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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Tutoring in seondary schools

132 replies

pchick · 18/03/2012 22:34

How much tutoring goes on in Secondary schools. Is it to top-up for GCSEs or does it extend all the way down to year 7? how common is it?

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 18/03/2012 23:09

How much tutoring goes on depends on how well-off the parents are.

I've known kids from Y7 up to Y13 to get a tutor for maths. It's more common around Y10 and 11. I've no idea exactly how common it is, but there are usually 2 or 3 in a GCSE class of 30 being tutored for maths in my very middle-class school.

mycatsaysach · 18/03/2012 23:15

no idea overall but i used two for my ds in yr 11 as i wanted to ensure he got the grades he was capable of/targeted for rather than the grades he would get left to his own devices.it worked.

Moominmammacat · 19/03/2012 08:45

My DS is in a super-selective, had tutors for seven GCSE subjects ... appalling, ended up with 5 A*s 5As and a B ... which was under-achieving for school. I detest it, both financially and morally ... but what else can you do when they are struggling? No problems now at A level when the despised subjects are gone. He says "most" of his friends had tutors for at least one subject ...

PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 09:28

Our indie school functions like a University i.e. there is the class lesson. They then set homework so that the child can develop and expand on the material covered in class.

We tutor our DCs in that we help and guide them in this. I don't ask the other parents what they do but I don't doubt that some have professional tutors.

bigTillyMint · 19/03/2012 12:34

I am shocked that parents at a super-selective need to pay for tutorsShock

I thought the whole idea was that only the brightest sparks are picked and then they should fly through their GCSE's.

Is this a common problem due to over-tutoring to get them in in the first place? Or is it that some children really excel in the subjects forming the test and strggle with the rest? Or is it extremely poor teaching?

PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 12:44

The assessent of DS's teachers is that he should be getting A and A* for most/all of his GCSEs. This is despite the fact that DC is 'only' in the top 30% of his Year 7 class.

But it would be nice if DC got into the top 10%. Hence the tutoring from DP and myself. Aren't compettive parents sooo horrible? :o

Moominmammacat · 19/03/2012 17:28

I'm shocked too bigTilliyMint ... mine was barely tutored for entrance (did it myself for a month before) but was so appalling at science and maths ... and because everyone else was clever, he just got lost. Do wonder if there was some lazyness on his part ... but so many are tutored ...

PrincessTamTam · 19/03/2012 17:37

My DS2 is getting tutored this year (11) in maths and science, to help him get what he is capable of in his GCSEs. He is lazy and will always do the bare minimum and it is partly my way of getting him to actually and properly revise. I did it with DS1 during his Maths and Further Maths A Levels and it really helped him catch up after slobbing around in year 12 (he is now happily at Uni). I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but I do think it's a shame it costs so much and isn't available to everyone. My DCs are at a pretty good fairly middle class state secondary, and quite a few of their friends are tutored in one or two subjects and have been since about year 10.

shootingstarz · 19/03/2012 19:01

Every child I know at hothouse schools have a tutor, that?s why league tables are a waste of time it?s not the school teaching anymore it?s the parents/tutor.
I sat my GCSEs without ever having a tutor or help from my parents I got all As have they changed so much that children now find them harder?

PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 19:44

Oh no. Not another 'no one tutored me and look how many As I have' poster.

Not everyone is as clever as you [emoticon for sarcasm]

bigTillyMint · 19/03/2012 20:16

I have no problem with tutoring - just got one for DS who is not quite up-to-par with his Primary School maths - but I am pretty surprised at shootingstarz post. I know the KS2 league tables are a joke because of all the tutoring, but I didn't think it would affect so many selective secondary schools as well.

It will be interesting to see how DD and her contemporaries at a range of state and indy schools do at GCSE and whether they need tutors to reach their full potentials.

shootingstarz · 19/03/2012 20:25

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webwiz · 19/03/2012 20:42

It isn't because they are harder shootingstarz its more about needing a particular grade - either getting the magic C or not spoiling a set of A/A*'s with a lower result. It mostly seems to be Maths tutoring where I live.

PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 21:48

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PushedToTheEdge · 19/03/2012 23:31

Name calling aside, one poster in a thread a few weeks ago went on about how devasted her DC was to not to past any of the entrance exams he sat. She later added that she didn't tutor her DC since if a child needed tutoring to pass the entrance exam then that child is going to struggle if that child does gets in.

That is a bit like saying why train and train for years just to qualify for the Olympics because if you need to train that hard then what chance do you have of winning a medal? You wouldn't say that of an athlete so why say it of a child?

bijou3 · 20/03/2012 09:24

I don?t get all this tutoring business let the kids have a life for god?s sake. You can?t make a silk purse out of a sow?s ear tutoring seems to be more about parents egos rather than what is better for the child.

