching style accordingly, and move at a pace that suits that specific student.

Does tuition help with more than just exam grades?

Yes. Alongside academic progress, one-to-one tuition can help build a student's confidence, exam technique, and study habits - and, as with Vinh, it can also support wider career guidance, helping students think through subject choices and future paths alongside their studies.

How involved should parents be in the tuition process?

Very. Tuition works best as a partnership between the student, the tutor and the parent - encouraging your child at home, staying in touch with how sessions are going, and supporting them through the process, rather than leaving it entirely to the tutor.