Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel that we may as well have thrown the money away?

124 replies

Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 19:26

Dd1 was struggling with maths. She has health issues so that's possibly why. A year ago we got a maths tutor for her.
We could only afford once a fortnight and this kept being mentioned but as we couldnt stretch to more we kept it the same.

Tutor seemed good, dd however kept saying he was going over the same things all the time.
He said she would def pass gcse and that she was improving each time.dd maintained she wasn't but I took the tutors word for it.
Very suddenly a few weeks ago the owner of the tutoring group sent a message saying they couldn't tutor dd anymore. Too busy.
They are still advertising though as having spaces?

Anyway, just got dds latest test back and she got a very very low mark, the lowest she's ever got ?? He was so positive and I knowbher health has been bad but I didn't expect this?

We wasted all the money we spent on tutoring didn't we? It was so expensive :(

OP posts:
StarUtopia · 02/12/2016 19:57

What's her teacher actually doing? Tutor had her an hour a fortnight. Teacher has her an hour a day, 5 days a week.

And you're holding the tutor responsible?

hesterton · 02/12/2016 19:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:01

Like I said previously I'd kept calling the school repeatedly asking was all ok and what could I do and they maintained she was doing ok ?
Clearly she wasn't and I hoped the tutor would help. He also said she was doing ok and improving ??

OP posts:
Cassimin · 02/12/2016 20:04

My daughter completely lacked confidence. Asked her teacher if she could do foundation maths but was told no. She had a tutor for 2 years, he was confident of a b.
She got a d. School asked for a remark as she missed a c by 1.
Still a d.
Did foundation at college and she passed so eventually got her c.
Don't know if this is an option for your dd. But it worked for mine.

onemorecupofcoffeefortheroad · 02/12/2016 20:05

We used a yr 12 boy who was doing A level maths to tutor our eldest DS through GCSE - paid him £10 an hour. Our son went from grade E to grade B in a few weeks. It was affordable and they both enjoyed it - might be worth investigating.

Ingles2 · 02/12/2016 20:05

Is she current yr11? You do know the exam changes this year and it's looking much harder don't you?? My ds needs really good maths result for his a level choices and he's definitely above average. He did pretty poorly in the maths mock that has just been done as have most of his peers. There's a thread on here about the latest test

cardibach · 02/12/2016 20:06

You are talking about low marks but not mentioning grades. If she's doing higher tier GCSE then C is quite a low percentage.
Also, £40 per hour for GVSE tutoring? I live in the wrong place! £25/£30 here...

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:06

Dd is in year 10

OP posts:
musicposy · 02/12/2016 20:08

Second going to Khan academy. It's excellent for self study. I think you were fleeced unless you're in London. I'm south coast and charge £25 ph for GCSE maths tutoring and I'm pretty much on the going rate. I run a weekly group for £6 ph and a few poorer parents do just that.

I don't think once a fortnight is enough, though. What's that, 3 lessons each half term? You can't expect that to make much difference. Most of my pupils have come out with a grade above predicted which is nice BUT they're usually doing an hour a week plus the group.

Sadly most parents leave it until year 11 and panic, by which time it's a little late. The syllabus is vast and trying to cram it into an hour a week between September and May is very difficult. The ones who start in year 10 or before tend to see much better gains. But, of course, its all money.

In your position I'd get her working on Khan academy a set number of times a week and hopefully that will help.

musicposy · 02/12/2016 20:09

I've just seen she's in Y10. Don't panic - you've got time.

mintthins · 02/12/2016 20:11

At DD's school the Y12 and Y13 do tutoring with the lower years in form time. It really seems to be effective. Is that a possibility for you?

Abraiid2 · 02/12/2016 20:13

Ignore all the begging emails you'll get asking for donations

Er, why!? It'll still be cheaper then tutors.

CivQueen · 02/12/2016 20:13

I hate the way parents are sold an idea that if they just try hard enough, any child can do well at (insert subject)

I got A* in all other subjects bar art and maths, which I completely failed.

I just can't do maths, the numbers jumble up in my head and I can't do it. I know quite a few other people who have said the same.

I'd just play up DD's atengths for now op, especially considering her health Flowers

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:14

We have a new tutor lined up, much more reasonable and is an older student who has done really well at maths (a*) hopefully once a week will be better
Yes we're in London-all the quotes were similar

OP posts:
MrsDesireeCarthorse · 02/12/2016 20:15

Tutoring is great for a child who is able but may need things explaining differently - or just explained! Otherwise they need a crammer, although am not sure if they ever advertise under that term these days.

14% though?!

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:15

I'm the same (discalculia) I'm wondering if it's genetic!

OP posts:
MillionToOneChances · 02/12/2016 20:16

I was going to suggest a year 12 too - the school can probably recommend somebody who's good at explaining things in class. Maybe you could offer £10 per hour twice a week?

If her health is that bad, though, couldn't it be affecting her results? Khan academy has a great reputation amongst home edders and might be easier for her to keep up with if her attendance is poor. Personally I preferred Conquer Maths but it's the same principle.

Original poster
Hedgehog80 · 02/12/2016 20:16

Yep-14%

Not been a great few weeks though and poor health is playing a massive part as she's just too tired and unwell to function

OP posts:
Trifleorbust · 02/12/2016 20:16

I'm not sure it automatically means the tutor was shit. With all due respect, your DD may just be really weak at Maths - it happens. Or she may be demotivated and not have put her best into the test. Or she may be - sorry - not the hardest working of students.

Was the tutor qualified? Did you discuss with him the fact that he was going over things more than once?

OCSockOrphanage · 02/12/2016 20:17

Khan Academy is good, but very American-syllabus oriented. Does her school subscribe to the MyMaths programme, which is built around teaching to GCSE? There are loads of maths tutoring systems and sites around, all designed to help students develop skills and confidence. DS has done all of them and tutoring up the kazoo, but is now managing A level maths, to my utter stupefaction.

starchildareyoulistening · 02/12/2016 20:20

Does she struggle with the pressure of exams at all? If her teachers and tutor have all said she's doing ok with classwork but she keeps getting unexpectedly low marks in her tests perhaps she's drawing a blank when it comes to the actual exam and forgetting how to do things that she is generally capable of in class/homework setting?

Jayfee · 02/12/2016 20:20

What have her maths scores been like since she has been at school over the years??

OhTheRoses · 02/12/2016 20:22

hedgehog mi e are 22 and 18. I lear t to listen to them, v slowly. Your DD is ace - she had it sussed.

Where in London are you. We were SW and know a v v good maths tutor !

Jayfee · 02/12/2016 20:23

Apologies I didnt read previous posts..ignore my post.

Trifleorbust · 02/12/2016 20:24

Also, how serious are the health issues? Has she missed a lot of school? Does she miss a lot of homework? Do the health issues affect her during exams? It seems a bit unreasonable to blame the tutor when you have pointed out that health issues are a major part of the problem. Sorry.

Swipe left for the next trending thread