To pay for a maths Tutor for GCSE's?

[PullingOutHair123]

Ok, so I admit posting here for traffic.

But how the hell do you find a good tutor? The internet is full of companies offering tutoring, or sites full of degree students looking to top up their incomes (fair play to them).

But how on earth do you find a decent tutor, at a reasonable price - whatever that is. Some are nearly £100 per hour - some charge less, but then you find out the lessons are only 30 mins so by the minute they are even more expensive.

How do you KNOW that this person a) knows anything about maths and b) understands the curriculum that your child's school is running? And does distance tutoring really work, or is face to face better?

AIBU - or is this a massive unknown, and potentially very expensive decision?

I'll echo the others here saying that most good tutors won't give free trial lessons.

I work full time, and only do 2-3 tutoring sessions a week as a side income, so I'm generally booked up with a waiting list. I don't need to offer my time for free!

I'll absolutely do a trial lesson without commitment to book me for any further lessons, but this will be for my normal rate.

OP -I do sympathise - it is expensive, I know that myself. The issue is that many tutors still work full-time, so aren't willing to go home and teach some more unless the money is definitely worth it.

£40-50 per hour is the standard rate around London. Unless you with a graduate/non-Maths teacher, but this can be risky.

Whilst you're looking for a tutor, there are some Maths revision websites that can help in the meantime, such as GCSE Maths Lab.

You just have to check that they have the right qualifications and whether they offer a free consultation to gauge what they know. I tutor Maths, and I got 3A*A, most notably in Further Maths and Maths, and I study Maths at a top-4 university for my course. I don't charge ridiculous prices either because I actually enjoy teaching, and it means I end up with a lot of people who are happy with my lessons.

I'm Tayyaba. A grade 7 is very achievable with the right plan, honestly. My husband is a maths specialist who teaches GCSE maths, and he always says it usually comes down to a handful of topics where marks get lost, not the whole subject. A good tutor should work out exactly where your child drops marks and build the plan from there. Online works really well for GCSE maths too. Hope you find someone good!

Do you do a free consultation?

Yes I always offer free consultations. They’re as much for me as they are for the student/parent so i can figure out what stage they’re at, what help they need and what areas to focus on moving forward. Parents find them useful as they can meet me and ask any questions about how sessions and run and see if i’m the right fit.

Speak to the school, maybe some of the teachers tutor on the side or will have friends in another school who do. I would absolutely tutor for maths and English GCSE and did for DS’s English last year.

Pass the first time, move on.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond.

Ive read every reply.

the good news is - we found someone who I know will be a good fit. Without disclosing too much, we have found someone that my child and I are both happy with. And by word of mouth - which seems to be the best way!

good luck to anyone / everyone else in the same situation!

How long do these last? Is it a full session?

Up to 30 minutes. Normally they don’t end up being that long, but once i’ve asked any questions i have there’s usually some questions form the other side about teaching style etc, so really just as long as they need and have asked everything they wanted to.

I've just never felt the need to do it. Most of what you're describing takes place in the first lesson. But I don't ask people to commit to a set number of lessons