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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tutoring for A'levels how many do it

115 replies

Dggrs45 · 16/11/2022 07:40

I was just wondering how often do people get tutors for A'levels. My kids are still a few years away but I do teach undergrads at a top London uni and was wondering how frequent that is.

OP posts:
MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 16/11/2022 07:42

I'm not aware of any of my dd's friends having tutors but it might be that I just don't know about it. I wouldn't say that it's super common on the basis of our experience, but you might get some takers. Which subject?

MolliciousIntent · 16/11/2022 07:47

As with all these things, it's not a great plan, long-term, in my opinion.

You get your child a tutor so they get 3A* and they get accepted into their course of choice. BUT it's a level they're not actually capable of, the grades were inflated by the extra input, and so they end up demoralised/dropping out/getting a lower grade than they would have if they'd got ABB and gone to a different uni.

SpentDandelion · 16/11/2022 07:54

My son is self taught, currently studying for 'A' levels, we have never used tutors, all of the information you need is free on Youtube, lots of excellent tutorials which we are extremely grateful and thankful for. He did really well in his previous exams.

CMOTDibbler · 16/11/2022 07:59

DS has a maths tutor who we also had at GCSE. Having the 1:1 time where someone is talking to ds as he is working through questions is brilliant as he sees step by step what he needs to do for the exam. Its not overinflating ds's capability, but ensuring he doesn't miss out on any parts that then never catch up over time which is the issue with maths - and that we've found his teachers just don't have time to really look at what they get or don't get

Amazongirl9 · 16/11/2022 08:03

Never heard or known of A level tutoring. If they can’t get by on their own steam by then how would they ever manage once in the workplace?

Original poster
Dggrs45 · 16/11/2022 08:03

So I wasn't think of tutoring myself. Just wondering in general but also in terms of the students we get. Obviously I can't ask them myself.

OP posts:
Swimmum1206 · 16/11/2022 08:33

DS has a Maths tutor. He has had a tutor since Y3 and he's just changed to a new tutor for A level. It's not to ensure he gets an A*, but would obviously be amazing if he did!. It is simply due to his lack of confidence. He's always been one of the quieter ones in the class and doesn't have the confidence to ask questions in the classroom environment. He used to panic in the build-up to a test or exam and didn't show what he was really capable of. Having the tutor means that he can go over what he has been doing during the week and ask any questions.

Over the years his confidence has really grown and he does participate in class far more, but having the tutor is a huge confidence boost for him.

hoooops · 16/11/2022 08:44

In an ideal world where all teaching is of a consistently good standard and delivered by a subject specialist without disruption, and no students had fallen behind because of covid, maybe nobody would need tutoring. DS was studying two physics units in Y13, each with a different teacher. One was good and always there, one wasn't, so we sorted a tutor. There were so many kids struggling with this one teacher's content that the tutor ended up running a class. DS went from a C in his mock to an A. I don't think that's inflating his grade beyond his ability - he still had to sit the exams after all - but it is helping to make sure that his grade reflects his ability.

Original poster
Dggrs45 · 16/11/2022 09:07

Do most people just get a tutor for the one subject or multiple?

OP posts:
CakeCrumbs44 · 16/11/2022 09:10

Seems weird to get a tutor for A level. Surely you choose A level subject that you're good at, so wouldn't need a tutor?
And if you need a tutor to get a good enough grade for uni, won't the university course also be too hard? So you'd have to get a tutor for that too...

Boomboom22 · 16/11/2022 09:10

Surely you could ask them? It's not a mean question. Depends on your subject I suppose. I ask my students about their experience all the time but I am social science.

Thatsasmashingblouseyouvegoton · 16/11/2022 09:12

Had to for one subject for ds1.

His geography teacher just stopped teaching at all during the first lockdown.

4 months with....nothing. So he needed help to full in the gaps.

Worked really well for him. I used mytutor.co.uk and was very happy with it.

