A flagship arm of the National Tutoring Programme set up to help poorer pupils with pandemic lost learning was axed six months early due to low demand, saving ministers £1 million.
The academic mentors programme was set up by Teach First during the first year of the major Covid catch-up scheme.
It trained the mentors and placed them in schools serving disadvantaged communities.
But since the contract changed hands, demand has dropped for mentors with only a fifth of the target reached last year, Schools Week can reveal.
