Read what Mumsnet users thought of GoStudent’s online tutoring platform

[BellaMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users with a child aged 8-16 who tested GoStudent’s online tutoring platform. Selected testers received 4 private tutoring sessions in their chosen subject, used over the course of 4 weeks.

You can find out more about GoStudent here. Here’s what GoStudent has to say:

“The digital learning platform GoStudent was founded in order to tackle a fundamental problem in education: access to top teachers at an affordable price. Our mission is to build the number 1 global school by connecting students with their ideal teachers, enabling children worldwide to unlock their full potential. GoStudent offers individual tutoring classes via online video chat to children and students aged 6-18 in all school subjects. Focusing on sustainable learning successes, GoStudent offers memberships between 6 and 24 months, and currently provides over 350,000 one-to-one tutoring lessons per month."

Testers, please give your feedback by answering the following questions as well as sharing any other thoughts you have and completing the short survey we’ve emailed you. Testers of GoStudent were invited to start taking part in different weeks. Please wait until we email you to ask for feedback before answering the below questions.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

All testers who give the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

i liked the fact it was one on one. my son struggles in big groups so this was perfect. It was also good that because it was one on one, they could go at a pace that my son was comfortable with and he could stop and have a think if he needed to

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

we had some problems with the platform. our second session was cancelled at the last minute due to technical issues for the tutor. also we have struggled to make appointments. it doesn't seem very organised.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

He did Maths which he enjoys. He does seem more confident but was pretty confident before anyway

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

yes but i think they need to be more organised with their booking. i would have been happy to pre book all 4 sessions for the same time and day every week but the tutor said i had to wait to book the next one. When it works, it is good though.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

The initial conversation with the organiser was good. Lots of detail and information and the product was really well 'sold' to me.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

I would have liked links to the meeting to be sent through to me ahead of time rather than having to ask for one each time. It wasn't clear to me whether I was to wait for a link on WhatsApp or go through the website. Felt a bit stressful before each session trying to dig out log-in information.

My child found the sessions straightforward/easy to use. He had no issues with it and seemed to enjoy his sessions.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

He did a mix of maths and english. He said they were helpful but he is very young and I can't say how much of a use they were because we had no real targets set at the beginning. I had outlined things that I wanted him to work on e.g. times-tables but these weren't covered. The tutor appeared to a pre-set lesson each time which was covered but didn't really do what we had hoped the sessions would do. Perhaps this is something that would improve over the longer term but as a experiment over four lessons it would have been good to see some clear progress in an area of concern that had been highlighted at the outset.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

I'm undecided. I think this is something that might vary massively in its usefulness depending on the tutor you are allocated. I would like to give it another go with one or more of my other children but the cost is a factor, as is the term of contract which is off-putting as it is such a long commitment.

1.What did you like most about GoStudent?
The tutor was nice

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

We had issues every session, new link for each session sometimes sent minutes before session is due to start

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

We had French, she was definitely more confident she speaks it around the house now

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

On the fence about this one, like another reviewer mentioned there were too many platforms it was hard to know whether I should use WhatsApp or GoStudent. I booked my first session for Monday hoping they would continue but my session had to be moved to another day twice, this was a pain as we had other commitments. I also requested homework but tutor just said to practice what was learnt today, it's hard when they type everything and give you no resources. Being a native French speaker I found that by the tutor telling the student her pronunciation was great when in fact it wasnt great at all they were misleading. I might try for another subject like Maths.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

I liked the process from the way George interacted with me to let me know about what would happen, he kept in touch throughout the trial informing me of the lessons taking place and after the lesson asking me how it was for my daughter.
It felt like I was being valued as a Parent and they were not doing a job but actually taking time to interact with me and enquire what else they can do to help my daughter too.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

She loved it and was very happy as the teacher was on her level; he focused on topics she was good and bad at and tried to ensure she understood what he was teaching her and make learning fun. When the lesson finished a few mins early sue felt excited as she took it as a reward for doing well and he was proud of what she learnt

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

We did both Maths & English Year 5 - my daughter struggles in Maths and this helped her alot as she found solutions to problems easier, she felt open to talk more ask more and pay attention as she felt valued. Similar experience with English as she enjoyed the creative writing and exploring her mind

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

I would definately recommend this as its a great way for both child and parent to be part of a support program where they want the best for you. The teachers are excellant, very professional but make learning fun and make the child actually want to learn - as my daughter wishes to continue the lessons after trial period

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

Shannon the rep was keen to find out about my DS to match him to a suitable tutor.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

The tutoring platform uses zoom. This allows the tutors screen to be shared and it is very interactive.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

He was tutored in English. The tutor helped to reinforce several aspects of the national curriculum that DS is learning and challenged him as well.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

Yes, it is affordable and you can choose a time to suit you. It's 1-to-1 and you don't even have to leave home.

