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Original poster

Tutoring in seondary schools

132 replies

pchick · 18/03/2012 22:34

How much tutoring goes on in Secondary schools. Is it to top-up for GCSEs or does it extend all the way down to year 7? how common is it?

OP posts:
Moominmammacat · 19/03/2012 17:28

I'm shocked too bigTilliyMint ... mine was barely tutored for entrance (did it myself for a month before) but was so appalling at science and maths ... and because everyone else was clever, he just got lost. Do wonder if there was some lazyness on his part ... but so many are tutored ...

PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 12:44

The assessent of DS's teachers is that he should be getting A and A* for most/all of his GCSEs. This is despite the fact that DC is 'only' in the top 30% of his Year 7 class.

But it would be nice if DC got into the top 10%. Hence the tutoring from DP and myself. Aren't compettive parents sooo horrible? :o

bigTillyMint · 19/03/2012 12:34

I am shocked that parents at a super-selective need to pay for tutorsShock

I thought the whole idea was that only the brightest sparks are picked and then they should fly through their GCSE's.

Is this a common problem due to over-tutoring to get them in in the first place? Or is it that some children really excel in the subjects forming the test and strggle with the rest? Or is it extremely poor teaching?

PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 09:28

Our indie school functions like a University i.e. there is the class lesson. They then set homework so that the child can develop and expand on the material covered in class.

We tutor our DCs in that we help and guide them in this. I don't ask the other parents what they do but I don't doubt that some have professional tutors.

Moominmammacat · 19/03/2012 08:45

My DS is in a super-selective, had tutors for seven GCSE subjects ... appalling, ended up with 5 A*s 5As and a B ... which was under-achieving for school. I detest it, both financially and morally ... but what else can you do when they are struggling? No problems now at A level when the despised subjects are gone. He says "most" of his friends had tutors for at least one subject ...

mycatsaysach · 18/03/2012 23:15

no idea overall but i used two for my ds in yr 11 as i wanted to ensure he got the grades he was capable of/targeted for rather than the grades he would get left to his own devices.it worked.

noblegiraffe · 18/03/2012 23:09

How much tutoring goes on depends on how well-off the parents are.

I've known kids from Y7 up to Y13 to get a tutor for maths. It's more common around Y10 and 11. I've no idea exactly how common it is, but there are usually 2 or 3 in a GCSE class of 30 being tutored for maths in my very middle-class school.