I'm a "super-tutor" to the London elite

[heatherheather22]

AMA

OP, this is more a comment on tutoring rather than you.
I'm aware of how these SW London agencies and can't understand why parents would be paying a non specialist in a subject (you mentioned languages/ teaching RS) as not only would a non qualified teacher not have the CPD / classroom experience but they wouldn't have the academic knowledge either. If you look at a few of their websites, they rarely specialise in more experienced subject specialists or teachers but do like to point out the background of their tutors with some parents thinking that if a tutor has been to St. Paul's etc., they must know how to get in. The same parents would find it far more beneficial to find an agency with teachers from these schools and increasingly, some agencies seem to be specialising in this.
Sadly some of these agencies introduce these tutors as super tutors because parents believe they are getting a tutor who can cover lots of subjects. Far better to get a qualified teacher in that subject or someone who is a subject specialist if you're looking at GCSE + level.

As said in PPs pug - more money than sense clearly.

I do wonder why OP you did this AMA?

I do wonder why OP you did this AMA?

Just thought people might be interested! I meet some interesting families and have experienced a few crazy moments with them. Personally I find tutoring to be a genuinely fascinating job.

Far better to get a qualified teacher in that subject or someone who is a subject specialist if you're looking at GCSE + level.

I respectfully disagree there. First of all, there aren't many qualified classroom teachers who also want to do private tutoring, because they're busy enough already. Second, the appeal for many families is that I teach a range of humanities subjects and am NOT a specialist. So if their child struggles with, for example, essay structures in general, it's an advantage that I can tutor English AND French AND RS and work on the same issue in all of those subjects with their child. I've been employed as a sort of "general humanities coach" by more than one family.

some parents thinking that if a tutor has been to St. Paul's etc., they must know how to get in

I can't comment on this issue with regards to schools, but with regards to Oxbridge interview preparation (which is a large proportion of my work) I can completely see why they want a tutor who has been to Oxbridge. The point of Oxbridge interviews is to push you past the curriculum covered in schools, and to see how you respond in a one-on-one academic discussion. So a student might have memorised the entire text book and mark scheme, might be getting full marks in all exams - but still not pass an Oxbridge interview, if they are not good at analysing academic material on the spot and expressing their thought process aloud. So preparing a student for A-levels is a very different business to preparing them for Oxbridge interviews.

To use an analogy...if you're giving birth, you want a midwife to be there, not a brain surgeon. A brain surgeon is extremely intelligent and highly-qualified, but they don't have experience in the right area. In the same way, a specialised teacher is extremely well-qualified...in a different way. So that's why they want to hire people who have actually been through the Oxbridge application system.

@userofthiswebsite where did she mention she couldn't afford a taxi? She said her student asked why she didn't get a taxi when it was raining! In no way does that mean she can't afford taxi fares! Maybe it would take longer to get a taxi at that particular time she was leaving so a bus would be quicker or there was no taxis available at that time she requested one 🙄

so now we know why so many rich students from private schools get into Oxford & Cambridge - what does that say about the ability of dc who manage to get marks without help from state schools - but because they aren't helped/coached with interview technique don't get in? (which is what happens!)

Targeting the 'more money than sense' brigade certainly is smart, so did you make up the fake title of 'super tutor' to justify charging what you otherwise felt was too much (considering you have no teaching qualifications)?

did you make up the fake title of 'super tutor' to justify charging what you otherwise felt was too much (considering you have no teaching qualifications)?

I feel that the right amount to charge is the maximum people are willing to pay :p Capitalism, innit.

Maybe worth pointing out that I don't actually advertise myself to clients as a "super-tutor", but it is a word that the press and the prestigious agencies like to throw around. If other people describe me as such I certainly don't object!

what does that say about the ability of dc who manage to get marks without help from state schools - but because they aren't helped/coached with interview technique don't get in?

It says that they are extremely intelligent and will probably go on to be successful after getting into other universities. Oxbridge isn't the be-all and end-all of tertiary education. However, I see your point about how this is an access and diversity issue that only affects Oxbridge. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how we could level the playing field - ban all forms of private education? Would never work, because rich and well-connected parents would simply pay their intelligent and highly educated friends to tutor their kids on the sly. For me personally, I do pro-bono tutoring workshops with children at disadvantaged schools, which eases my conscience somewhat.

