A "BURSTING at the seams" education centre has moved to bigger premises after experiencing an unprecedented rise of students after covid lockdown.
Worcester Learning Zone - located on New Street - has now extended its tutoring into Sansome Lodge, a grade two listed building on Sansome Walk.
Owner Carys Thurlby said staff were having to take the "heartbreaking" decision to turn people away as they were unable to cope with the demand.
Since the end of Covid, Learning Zone has received around 10 to 15 inquiries a day for one-to-one tuition.
Parents are concerned their children have fallen behind after lockdown forced them to have to be homeschooled.
Worcester Learning Zone aims to provide tutoring for both mainstream and SEND school children - but it became harder to do after a rise in students needing help.
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Carys Thurlby, education director and co-owner of Worcester Learning Zone, said: "We were bursting at the seams and turning people away is heartbreaking.
"We can put people on a waiting list, but that does not help in the meantime.
"Without our service, these children would be nowhere else to go.
"We had to expand."
The expansion into the new building is hoped to increase the learning zones capacity for students by 60 per cent.
It will also help to expand the quality of service by providing an art room and additional rooms for group and mentoring sessions.
Ms Thurlby added: "The effects of covid are still coming out now.
"It was a massive loss in a support system, and children going back to school are finding it quite scary."
During covid, the centre lost 65 per cent of its students overnight and, like many of its pupils, also had to adjust to online learning.
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"What we found is our children who stayed on needed more support.
"Those who started high school at home did not have a chance to transition into school.
"One or two years on from Covid, they are still suffering.
"There are still gaps in their knowledge - they are having to learn how to learn.
"They have not got enough resilience, emotional toughness than other children and academically find it hard."
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