HAVE you ever been stumped when a child has asked you to help them with their homework?

Most parents find that things have changed a great deal since they were at school. But now a pilot scheme in Bristol is enabling parents to get help for their children when they are completing projects in a fun and exciting way.

The service has been set up by Kevin Gibson and Jon Ellis, former pupils of Monks Park School, Bristol. They created tutorhub.com where pupils can interact online with other children and learn from qualified tutors using instant messaging.

The move follows a survey which showed that 80 per cent of parents find it difficult to cope with questions covered by today's National Curriculum and are looking for ways to help their children succeed.

The service has been launched in Bristol with plans to expand it nationwide. Parents can choose tutors to help with specific GCSE or A level subjects or to coach children as they come up to school entrance exams. Tutors set out their rates and parents pay online.

Jon and Kevin are also behind the successful beanbag learning website, the largest free tutor search website in the UK with more than 2,500 listed in the UK – 100 of which are in Bristol.

Jon Ellis, from Tutorhub.com, which has its base in Thomas Lane, Bristol, said: "The website has been well received by children already and parents are feeling reassured by our child safety features. Parents say that finding a reliable tutor is difficult and a recent report by the Sutton Trust showed that 22 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds receive private tutoring at some point."

Tutorhub.com has been designed to be fun to use for children while reliable and practical for parents, who can rest safe in the knowledge that the help and support their children get will match the National Curriculum and be in line with teaching in school.

Parents can find more information at tutorhub.com.