A good education will improve your child’s life chances. That’s why so many parents in the London area hire a private tutor to help their children. In fact, 41% of children living in London received private tuition in 2019 (The Sutton Trust, 2019).
There’s a lot to consider when you’re thinking about hiring a tutor. Here are 4 questions that parents often ask us when they’re booking our tutors.
Will tuition help my child’s confidence?
Yes, absolutely.
A good private tutor will support your child to grow in confidence and teach them valuable transferable skills that will help in life way beyond the classroom. In fact, for “hard” subjects like maths, many of the barriers to learning are psychological – children think that they can’t do maths, and so they lose confidence, and their performance starts to suffer. A private tutor can help break this cycle by building a build a trusting, supportive relationship that helps your child develop self-confidence, and self-belief, and rediscover the joy in learning.
Will a private tutor set homework?
Yes, they will, and this in an important thing to consider. Working outside of lessons is important as it helps your child consolidate what they are learning. Some tutors will set as many as four pieces of homework a week on top of your child’s usual school homework. Add onto that the time spent in with the tutor themselves, and that’s around 4 extra hours per week, every week. That’s a lot of extra work, especially if your child wants to attend clubs and activities out of school too.
How much will tuition cost?
There is no standard charge. As you’d expect, tutors in London will charge higher than the average rate for the rest of the country. When it comes to hiring a private tutor, it really is a case of you get what you pay for. Small group tuition may cost far less than individual lessons, but these group sessions aren’t as effective as individual lessons because they aren’t tailored to your child’s specific learning needs. So it may be cheaper, but you may not get your money’s worth. Hiring an experienced private tutor to deliver 1-1 lessons is the most effective way to help your child progress.
Can a private tutor help my child with exams?
Again, the answer is yes. Many children in the London area sit entrance exams or the 11 plus when they are aged 10/11. For many, this is their first real experience of sitting a test in exam conditions. Even the brightest child soon realises that passing exams takes more than knowledge. It means tackling unfamiliar question formats and getting the timing right too. After all, it’s no good answering one question perfectly if you don’t have time to finish the others. A good tutor will use exam using past papers and mock tests to help your child practice their exam technique, so they feel more confident going into the exam.
George Alexander Tuition is a specialist maths tutoring service based in London. We offer 1-1 tuition for entrance exams, and the 11+ and 13+ exams. To find out how we can help unlock your child’s future, contact us on info@gatuition.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to check out our YouTube channel for our FREE maths tutorial videos, and follow us on Instagram for our latest news and maths tips.
