How prevalent is tutoring in boarding schools

[barecupboards]

Is it normal? I've recently a tutor for dd 11+ exams and the tutor mentioned that they have a number of dc being tutored by them at the boarding school we're aiming for.
Was hoping to see the back of tutors asap especially when already paying £££ in fees. Sigh.

Personal experience:

London pre-prep: Absolutely endemic tutoring: either to pass 7+ or 8+, or to keep up if dyslexic or a late developer. Most of the former was absolutely pointless. The really bright/advanced ones would have got into the top schools anyway, the others wouldn’t and didn’t.

Boarding prep: Vast majority not tutored. A few get extra help through the school for EAL or dyslexia etc. Just one I know of who has a tutor every holiday (even half term) to ensure they stay ahead of everyone else. You just have to resist the temptation to go down that path - it may or may not yield short term results but ultimately kids should be kids.

I know lots of kids and minor and major boarding schools and most don’t have tutors. A few do - mainly because they are struggling a bit in a subject, or want to do better in it. Some do in the holidays particularly in the mid A level summer, but not most.

London day schools on the other hand..

@barecupboards
I think it’s hard when a Dc worries if they are not top. Mine didn’t. DD1 was always top 10% though and that was good enough. For all of us. Not a very selective school though so that was fine too. DD2 wasn’t as bright but liked her art. That was ok too.

Personality does help DC achieve and so does something to talk about. Being at ease with others helps too. Plus, when the time comes, work experience and work ethic. Tutoring does not help with this.

Therefore life still isn’t wholly about exem results. Of course interviews for jobs will matter. Most universities do not interview but Dc find their niche. When do you stop tutoring? University? Job interviews? Professional exams? My DD1 has done it all for herself. As have all her friends. DD2 didn’t do professional exams but worked hard at her interests. From what I observe, most DC who want a certain career, tend to get it.

@barecupboards
I also meant to say that just because students appear to know a bit more, it doesn’t mean they have grasped a topic. DC does need to try and learn that what others do doesn’t really matter to their future. So comparing attainment is often not worth time of effort. If you have done well and the teachers are happy with your progress, be happy with that. Not everyone is going to Oxbridge.

@TizerorFizz I completely agree with you. I always tell dc they do not need to be at the top but they seem to insist on wanting to be there but it's mainly because they are competing with those at the top of their own class themselves, hence why I was thinking an academic school would help them reach their potential but at the same time I am watching her get anxious about not passing tests (this is down to even the small weekly school tests they sit) and don't want her to end up with problems as a result.

I'm taking a look at all of the schools on here and taking on the advice too.

I went to an academic all girls school. Girls are, in my experience, very competitive. We had some seriously smart girls.. one in my year went on to be a fellow of havard and Cambridge and works with Stephen Hawkins.. so I was pretty average at school.. but when I got to uni I was top of the class and boys generally were very full of themselves but lazy. The girls were far more diligent. We both went to single sex schools but sending our children coed..

@barecupboards
I don’t think competitive bright children always have to be educated with a class who are the same as them. I think they can thrive in a school that’s less of a pressure cooker. It does take a mind shift to accept that you might not always be top but your Dc do need to try and do this for themselves. A lifetime of expecting to be better than others is exhausting.

Frankly I am shocked. My child is at the top London boys school (kings Wimbledon) and I don’t know of ANY extra external tutoring!

The point is that you are paying for the teaching and for the school to guide your children. if there are any problems, the school offers “enrichment” one-to-one lessons. Ie i suppose in-school tutoring, IF it’s needed.

But, if there are any problems, they are soon discovered (straight away!) since the boys have so many blinking tests throughout the year! Small tests, but tests nonetheless, eg various weekly vocab tests, half termly progress tests etc.

Maybe these super academic schools are different to other indie schools? But i leave it all to the school, who do an excellent job. I also leave it to my child, who (tbf) is self motivated and academic. Maybe a non-academic child does need all this extra tutoring?

@Academeo I actually know parents at kings who use tutors, their dc are definitely not non academic dc! I know full well tutoring goes on in schools but my OP was about boarding schools specifically as there are obvious constraints as to how and when tutoring is achieved.

I only found out about boarders using tutors through our tutor.

None of the kids at boarding school that I know of have external tutoring outside school (or at least they don’t admit to any!) but I can definitely see how there would be a temptation for ambitious parents to use the holidays to gain an advantage.

But it’s surely only a short term advantage in maybe having covered some of the syllabus before the other kids. Once those topics are covered in class the other kids will just catch up anyway and ultimately I’d say it’s unlikely to make a big difference in the grades they get at GCSE and A-level. The tutoring is only going to help if the teaching wasn’t up to scratch in the first place.

@LivesinLondon2000 they won't admit it.
Tutoring is definitely more prevalent in the more academic boarding schools.As you say many will use during the holidays only but they are very long so it do you can be talking about 4/5 months of tutoring.

At my DS's boarding school many of this boys were able to contact their tutors during term time. The more savvy boys do this discreetly, others less so.

Some of the very worst teachering can be found at boarding schools. In my experience the teachering my DS encountered at his state 6th form was by far the best. He had been at a day prep, boarding prep and a boys boarding school which is a big name..Anxious parents talk about the entrance process.on here regularly. It's apparently a unique environment.

The state sector attracts the best teachers. The first thing my DS noticed was that the teaching was consistently excellent.

I just wish that we had the sense to realize that the emperor had no clothes ! Still.better late than never is the way we see it.

Increasingly it’s a thing, the high status boarding schools are there re: ‘brand’ & ‘super tutors’ in hols & term & def they can help facilitate top grades, all 9s should be a given at GCSES if they’ve passed exam for top academic school.

It’s like ‘enrichment’ in Asia in that much of the studying happens outside class. Many way ahead & when students see ‘new’ material in class it’s then effectively ‘revision’ for this group. They then give impression they are smarter which builds a virtuous circle. The end goal Oxbridge & now Ivy League more often than not. You have no real chance of Oxbridge from this base unless perceived as at the very top compared to similar peers.