Tutoring for A'levels how many do it

[Dggrs45]

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.

Tutoring for some GCSE subjects seems sensible. A solid grade in math, for example is a good idea if you’re not taking it in A level and math isn’t your forte. In fact don’t some courses require it?

We do know some people who have been tutoring all the way through… Start in Year 3/4 for 11 plus, then have a break in Year 7 or 8 but the kids miss it. So then parents get tutors involved to supplement weaker teachers for whichever subject or supplement weaker subjects for the DC.

We never tutored, not for 11 plus nor after that. I have seen a huge difference in teaching standards for my 4 DC though over the years. So I can see why people tutor. However, the danger is the DC get used to being spoon fed rather than finding the answer themselves. Which with the internet and multiple revision books available for all subjects should not really be a problem.

I remember one DC had a Cambridge PHD Physics teacher one year who never gave them many notes etc and DC always complained. Still can’t work out if said teacher was just lazy or wanted them to find out for themselves. DC had to work much harder in this subject to find information in textbooks themselves. This would not have worked if all teachers had taken this approach at GCSE level as there would not have been the time to figure it all out themselves. However, it was good for DC to have to figure it out themselves and put in the hours.

The best schools and best teachers teach children to learn and not be spoon fed and think on their own two feet (but in a supportive way) so they are ready when they get to university. In reality though, state school teachers are rushed off their feet, have far too many students, lots of disruption to contend with too and middle class parents know the importance of good grades for long term outcome. So hiring a tutor in the current state school environment is more common to plug the gaps and give the child some comfort.

in normal times I don't think it should be necessary

Completely right, everyone should be getting consistently good teaching at school from teachers who are specialists in the subject. But this is not the case.

Lots of kids have tutors for maths at GCSE, obviously because it’s such an important subject to get a good grade in, but v difficult to study without support.

Increasing numbers have tutors for maths A-level, because it’s difficult, my school’s entry requirements are probably too low, and now they only take 3 subjects dropping it isn’t an option if they struggle.

my school’s entry requirements are probably too low,

Noble don't you get a say in it as one of the teachers? The 6th forms round here seem to all need at least a 7 in maths GCSE to study it at A level (I hasten to add that DD has no intention of studying it at A level!)

I am a tutor ( though only up to GCSE). The two main issues my students experience which make them want a tutor are these:

Specific learning difficulties. Bright students with dyslexia, ADHD etc can often experience difficulties with processing information in subtle ways. This means that what the teacher said in a lesson is not what the student actually "hears". Tutoring one to one is useful to identify and unpick these misunderstandings and "reteach" in whatever way plays to the student' strengths (may be using diagrams, charts, mind maps or whatever). These students can still be bright as once the material is properly understood they can use it effectively in novel situations and for solving complex problems.

Pace of lessons. Teachers in school are very constrained over how much time they can spend on a topic because of having to get through the entire syllabus etc. There's a subset of students (anacdotally, this includes a proportion with no diagnosed specific learning difficulties but who were born very prematurely or had difficulties at birth) who are perfectly capable of understanding and working with the material but need more time to consolidate than they are given at school. Sometimes their school experience has been that of never quite understanding a topic before moving onto the next and this can lead to a massive lack of confidence. Tutoring gives them extra time to understand and helps build confidence.

By A level, I would expect students to be more self motivating and there are masses of online video tutorials that can be accessed for free but I still think there is an advantage to having additional time with a real live teacher where you can ask questions and the teacher can identify the specific issue that is causing the problem

Quite a few, especially in languages I discovered - we didn't but found out dd was the only non native speaker without a tutor

Yes, I think Covid has a lot to answer for in recent years. Not being a parent of an A'level child, it must have been really tough for everyone. We certainly found it incredibly tough to make sure that all our university students dont fall behind and still get enough out of our material

My DD needed a tutor for her English Higher. The tutor worked wonders and she got an A. She really needed that to get in to Uni, so it was worth every penny. She did one hour every Sunday morning, for about 6 months at a cost of £27 an hour. The tutor actually was a paper marker, so she was able to explain to DD what she needed to do to pick up points on questions.

DC in yr12 at a grammar 6th form and not heard of anybody being tutored yet. But staffing doesn’t appear to be an issue - they prioritise staff for sixth form. Entry requirements are highest in area - think they want a 7 minimum for maths. If scenario is no specialist teacher for months as I have heard happen at a local college then I can see why.

Yes I know people who have been in this situation.

Some tutored for gcse. But not all 10. Mainly languages or maths/science if struggling. Covid provision was very patchy and hit some subjects more eg no foreign language assistants.

Thank you for this reasoning. I will try explaining that to my DD and hope she takes it on board. She attends a small school and has small class sizes but is still asking for extra tuition which I don't think is a good idea, I just couldn't think how to put it to her without causing upset.

DD1 went to a local college for a levels, teaching during covid was almost non-existent so she had a tutor to fill in the gaps. Even without Covid she may have needed extra support, the standards were less than impressive even once they were back to full time teaching.

DD2 goes to a sixth form, completely different to the college. She is well taught, well supported and tutoring for her hasn’t crossed my mind as it’s not needed.

Went on a cookery course once. Loads of ladies who lunch from Wilmslow. Without exception their children all had tutors to get places at Manchester High/Grammar and had continued, no doubt up to 'A' level. Didn't see the point, myself.

But where does the divide fall between dedicated teaching and tutoring (apart from extra expense, I mean)? DD's remarkable A-level language teacher was willing to spend extra hours with keen students, for free, drilling them on grammar points and having extra conversation sessions.

And although we have never yet coughed up for a tutor, DS booked one himself before university to catch up on some aspects he'd missed.

I know lots of people who have been tutored at A level.
Mostly just around filling knowledge gaps or helping to secure target grades. My DSS asked for some extra help with his when it became clear to him he wasn't going to get the grades needed - he was clever but had slacked off. He was tutored in his

I had an English tutor for A-levels for a few months, but this was targeted at perfecting exam technique rather than understanding the subject material.

His weakest subject for a couple of months.
My DD is yr11 and has had a handful of lessons with a tutor for specific topics (teacher had been ill a lot at school)

My DS is taking A Level maths and further maths and has to do tons of homework - hours of it - I don't know how a tutor would fit in if he needed help with it.

I just don't think it's sustainable and clearly is the wrong choice as an A Level if a tutor is required

Students are expected to put in a lot of work for A Levels and self teach and regulate

It's not handed to them on a plate like GCSEs

A friend is an A level tutor - most students are from fee paying or selective schools and are applying for courses where A/A* is required. Most have tutors in other subjects so paying £100 each week for extra tuition.

It is more common than you realise.

If child has missed a topic due to illness either their own or a teacher being off then I can understand wanting face to face teaching to plug gap from a tutor. Or if you’ve got a Teacher who isn’t a specialist in that subject only teaching it as school can’t fill role and is doing a barely ok job. That student having a tutor is on same footing as a student at a school with a teacher with the correct degree and experience.

We did for a dd who was struggling with Economics, but a couple of hours were enough to sort out what she hadn’t understood. She ended up with the grade she needed.