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.

Mine had tutors for all subjects, started almost a year before the exams, same for GCSE’s . Very bright child but a bit lazy when it came to revision etc and I was not in the position to help with that so it gave her the extra help and guidance and got brilliant results. Pricey though 😢

livinthedreamnot- if she’s asking for a tutor it means she’s not confident or struggling with certain things, if you can afford it, why don’t you help her ?

Last year my son was doing maths, physics and computer science at A level. He was fine in the first year, even though covid really interfered with the time spent in school.

In his second year the physics teacher changed and the whole class struggled. D's was stressed, hated physics, said he just didn't understand what they wanted in the exam questions. He was floundering and very much wanted to do his chosen course at university.

We got him a tutor for his last 5 months, so from about this January. We paid £35 for one session a week, going up to two a couple of months before the exams. The difference in Ds was astounding, he gained confidence, was sleeping better. We still weren't sure he would pick up all the ground he had lost.

He got the marks he wanted, the other two subjects were fine. He just needed help with physics. He did his sessions with the tutor online and it was brilliant, we are so grateful.

You are assuming that a tutor doesn't teach the student how to cope and think through a difficulty. Just been teaching exactly that with a GCSE student this evening. We have been deconstructing a recent test, getting him to make notes on what the issues are and discussing ideas ( his and mine) on how to address them!!

So you are saying all the covid kids.....stuff them they should be able to work it all themselves.

Not at all. I have two dc who were due to take A levels and GCSEs in 2020 so they lost a huge amount of teaching.

That is why grades were very generous in 2020 - 2022, to take into account the lack of teaching.

Dd has a tutor for one aspect of one subject. In A level maths she got an A* level mark at AS last year but in another she came out with a C. Even though overall she still achieved an A, for the sake of her confidence and to avoid stress next May, she has an hour a week to support just that area.
Most of her cohort seem to have done badly in that paper and are resitting it.

I sometimes tutor A level students. In most cases it is a confidence booster. And the vast majority do not need my subject specifically, but it one they picked over a year beforehand and they need a particular grade to get on an unrelated course.

In my subject a smaller proportion of student are awarded top grades than almost all other subjects. University offers don't acknowledge that (and ofqual refuse to change it), so students taking my subject as their third subject are (imo unfairly) disadvantaged by the system. I think the tutoring for these kids levels an unfair system.

I prefer tutoring gcse kids though. For that, it is usually kids who messed around in year 9 and 10 before realising in year 11 that they want good grades and have massive gaps.

We haven't yet, but we'd consider it if DS (dx with ASD) was struggling - he can't always deal with his classes so might need some 1:1 to get through A levels. This is obviously gambling a bit that he could cope with the next step, but one step at the time.

I agree that A level students should not really have extra tutoring, because it just means they may be doing a qualification that is over their head and not suited for them. However, there are a lot of ambitious and persevering students out there and some are about to improve with the additional support. I personally don't think there is anything wrong is looking for additional support but of course it does not guarantee anything, like most things in life.

IME it's quite common, esp at the top independent schools. It's also not uncommon for students to be taught a year in advance so for some, especially in subjects like Maths A level, & Economics, what is 'new' material for some is consolidation for others and not unfamiliar. This can skew the view of who is naturally able and who isn't.

The top tutors command 100-200 pounds (even) an hour and some parents seem happy to pay even on top of school fees. For some it continues at University over the summers etc. There's a market for residential tutors for GCSE and A level etc. The best make an enormous difference esp at GCSE I hear where purposeful practice and honed exam technique can have more of an impact.

It's seen as intellectual enrichment by many and this approach common in Asia etc. There's also a certain amount of legitimate 'gaming of the system', semi native speakers/native speakers taking the relevant A level language exam, etc.

I tutored my own dcs in maths , English and Chemistry up to GCSE.
They had an external tutor for languages.

DD1 and DD2 did not have any tutors for A level . DD1 just signed up to an online company that provided tailored examination questions .
DD2 didn’t have a tutor for A level and achieved top grades. She basically self taught ( STEM) subjects

Lots of kids in our grammars have tutors -plenty to get edge for Oxbridge or med school applications, but also to help with fluency in languages or a particular subject they may struggle with or lack confidence in. Also, one DC had a terrible teacher in one subject one year and literally half the class used the same tutor in small groups to cover the ground the teacher was meant to cover. They shared notes with the rest of their set to help them too. Most DC were extensively tutored for 11 plus so it is just an extension of that.
Small group or 1 to 1 can be immensely helpful. I have also seen older kids in the school eg in Lower Sixth offer tutoring online to younger years now for quite a reasonable price. Good for them to make some money and help the younger kids.

This can skew the view of who is naturally able and who isn't.

I feel very sorry for those that are accepted onto super competitive courses based on these skewed 'abilities'

@Purplemagnolias was thinking more of a school setting with the untutored getting disheartened or being perceived as less quick on uptake (not good).

In selective school odds are all are pretty smart & some families see tutoring as being able to improve performance, confidence etc & there’s no set limit on IQ. The Asian concept of ‘enrichment’, where the real learning & stretching comes after school & can develop the mind. If you get the grades & have intellectual curiosity, want to study & have a growth mindset your abilities don’t have a ceiling (?)

I forgot to add myself, family and friends have tutored people.

It's to ensure the person covered the syllabus and understand the subject due to the teaching they have had in most cases being poor or not extensive enough. The levels have been from primary school to degree level.

Some of this tutoring in my family and friends cases has been on schemes and been free for the recipients.