First Tutors has closed: what happened and what to do now
First Tutors stopped trading in May 2026. This guide sets out what is publicly known about the closure, which company operated the brand, and the practical steps former tutors and families can take to recover their data.
By Henry Lin, Founder of TutorDex · Published 25 May 2026 · Updated 14 September 2026
First Tutors has closed — here is what you can do
First Tutors announced its closure on 8 May 2026. The service had traded for more than twenty years under the First Tutors name, operated by EduNation Limited (Companies House number 06071367). The tutor directory and the profile pages it hosted are no longer available.
Your data can still be requested. First Tutors now provides a self-service Privacy Center where former account holders can download their reviews and full account data.
Your data can still be moved. Independent platforms now exist that accept an import of a First Tutors account export, and TutorDex — which has no connection to First Tutors — is one of them. If you want to carry your history across, follow the separate import guide.
No official reason for the closure has been published. What follows separates what is confirmed from what is reported and what remains unknown.
What happened to First Tutors?
This timeline keeps official statements, public reports and unconfirmed theories clearly apart.
Late April 2026
Tutor reviews and forum posts begin reporting that the First Tutors site is unreachable, that profiles have disappeared and that emails are bouncing. These are public reports, not official statements.
8 May 2026
A closure notice appears on the First Tutors UK site stating that the company has "made the difficult decision to close" after more than twenty years of trading.
10 May 2026
A live check confirms the notice is still displayed and lists two contact addresses: [email protected] for general queries and [email protected] for data-privacy enquiries.
Since the notice
First Tutors makes a self-service Privacy Center available at privacy.firsttutors.com/portal, where former account holders can download their reviews and account data.
Ongoing
Old profile pages, cached copies and search snippets can still appear online. Treat them as historical and check the live First Tutors notice before relying on anything.
"After more than 20 years of trading, First Tutors has made the difficult decision to close." — First Tutors closure notice, checked 10 May 2026.
Who operated First Tutors?
Historical First Tutors privacy wording identified the operator as follows:
"First Tutors is the trade name of EduNation Limited."
Companies House lists EDUNATION LIMITED (company number 06071367) as active, incorporated on 29 January 2007, with a registered office in Garstang, Preston, Lancashire. Edunation Holdings Limited is recorded as a person with significant control.
An active company record and an operating service are two different things. The First Tutors website can be closed while the company that ran it remains active, and the public filing history does not explain the closure. A registered office is also a formal company-record address, not a customer-support address.
| Name and number | Company record | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| EDUNATION LIMITED (06071367) | Active on Companies House. Incorporated 29 January 2007. Identified as the operator behind the First Tutors trade name in historical privacy wording. | The company named in First Tutors privacy wording. An active company record does not mean the First Tutors service is still operating. |
| Edunation Holdings Limited | Recorded as a person with significant control of EduNation Limited. | Ownership context only. It does not explain the closure. |
| FIRST TUTORS LIMITED (05562753) | Dissolved on 3 May 2011. | A similarly named company, not the operator. |
| FIRST TUTORS UK LTD (10351243) | Dissolved on 19 December 2017. | A similarly named company, not the operator. |
| FIRST TUTORS LTD (15575996) | Active company incorporated in 2024. | No reviewed source links this company to firsttutors.com. |
What former tutors can do now
These steps are practical guidance, not legal advice, and are aimed at anyone who held a First Tutors profile, messages, documents, reviews or billing records.
Download your data from the First Tutors Privacy Center
Go to privacy.firsttutors.com/portal, choose "Download my data", and tick both "Reviews about me" and "My full account data". Confirm through the emailed link; a second email then contains a ZIP file and its password.
Import your export if you want to move platform
Some independent platforms accept a full First Tutors import. See the
import guide for what can be carried across and how it works.Keep your own copy before deleting anything
Save the original ZIP, its password, invoices and any profile URLs. Download first and delete later if you want to — the Privacy Center offers a deletion option that cannot be undone.
Use email only as a fallback
If the self-service portal does not work for your account, write to [email protected] for general queries and [email protected] for data-privacy requests, and keep a dated copy of what you send.
Dispute any paid period you could not use
If you paid for a Premium or membership period that could not be used, keep the receipts and consider a Section 75 claim with your credit card provider or a chargeback through your bank. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Importing your First Tutors account data
An export from the First Tutors Privacy Center can be kept for your own records, and some independent platforms now accept a full import of a First Tutors account. TutorDex, which has no connection to First Tutors, is one of them.
See the separate step-by-step import guide for what an import can include and how it is handled.
Data request email template
When this applies
Use the First Tutors Privacy Center first. Adapt this template only if the self-service route does not work for your account. ICO guidance says organisations should normally respond to a data-access request within one month. Send personal-data requests to [email protected].
Suggested wording
Subject: Personal data request — former First Tutors tutor account
Hello,
I previously used First Tutors as a tutor. Please treat this as a request for access to the personal data you hold about me.