Might be a good time to mention that both Oxford and Cambridge take the majority of their pupils from state schools (though privately educated kids are still vastly over-represented).

I employ a super tutor for one of my DC. Our super tutor has rather a lot more qualifications than just an UG degree and she only teaches her specialist subject.

No-one on this thread has called you a super tutor and I've said several times that you charge less than a bog standard tutor in my area - they charge around £80 for students to go to them (so no travel time), one charges £80/hour for students in groups of 4 so earns £320 per hour.

You're a tutor. nothing wrong with that. nothing super about it!

Do you think that the DC that you tutor are super clever? Or is it mostly just their private education which makes them so clever? My DD goes to a school outside of London which is almost always somewhere in the top of the league tables, not private in the Country, but most of the DC came from normal state primaries, there are a few from private schools but not many. A lot of the primaries where we are are good not outstanding, DD's school was rated requires improvement, for the whole time she was there.

I think DD and her friends are just ordinary/bright so they seem to me not super clever, (they do work hard though), but is it just great teaching at particular schools which makes the difference?

I have employed plenty of tutors over the years and have also sent our DC on residential courses. IMO, it is only worth employing a tutor if he/she has an advanced degree. School teachers have degrees, teaching qualifications and experience of the curriculum and examination system. Any top up our children have actually gained anything from has come from tutors with deeper subject knowledge than their regular teachers.

Do you think that the DC that you tutor are super clever? Or is it mostly just their private education which makes them so clever?

In general, I firmly believe that "nurture" has more of an impact than "nature" when it comes to academic success. Remember that private school students are not JUST benefiting from the private school - they're also more likely to have parents who emphasise the importance of working hard, who help them with their homework, who take them on cultural outings, etc. Their parents are also more likely to be successful professionally, if they can afford the school fees - is that due to intelligence or a good work ethic or inherited privilege? Or some combination of all three? What does "clever" even mean? Is someone who works their arse off and gets an A* cleverer than someone who works averagely hard and gets an A?

TLDR - It's incredibly hard to judge native intelligence, because who knows how differently anybody would have turned out if brought up in completely different circumstances?

Do you only tutor kids in private education?
Are all your students from the mega wealthy end of society or do you have ‘normal’ people that just value their children’s education more?

Are you a tutor because your undergraduate degree in French and Italian is not worth much on the job market?

Your getting a hard time op but i’ve enjoyed your post.

How young are the kids you tutor?

This has been very interesting thank you OP!

Do you only tutor kids in private education?
Are all your students from the mega wealthy end of society or do you have ‘normal’ people that just value their children’s education more?

Vast majority are privately educated and from very wealthy families. A few are only "normally" wealthy. I've never had any from financially average families - they probably wouldn't go to the agencies I'm with.

Are you a tutor because your undergraduate degree in French and Italian is not worth much on the job market?

No, haha. There's actually a huge government drive to get more Brits to study foreign languages at the moment.

How young are the kids you tutor?

Between 12 and 17. I prefer working with older kids so the majority are A-level or GCSE students, with a few public school entrance exam candidates too.

The stated desire of government to have more British people study foreign languages is very different to employers valuing foreign languages and paying a premium for them.

Just out of interest did you go to Sheffield Girl’s High? I went to king Edwards for 6th form and those girls were crazy. They used to line up on the fence when we walked past for our lunch so that they could see boys

Hahaha, safeandwarm. I went to KES as well

Quite a few agencies do "sell" tutors on the basis of where they went to school. This can be seen by a quick Google of these agencies. I'm fully aware as to how the Oxbridge system works, thanks... Seeing as English/ RS and French all require different structures both between and within various papers, it's odd that you're stating that you work on the same issues. Even before reforms, they all require different structures beyond just essay writing. Slightly grating that you're explaining the education/Oxbridge system to a thread with far more experienced teachers/ tutors / examiners.