Original poster
Dggrs45 · 16/11/2022 09:17

Not sure that I feel right asking my students. But I get the impression that nowadays they need more tutoring from us at uni than in the past. Their level hasn't changed and in fact getting a 2.1 is a lot easier but their expectations seem to have changed

OP posts:
bigfamilygrowingupfast · 16/11/2022 10:11

My cousin used a tutor for her son's A levels. It wasn't to ensure he got all As (although he actually did get 2 A* and an A in the end!) but it was to help with his confidence and having someone there to chat to who understood what he was going through.
Another of my friends has a daughter in a very expensive private sixth form, but the science teachers are extremely hit and miss. She uses a tutor to help with the odd topic that her daughter gets zero support with.
My cousin and myself use a company called Tayberry (tayberry.org.uk). They work with kids from primary all the way through to uni and they'd be worth looking at if it's something you're interested in

hoooops · 16/11/2022 10:16

Seems weird to get a tutor for A level. Surely you choose A level subject that you're good at, so wouldn't need a tutor?

However good you are at a subject, it does also help to be taught the content. If the teaching isn't there at school for whatever reason, tutoring is helpful. DS had a tutor for Y13 physics. He got A* at GCSE so is good at it, but it was still important to have complicated new concepts introduced and explained by someone who knew what they were on about. Some subjects might be more manageable without teaching than others, I don't know.

For some of his friends tutoring filled in gaps for kids who had fallen behind because they'd missed lots of school due to covid.

RedWingBoots · 16/11/2022 10:19

Three of my nephews had tutors for A level Maths. They all went on to get firsts in their degrees which were in STEM subjects.

To be fair it was me, one of their aunts, who has degrees in STEM, who went through what their schools/colleges where not teaching them an alerted their parents to the poor teaching.

I've alerted other parents, including my DP, to the poor teaching in subjects but particularly Maths with younger children. Not all of them had tutors at A level but did have additional tutoring before hand.

W0tnow · 16/11/2022 10:21

Mine are taking a language and they have extra lessons for that. Not so much tutoring in the A level Spanish curriculum, just grammar, vocabulary etc via a tutor over Skype. They’ve had her for a couple of years now as they took up the language a bit late.

Our school also has pretty good support lessons during lunch for math, biology and chemistry etc and my kids sometimes attend if they want. If they needed a tutor I’d happily pay for one. Sometimes certain topics can be tricky (statistics, I’m looking at you) and a tutor short term can be good idea.

RedWingBoots · 16/11/2022 10:30

I should have added I've tutored students before both peers and those younger.

If the student doesn't know and understand the basics then they can't tackle questions, especially styles of questions, they haven't seen before.

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 16/11/2022 10:48

Seems weird to get a tutor for A level. Surely you choose A level subject that you're good at, so wouldn't need a tutor?
And if you need a tutor to get a good enough grade for uni, won't the university course also be too hard? So you'd have to get a tutor for that too...

I would agree with this. DD is currently applying to Sixth forms and the view tends to be 5 hours a week lessons per subject plus 5 hours a week independent study (per subject). I think getting on and doing the work without help is an important part of the A level process.

Original poster
Dggrs45 · 16/11/2022 11:16

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees does that mean A'level students are supposed to spend 45hrs per week on their study?

I can understand tutoring for A'levels but surely with 10GCSES people cant be tutoring for all 10 of the, right?

OP posts:
hoooops · 16/11/2022 11:22

I think getting on and doing the work without help is an important part of the A level process.

Of course. But so is good teaching an important part of the process. Lucky people get taught well at school. Unlucky ones don't and look elsewhere.

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 16/11/2022 11:24

Everyone I know round here only does 3 A levels (4 if with Further Maths) so only 30 hours a week.

Goodness knows what people do regarding tutoring for GCSEs. I only know people who tutored their children to get into selective secondary schools plus one friend who has a maths tutor for her GCSE daughter because she's worried that she may not pass and will have to redo it in 6th form.

hoooops · 16/11/2022 11:25

does that mean A'level students are supposed to spend 45hrs per week on their study?

Surely 5 hours of lessons per week plus 5 hrs of independent study would be 10 hours total per subject per week, so 30 hours of study per week for those doing three A levels.

cptartapp · 16/11/2022 11:28

DS1 had a tutor for A level maths from year 13 as due to Covid he only ever spent two days f2f in the classroom every week from half way through year 12. The remaining three days every week for eighteen months was online which made learning far more difficult.
He needed AAB for uni and found maths much his hardest subject.
He got the B he needed and secured his uni place. Not sue he would have achieved that with 3/4 of the whole course learnt remotely.

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 16/11/2022 11:32

I do think that tutoring because of covid disruption is completely understandable but in normal times I don't think it should be necessary.