I tried GoStudent with my 9 year old daughter. She loved the sessions and we are going to sign up to keep using the platform.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

The tutor we had for maths was excellent, not just as a tutor but so friendly and approachable that she brought my daughter out of her shell and she now looks forward to her sessions.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

We found it very easy, it worked well and we liked being able to talk to the tutor on WhatsApp to arrange sessions and discuss what topics would be covered.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

My daughter had tutoring in maths. She loved it. She was not struggling before but has used the sessions to expand her understanding and be able to look at certain topics in more depth. She has enjoyed it and been able to use her knowledge to show greater depth in her understanding.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

Yes. I already have! We found the platform very easy to use and love the flexibility of being able to book sessions. The tutor was of excellent quality. Lots of my daughter's friends have been struggling after lockdown learning and I think this platform could really help.

1. My son liked the way the tutor explained things to him and made it easier
2. We had no IT issues in the one session we had
3. We had an English session today hi hey son enjoyed
4. Not sure I would. Had a long sales pitch from the company after the first session. They were very elusive about the cost of the sessions. They wanted me to sign up before we got any more than 1 session. When I reminded them that the trail was more than one session they said they would get back in touch to confirm. Never heard back from them so only trialed one session. Probably would have signed up with them but that has put me off and put me off recommending them

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

The tutor was very friendly and the admin staff were very helpful & approachable.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

Very easy.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

My child had tutoring in English and Maths. They seemed more confident in Maths after the Maths tutoring. They were pretty confident in English before the tutor session but the sessions did help their understanding further.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

Probably not, as I'm not sure it's value for money for Primary School children. It might be more appropriate for secondary school tutoring.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

The flexibility of the times, and the fact that we didn’t have to leave the house to do it. No travelling time and it was great that my son could do it while isolating with Covid.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

Not really sure what this question refers to, so I guess it’s something we didn’t use. We just communicated via WhatsApp and did the tutoring via Zoom.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

GCSE German. Yes, he feels much more confident. The tutor covered some things that he hadn’t really understood when taught them at school by his regular teacher. She was very friendly and approachable and his teacher is a bit of a dragon! She was great with my son who was a very reluctant and resistant student. Even he grudgingly admitted that the lessons had been helpful.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

Yes, for lots of reasons:

• cheaper than a regular ‘real life’ tutor
• flexibility of times
• very student driven, covering what he wanted to cover

I have found the hard sell before and afterwards off-putting. It almost made me want to pull out of the product test because it felt so relentless and annoying. I’ve had calls afterwards pushing me to have more lessons and I just did this as a trial because it was free.

Very late with my feedback because we only had our final session on Friday.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent? The contact that kept me in the loop.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use? Very easy, it's just a click and follow link.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent? Chemistry, he's only had one lesson but he enjoyed it.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why? I am not sure, it is a costly platform and my children's school offers tutoring for children that need it. Perhaps if a friend's child was in a school that didn't offer it I would, but I might also suggest a meeting with the school to try and set up tutoring provisions.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

The initial contact was great, I really felt that I was listened to. My dd absolutely adored her tutor, she was lovely. She really focused on the topics my daughter felt she needed help with

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

Very easy, the links to the tutoring sessions were sent, and just needed to be clicked on.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

My dd was tutored in maths, there were some topics she had struggled with during lockdown, and the sessions definitely helped her.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

Absolutely, I am really impressed with the tutor, and the company as a whole.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?
I liked the intital chat with the coordinator. I felt like the service was not just about finding a tutor who covered the subject needed, but who was also the correct personality fit

2. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?
The tutor sent zoom links through by WhatsApp shortly before each session. These were easy to use. We had a quick talk through the platform, but haven't started using that yet as my daughter has only just finished her 4 free session. It sounded straightforward from the introduction we were given by the tutor.

3. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?
We used a tutor for Maths A Level. My daughter was really impressed by how well her tutor explained everything to her and with her google drive of maths resources. She is keen to continue using her, she is definitely helping my daughter with her confidence.

4. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

My daughter's tutor has been really good so on the basis of her, I would recommend. Our only issue was the availability of tutors, the tutor who was recommended to us had very few slots and we ended up going for a later one in the evening so my daughter was not too happy about that. Perhaps for GCSE/lower levels there is more choice of tutors.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

It was very easy to set up and communicate via WhatsApp. The team were attentive and my son really responded to hiis tutor Daisy.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

Very easy, all via WhatsApp.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

My 10 year old son had Maths tutoring. He enjoyed the sessions and felt more confident after using.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

If a friend had a child that needed additional help I would recommend Go Student as they were easy to use, flexible and my son enjoyed the sessions.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent? Easy to book and flexible

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use? Very easy and straightforward

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent? Biology and physics - felt more confident and there were certain topics that they did not recall covering previously and found it very helpful

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why? Yes, pleasant and easy to organise and my daughter thought the tutor was nice and explained things well.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

I liked the convenience of it. It was easy to arrange sessions and being able to have the tutoring online was a godsend, as a busy family of 6. We have struggled to accommodate external evening activities.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

Very easy. I liked the WhatsApp group too.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

My daughter chose maths. She loves maths anyway but she felt that the tutor helped her to look at things in a new way, and she also learned techniques she wasn't familiar with before.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

Yes - I have already recommended it to a number of people!

1. What did you like most about GoStudent?

I liked the convenience of online tutoring and the knowledge my child learnt in a short space of time.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use?

We found the tutoring platform very easy to use particularly in terms of flexibility to change days or times.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent?

My child had tutoring in maths and English and he felt a lot more confident after using gostudent, which he was able to transfer to his learning at school too.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why?

I would recommend goStudent because of the convenience of online learning and the skilled way of teaching of the tutors, aswell as the flexibility to alter arrangements where required.

1. What did you like most about GoStudent? The sessions were scheduled at convenient flexible times and the tutor was consistent and knowledgeable.

1. How easy did you and your child find the tutoring platform to use? It was very easy to use, easy to access and interactive.

1. Which subject did your child have tutoring in? Did they feel more confident in the subject after using GoStudent? English. DS said he felt he was learning a lot from the sessions.

1. Would you recommend GoStudent to a friend and why? Definitely! So easy and convenient and it was a massive help.

Thanks to everyone who took part in this product test and completed their feedback. The winner of the prize draw is @Shellb159 - congratulations!

I have had nothing but problems with this company. When they were trying to sell me membership they were calling me everyday. I'd built up so much credit that I paused my membership but they continued to take payment. Their customer service is appalling and now I can't get hold of anyone to resolve. I am out of pocket - they don't answer their messages or phone calls.

Avoid avoid avoid, I have had nothing but nightmare with this company and still trying to get my money back :/

This is very belated, but I was selected for the product test but have only had one session (so haven’t left my feedback). I have given up on more sessions (still awaiting response from them from ages ago) but I’m happy to leave my feedback @LucyBMumsnet ? I haven’t not done it on purpose but the whole thing seems to have dragged on getting a session and awaiting for more etc.

I'm pretty sure I've been scammed. Never trusting a mumsnet product test again.

@Reastie

This is very belated, but I was selected for the product test but have only had one session (so haven’t left my feedback). I have given up on more sessions (still awaiting response from them from ages ago) but I’m happy to leave my feedback *@LucyBMumsnet* ? I haven’t not done it on purpose but the whole thing seems to have dragged on getting a session and awaiting for more etc.

Hi @Reastie,

Thanks for getting in touch! We're sorry to hear that it's been difficult to get your sessions booked in. The feedback survey and thread have now closed, but thank you for offering to leave your feedback and taking part in the product test

@bonfireheart

I'm pretty sure I've been scammed. Never trusting a mumsnet product test again.

Hi @bonfireheart - We've just sent you a message to get some more information on this and see how we can help