A former youth worker from Glasgow, Louise Bowden, has launched a new tuition business with the aim of helping young people excel in education.

Louise, who is from the Jordanhill area of the city, started her new business in February 2022 and ran her first class the following month. Louise explains she was inspired to change her career during lockdown, when she saw how much help the majority of children would need to restore confidence and self-belief.

Louise explains: “Previously I was a youth worker in Glasgow and have been working with children and young people for more than 12 years. I found that I have a passion for helping children excel in their education. After researching some other options, I decided to go with First Class Learning for a number of reasons. Following the school curriculum was the biggest positive for me but also having paper based, daily work is very important for building up study skills, subject knowledge and confidence. I really like the structure of the programmes and being able to offer an individualised progression route for each student.

“I funded my new business through savings, and I also got a business start up loan for the initial franchise costs. With previous tutoring experience I decided I wanted to combine my existing knowledge with learning new skills. I have never run my own business before, so taking on a franchise with structured learning programmes allows me to focus more on the students rather than worrying about preparing materials. The initial training was a good insight into the programmes and what is involved in running the franchise. FCL have provided me with a mentor which is helpful as I am just starting out. There is a support group available online for all Centre Managers across the UK which is also beneficial.”

Louise adds: “I see this as a great opportunity to help young people in Glasgow restore some confidence and self-belief, I firmly believe if you are doing well in your studies that it helps all aspects of your life. I think Covid created a fear and uncertainty amongst our young people, the First Class Learning programmes help to build confidence with a little and often approach. All children and young people are different so we can't take a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to learning. The FCL programmes let us help families bridge gaps that have been missed in their child's educational journey and from that solid foundation we can start to build upon their knowledge and skills while helping individuals gain confidence and instil a joy for learning.

“My plans for the future include growing my centre to help many more children and young people over the coming years. As the centre grows, I'll be able to extend the opening hours making the FCL programmes more accessible.”

First Class Learning (FCL) is a highly successful education franchise specialising in maths and English. It is currently the UK’s fastest growing tuition business with over 300 centres nationwide. FCL focuses on building the skills and confidence of its students. This is achieved by taking a personalised approach to children’s learning using the highly regarded maths and English programmes, which are created by the in-house team of qualified education specialists. FCL works with children and their parents to ensure that it is the best fit for them – and, of course, the same goes for prospective franchisees. Core to FCL’s success is investment in people, which puts children at the heart of everything it does.