The councils need to find spaces for all children!!

[HooverIsAlwaysBroken]

https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/surrey-runs-out-of-state-school-places-for-private-pupils-as-vat-raid-bites/?amp

I am relieved to see that the Surrey is also looking at options to expand class sizes and use transportation to take children to other areas. They really need to get their act together quickly.

all children has a right to state education.

I assume not - although if you take a look at any of the big online tutor platforms there are masses that cater for degree level.

With A levels being so competitive now, why on earth wouldn't you do the extra to help ensure those top grades?

Even better if you can also benefit from a contextual offer.

Loads of parents do state plus - outstanding comp and add on the extra curriculars and tutors. It was very much our calculation when deciding which secondary to pick.

It will become an even more popular choice now so many parents are priced out of private schools.

ETA: I suspect you might be surprised how many of your DC's peer group had tutors. I was truly astonished at the scale when I said I was looking for one for a particular subject. Nobody was saying it out loud so everyone will assume their children weren't - there was just illicit passing of the contact details...

This is just infantilising DC. Tutoring to degree level is beyond ridiculous. That is the role of the university. Where does it stop? Do they take their tutors to work with them like teddy bears?

In most work situations you are constantly learning. Why wouldn’t you ask for extra help or seek expert advice? Win win all round.

You don’t get extra points for doing it all by yourself at any stage in life.

And it’s not as if people are getting someone to sit the exams for them!

University students buying essays, using AI and in rare cases cheating in exams is definitely a problem! For my professional exams they were very strict - not allowed in without photo ID, and if you forgot it you didn't get the exam fee back.

But getting tutoring is nothing like buying essays or using AI .

It's not cheating.

By putting in the work with a tutor, the student is genuinely increasing their knowledge and ability to sit the exam.

How able a person is - and how well they will pursue a degree course or do a job - doesn't only come from raw IQ. It also comes from their work ethic, from their prior knowledge (no matter how easy/hard it was for them to get that knowledge), their willingness to keep learning, the way they approach work, their emotional skills. IQ does make a difference, but it's only one part of the whole.

DD has never had tutoring, btw, so I'm not being defensive.

I just find the attitude against it really odd.

It's a bit like people who think that getting a good education in a private school is cheating. No - that person is genuinely capable and able to do well.

In a situation when state school pupils don't even have textbooks and workbooks in scientific subjects and Maths/Eng, just a million of online sources and random pieces of paper, I don't find hiring someone who can help to put it all together unusual. Still cheaper then private and less risky in terms of parents' loss of income as the child still stays in the state school.
Yes it's depressing to think that a child will have to spend ×2 more time on certain subjects, but that's how it is here thanks to 2-tier education system.
Never heard about schools in other countries not being able to afford textbooks for every pupil, while parents pay comparable taxes.

Indeed.

DS2 has never had tutoring. Could he have done better in his GCSEs if he had? Quite possibly yes, a bit. It would still have been just him taking the exams though. Yet on MN, he’s probably assumed to have bought an advantage because he’s at a private school.

DS1 has been tutored. We got him a specialist SEN maths tutor to help him get himself through Functional Skills maths at his third attempt. Hardly giving him an advantage over others; just helping him to achieve for himself the minimum qualification he needs for the next stage in his life.

I am not against tutoring per se. I think if a child needs extra help, is a bit shy in a larger class and would benefit from one to one focus or is unable to bridge any teaching gaps independently, it can be great. The issue I have is the assumption that because a child is in state that has to be on some state plus pathway and have it imposed across a range of subjects by parents whether the child needs or wants it. I understand that my vantage point may be somewhat skewed because my children got the highest grades in GCSEs and A-Levels untutored and I may feel a bit different they not but on here it sounds like the world has gone a bit tutor-tastic. Tutoring at university really should not have to happen and I have never heard of it. If that is required, either the student has chosen the wrong course/university or the university has chosen the wrong candidate.

I noticed a significant shift in the tutoring culture during and after the pandemic. I think it is entrenched now. It’s another reason why this VAT policy is entirely pointless.
I also live in London and culturally a lot of the families my DC attend grammar school with (eg India, now increasingly Hong Kong too) - the parents grew up with tutors too so it’s the norm.

If you say so 🤣🤣🤣