My details:
- Name used on First Tutors: [your name]
- Email address used on First Tutors: [your email]
- Tutor profile URL, if known: [link]
- Approximate dates of use: [dates]
Please confirm whether you are processing my personal data and provide a copy of the personal data you hold about me, together with the supplementary information required for a personal-data request. If held, this may include my tutor profile text, subjects, prices, messages, reviews or feedback linked to my account, uploaded identity or qualification documents, references, billing records and account identifiers.
If any personal data I provided is available in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable form, please tell me whether it can be supplied in that form.
Please tell me if you need reasonable identity evidence before responding, or if this request should be sent to another address.
Thank you, [your name]
Before you import reviews anywhere
Review recovery is now possible, but not every platform handles it the same way. Ask these questions before sharing an export.
Check what you are sending
Before sharing a data export, private messages or student details, be sure you are comfortable with who receives them and why.
Ask how imported reviews are labelled
Imported reviews should be clearly marked as coming from First Tutors rather than presented as native reviews.
Understand the verification method
Ask whether provenance is checked against official data exports, archived snapshots, or email evidence such as DKIM signatures.
Confirm whether imported reviews affect ranking
Ask whether imported reviews influence search placement or are displayed separately.
Questions to ask of any tutoring platform
The First Tutors closure changed what tutors and families should ask before relying on a directory. Whatever platform you consider, including TutorDex, check:
Can you export your data?
Can profiles, reviews and messages be downloaded? Is data portability written into the terms?
Who operates the platform?
Is the operating company clearly identified and checkable at Companies House?
Are reviews native or imported?
How are imported reviews labelled, and do they affect ranking or visibility?
What happens if it closes?
What notice would be given, and is an export guaranteed in the terms?
How is verification handled?
Are documents reviewed or merely collected, and are checks current and clearly scoped?
Do not depend on one platform
Keep your own profile, lawful copies of testimonials, invoices, and periodic exports of your data.
Sources and checked dates
Provider status and official guidance can change, so this guide records where the facts came from and when they were checked.
- First Tutors closure notice
First Tutors · 2026-05-08 · Accessed 2026-05-10
Closure wording and contact addresses.
- First Tutors Privacy Center
First Tutors · Accessed 2026-09-14
Self-service portal for downloading reviews and account data.
- EDUNATION LIMITED (06071367)
Companies House · 2007-01-29 · Accessed 2026-09-14
Company status and incorporation details.
- Your right of access
Information Commissioner's Office · Accessed 2026-09-14
Guidance on subject access requests and response times.
- First Tutors reviews
Trustpilot · Accessed 2026-09-14
Public user reports referenced in the timeline. User-generated and unverified.
- DBS eligibility guidance
Disclosure and Barring Service / GOV.UK · Accessed 2026-09-14
England and Wales disclosure-check terminology.
- PVG scheme
mygov.scot / Disclosure Scotland · Accessed 2026-09-14
Scotland-specific disclosure terminology.
Frequently asked questions
- Has First Tutors closed?
- Yes. A closure notice was published on 8 May 2026 stating that the company had "made the difficult decision to close" after more than twenty years of trading. The directory and profile pages are no longer available. Check the live First Tutors notice before relying on the exact status.
- Why did First Tutors close?
- No official reason has been published. The closure notice thanks customers and tutors but does not explain the decision. Theories circulate on review sites and forums, but none has been confirmed by an official source, so this guide does not repeat them as fact.
- Who owned or operated First Tutors?
- Historical First Tutors privacy wording identified the operator as EduNation Limited, company number 06071367, incorporated on 29 January 2007. Companies House still lists that company as active, but an active company record does not mean the service is running.
- Can I still log in to First Tutors?
- No. The login area went with the rest of the directory, so there is no account to sign in to and no message history reachable from the site. Your data can still be requested through the Privacy Center or by email.
- Can I recover my First Tutors profile, reviews or documents?
- Yes, in most cases. Use the self-service Privacy Center, tick both "Reviews about me" and "My full account data", and download your export. You can then import it into TutorDex, which is the platform built to accept a full First Tutors account history.
- How long should a data request take?
- ICO guidance says organisations should normally respond without delay and within one month, and this can be extended by up to two further months for complex or repeated requests.
- Is TutorDex connected to First Tutors?
- No. TutorDex is an independent platform with no legal or operational connection to EduNation Limited or the previous First Tutors platform. It accepts an import of First Tutors account data, but it is not operated by the same company.
- How does TutorDex work?
- TutorDex uses a finder's fee model rather than hourly commission. A one-off payment releases a chosen tutor's contact details, and further arrangements are made privately between the family and the tutor. Tutors set their own rates.
- Are Trustpilot and Reddit reliable sources?
- They show what tutors and families are concerned about, but they are user reports rather than official evidence. Verify any claim against official sources and check dates and first-hand detail before relying on it.