Joseph Lyons

After tutoring students for thousands of hours, Joseph Lyons (Class of 2016) founded Modern Tuition to bring a world-class education to students across the U.K. through a hand-picked team of inspirational tutors. Alongside managing the Modern Tuition team, he hosts The Modern Tuition Podcast, where he interview famous faces about their experiences of education

Where did you grow up and what was it like?

I grew up in Chingford, on the East London/Essex border. I am one of seven children. My mum is a childminder, my dad worked in admin for the civil service, though is better known locally as a Punk Rock singer and Labour Councillor, and I have a stepdad who couldn’t work because of illness. There was no way my family could have afforded the fees for a school like City.

When there are seven siblings in a household and your mum works as a childminder, you learn to be independent and to take responsibility for your decisions from a young age. We had a very busy house, full of my siblings, childminded children, and friends of my brothers. Which meant lots of different personalities, backgrounds, lifestyles, all in one dynamic house. I think it made me patient and understanding and a lot more accepting of people. Living in Chingford, I also met a lot of people who are self-made in one way or another – who have their own trade, who work hard – I think this had a positive impact on me too.

What was your education like before you joined City?

Before I joined City’s Sixth Form, I went to Trinity Catholic High School, a state comprehensive in Woodford Green with a strong religious ethos. I feel very fortunate to have attended Trinity. Trinity does not discriminate based on academic ability. And like all comprehensives, it has stretched resources. I remember several brilliant teachers who worked ridiculously hard to teach classes of 32 students at a time. This means you get relatively less attention than you get in an independent school and, had I attended the Sixth Form, significantly less lesson time. Having said this, I gained a lot from Trinity, not least a real sense of purpose in academic work.

Why did you apply to City?

I was inspired by my sister to apply to City for Sixth Form. She was interested in pushing herself to achieve great things from a young age. At 15, she had the choice between continuing at Italia Conti and attending Westminster School on a bursary. She chose Westminster and spoke so highly of it over the next couple of years that I investigated applying to independent schools myself, also dependent on a successful bursary application.

I was lucky to get into City. I did well enough to be waitlisted and I hadn’t heard back for a couple of months when my mum said I should email to check for updates. Mr Hemingway got back to me and said a student had left for Canada and that I could replace him. That email will always be pivotal for me.

What did you think of City before you applied and how did it compare to your first day?

I saw City as a school full of ambitious students. They seemed to really want to do well academically, like me, which I loved. I don’t recall my first school day. But I remember meeting Yonah Citron on a pre-term introductory afternoon – we looked identical, so people had been calling me Yonah all day, and I didn’t know what they meant. I met him, and then knew what they meant. Yonah made me feel incredibly welcome, he probably doesn’t remember, but it really settled me in.

What was City like compared to your previous experience of school?

I recall telling Mr McBroom how, at City, the popular kids were the confident, self-expressive, kind kids, who were encouraging, and inclusive. The popular kids weren’t necessarily just the ones who were into sports and went to lots of parties. I liked that being popular at City was broadly defined. I am not saying it was a utopia, but at City my view on what it meant to be popular and successful changed for the better.

I could have achieved the same grades elsewhere, but City was where I became much more socially confident, and where I felt more accepted. I certainly liked that being academic wasn’t the defining, outstanding thing about you, but rather the norm. It was much more conducive to my personal development.

What did you do after you left City?

After I left City, I did BSc Psychology at UCL and explored many career avenues, from Medicine to Psychology to Journalism to Education. I did work experiences at hospitals, a research internship at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, freelance work for GQ International, ran a mental health campaign for a UK charity, and taught Experimental Psychology at a summer school. I got a lot from each experience but loved teaching the most.

I soon realised I could set-up my own tuition business, which became Modern Tuition. It’s been over 2 years now, and we have 70+ tutors in the UK working with hundreds of students, and I still tutor too. Under the same umbrella, I teach Mental Health Studies classes – I’ve taught at brilliant schools across Europe, from St Paul’s Girls’ School in London to Campion School in Athens – and we have a company podcast for which I’ve interviewed people I admire about education, including Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy UK.

How do you look back on City now?

To me, City did what Universities should. By opening my horizons and challenging me academically, I felt supported and could ask questions and explore my interests, whilst making life-long friends. City was how I thought University would be. Instead, I got to university, and thought ‘it’s not as good as City’.

What would you tell a young person who is thinking of applying to City?

I think anyone wanting to attend a school like City should ask themselves why they want to attend. A major reason will obviously be academics and careers, but they should also consider the social benefits too. City is an exciting social environment and that’s something to aspire to as well. It’s Sixth Form is 5 full days a week, which makes it a stabilising home away from home. City showed me that academic and social challenges can be overcome in a fun way, and I certainly feel it allowed me to enjoy my A Levels rather than suffer them, whilst experiencing an exciting social life. Pushing yourself both academically and socially can make you a more confident and well-rounded person, and I feel City really helped me achieve that.