Tell me about good GCSEs without use of tutors

It’s mad that people who are already spending a fortune on schooling should feel they have to pay for tutors too. Surely the school should be good enough to get them through the exams without additional help?

Having asked around close friends whose children are now Y12/13 for tutor recommendations for my Y11 DD...

Private school - none used tutors at all (selective well known privates)
State school - all used tutors in one or more subjects, a few tutored in all subjects from start of Y10.

All the children came out with 7-9 grades and some with all grade 9s.

Some were tutoring to ensure best grades possible, some tutoring to get that string of 9s secured. A couple were genuinely concerned their child might not pass some subjects and turned it round with tutoring.

So I think it depends on the child and where they realistically are, and what grades they are targeting.

For us, we are tutoring due to DD's SEN and have very specific things that need 1:1 focus. She is also useless at organising effective revision on her own (ADHD) and an hour with a tutor is more effective than her spending 10 hours "revising" and the financial cost is less than my sanity.

I think tutors can be useful to plug areas of weakness or for help on exam technique/practice.

If you are paying for a private education and think that tutors are just necessary because the standard of school education isn't good enough, then I'd frankly be questionning why you are spending your money on the school.

For what it's worth, I think the key to good grades at GCSE is self motivation and organisation. You will typically have end of topic tests, end of year 10 exams, at least one set of mocks. Basically your child will revised everything at least twice before they actually get to real GCSE (which will be the third or more time of revising). The key is to make good notes and revise thoroughly the first time, then you can note areas of weakness and refine your knowledge/technique every subsequent time.

My brother (who did really well at school and went on to Cambridge and then Harvard) never had any tutoring beyond discussing physics with my grandfather in his very final year. I also only had my grandfather to help with any science questions I might have had in year 13, but otherwise no tutoring whatsoever and I did well at school and went on to do Law at UCL. If your kid understands the subject and revises what was taught, there's no need for outside tutoring (which quite often is a waste of money).

Another state school in a disadvantaged area. Grades mainly 9s & 8s. Undiagnosed ALNs. Graduated with a degree in PPE from Oxford, now studying for a Masters. Never tutored, but taken to many museums, performances of Macbeth & An Inspector Calls, listened to R4 from birth and had a bedroom full of books.

I don't see the logic of feeling you must pay for a tutor as well as for private education. Surely that's why you go private in the first place. I'd be speaking to the school if you believe your DC are under achieving and not being pushed.

@AtomHeartMotherOfGod my DH and I both got high grades (mostly 9's) at school without much effort, and our two boys have been the same. GCSEs are a breeze for bright, motivated kids with good teachers. Ours knew they could always ask us for help if needed, but they rarely did at GCSE (one of them asked us for a bit more help in the first year of his A levels, for a subject we both did a degree in).

If their grades are lower than expected, or they tell you they are struggling, and they really can't find guidance for free online, then perhaps think about it again. Otherwise, think of it as other parents spending money on tutors to compensate for not having what your children have naturally.

I never spent a penny on tutors.

No tutors here (unless you count 'a chat with Auntie Karen about simultaneous equations' one holiday, and state schools throughout. They seemed to do just fine.

It has to be said, though, that my definition of 'fine' might look a bit shabby against the private school definition. They weren't all 9 (or A*) though they were all 7 or above.

What results do you see as realistic for yours and where do they hope to go next?