PushedToTheEdge · 20/03/2012 09:39

Re letting kids have a life, mine have quite a varied life outside of the academic stuff, thank you very much.

"You can?t make a silk purse out of a sow?s ear"

Various experts have concluded that it is this very attitude that holds back the British working classes compared to immigrants. They come to this country with no education and no money but they have the the belief that, through hard work, they can have a business and their children can go on to become doctors.

Contrast that with all the studies that harp on about the cycle of poverty and how it is sooo difficult for working class folk to break that cycle. I know a few Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese friends that might disagree with that conclusion :o

kensingtonia · 20/03/2012 09:58

DD is in year 11 at a super selective and it is not tutored. She remarks that a lot of her peers go to tutoring each Saturday. She doesn't know if they are being tutored to keep up, or if their parents are just so paranoid that they won't get A*s etc that they are not taking any chances. It seems to be predominantly in the maths and sciences but this is a school where a lot of girls want to enter the medical profession. Personally I think the teaching and revision support is perfectly adequate but maybe some girls aren't very good at revising on their own.

tantrumsandballoons · 20/03/2012 10:11

2 hours tutoring on a Saturday morning is not stopping my DCs "having a life"

My dd and ds1 are at selective schools and the extra tuition is not so they can catch up, it is additional work so they can progress further.
They have had extra tuition since year 4, just 1 session a week and ds2 who is in year 3 now has had one session a week since year 2 and I think it has really benefited all of them.

It's also helped them be more organized with school homework, as they have to get that done on time as well as tuition homework and they are more focused.

My ds2 used to get 1 piece of homework every 2 weeks which took them 10 minutes to complete, I personally don't think that's enough so the tuition gives him something else to do.

However they all find time to play football, watch tv and play ps3 so they are not just constantly studying

PrincessTamTam · 20/03/2012 10:19

In my DS2's case, he is tutored mainly because he is lazy and if left to his own devices he will probably do the bare minimum. (As I said earlier, my DS1 did the same in yr 12 and I got a tutor to help him catch up). But it is also complicated by the fact that he has fairly low confidence in these subjects. He came out of a very high achieving (state) primary thinking he was stupid because he had some issues which contributed to his being a late developer. He is not stupid, and has done very well at secondary, but still has an underlying belief he can't 'do' maths and science. His tutor has really helped him to see he is actually rather good at it, and has also taught him effective revision techniques, which I don't think he gets from school. To be honest, I do think that boys are generally not as good as girls at revising on their own.

It remains to be seen how this will translate to actual grades, but so far it has made an enormous difference to his confidence, so I am happy with my choice.

CumbernauldMathsTutor · 20/03/2012 21:01

I think the real purpose of tuition is to help those who are struggling in class for various reasons.

Considering that we live in a 'First World' country, teachers in state schools should generally be good enough for average and above average students.

For parents who are not rich, it would be money well spent for essential subjects like Maths and English. Richer parents might decide to spend money on tuition for other subjects as well, or simply to achieve marginal improvements (A to A*).

If students in 'super-selective' private schools are struggling, then I would think that either they are being pushed beyond their capabilities, or something is wrong with their teachers.

In conclusion, I think those who need tuition the most are not getting it whereas many who don't really need it are getting it.

BellaVita · 20/03/2012 21:12

Ds1 (yr10) is tutored for maths. For Yr's 7-9 he was top set, the years were split into two halves for languages. In Yr10 they brought everyone together and the sets were changed to A*/A, top boys, top girls and so on. DS1 was out in the next set down although he is sitting the higher papers just like the sets above him. He is good at maths, just lacks confidence in himself.

DS2 (yr7) is tutored for English. He struggles. We had him tutored since spring of yr6.

CumbernauldMathsTutor · 20/03/2012 21:25

A clarification on my earlier post: I find the rates charged by most 'professional' tutors to be exorbitant. Not-so-rich parents should avoid them and seek alternatives, for example those who have recently started university and had achieved excellent results at school.

BellaVita · 20/03/2012 21:34

Cumber - DS1's tutor is a final year Uni student who has excellent grades. We were very lucky to find her. She charges £10 per hour.

mnistooaddictive · 21/03/2012 05:29

To the people who claim rates are too high I say this. My hourly rate works out less than my mobile hairdresser. I charge £25 per hour and do the travelling. By the time I have spent time planning and considered my travel time this is £10 and I have to pay for petrol, printing and paper. I think I am a bargain considering the improved grades I help achieve affect someone's lifelong earning power.