No man is an island, as the poet says – and this is very true for tuition centre owners. The words might be  a motto for the Association of Professional Tuition Centres (APTC) which exists principally to counter the isolation or insularity that an independent business owner may feel. It offers support through the sharing of experience, the discussion of questions, the pleasures of company.

A Sunday lunch recently organised at The PIlot restaurant in Greenwich brought together centre owners from High Wycombe in the west, to Ipswich in the east, as well as members from the Capital and its suburbs. (The Northern half of the membership had had a regional function of their own in November last year) – this was the turn of the South.  

Some arrived late because of unanticipated traffic – but all eventually came who said they were coming – 14 in total. The Pilot combined its good food with efficient service: and the lunch was not only convivial but a useful networking occasion. 

The next event on the APTC calendar will be the AGM in July – to be held in Lichfield, so that North and South can converge. 

If you are a tuition centre owner or are seriously thinking of becoming one, and are not yet affiliated, you could do well to contact the APTC. Unlike franchises, the APTC is not for profit – its aim is the welfare and success of its members in their individual tuition centre operations.