Optimum time to employ a tutor for GCSE's?

[LynetteScavo]

DS1 is just finishing Y10.

I'm considering a tutor for maths, as he's "predicted" a B or A next year when he takes his GCSE's.

I want to make sure he secures an A. Decent tutors are charging £30ph, which I can't really afford at all long term. Apparently it's a linear course with a terminal examination at the end of Y11.

Would an hour a week, or something more intense covering what he's unsure of nearer the exam be better?

y10 parent here.

I would have thought that and hour a week would be better, slow and steady wins the race and all that. If you wait he will be working hard for all the other GCSEs and may not want to give loads of extra time to the maths.

As a matter of interest, is there any reason why you want to invest in getting this from a B to an A? Is an A grade a particular requirement for his A level choices?

I've been paying for an hour a week for my year 10 DD, pretty much since October. She has gone from worrying if she'd get a C at GCSE to being in line for an A maybe an A*; and wanting to do A'level.
Her tutor gives her homework on top of the work she gets from school, so more than once a week would be too much. She is ahead of her class now.

Various of DDs friends have tutors.
I've seen little evidence that they actually improve deep understanding.
They just hone exam technique - as very few tutors are true subject specialists (round here at least)

He should get A/A* in triple science, and I think he might eventually want to do a Physics degree, and so will need to do Maths A level....I think his school will probably let him do maths and physics A level without an A in Maths GCSE, but a school nearer definitely won't not that I want him to change schools, but I think it's good to keep your options open

So, starting in September (I can't afford it before then!) and ending....when he takes his exam? Do tutors ever do fortnightly?

Some people do cramming at Easter though, don't they? Would that be a silly idea?

Its worth finding out what revision support the school give.
DDs school (and teenandtweens school FWIW) have had very structured revision running from the end of lessons right through till the end of exams - hours of it every day

If he wants to go on to do physics, he will need to really, really understand maths. In such circumstances, you need to find a real mathematician tutor, and do little (and often as you can) to make sure that the entire syllabus is properly understood.

For without that, the transfer up to A level maths will be extremely hard. Cramming pre-exam just won't give the grounding for higher levels.

I'm a maths tutor and yes, I am happy to do fortnightly - I'm more concerned with them actually being reliable than the frequency. I would say that fortnightly from now/September would be better than cramming. He might well get an A with cramming, but I think a longer steadier course will be more truly beneficial in the long term as he should get to understand things better. I really care about making sure my tutees properly understand whatever topic they're doing - I don't think there's much exam technique in Maths to be honed, other than to really understand a topic so you can answer questions however they are presented.

I was lucky my DDs tutor has a Masters in Maths, although no teaching qualification. He is very very good, but her class teacher is head of Maths and has taught her nothing this year.
Its English tutors we can't get hold of around here.
The Easter courses are really for revision, can be very expensive, and tend to teach in small groups, so may not spend enough time on the things your DS finds difficult, and too much time of stuff he understands.

If you just want to boost his confidence and help him enjoy maths you could get him to try this MOOC.

My ds is Y10 and we have been using the online tutoring from Maths Doctor in both maths and physics for a few months now.

My ds is doing his physics GCSE this year so we'll find out how he has done in Sept as his school won't tell Y10s their results until they go back. He was already predicted an A* across triple science but as he is doing physics a year yearly we wanted to get his some extra tutoring, particularly as he wants to do it at A Level (so we will keep the tutoring going but looking at more AS stuff to keep his hand in).

We've found the maths tutoring really good, ds has clicked with his tutor, they are both very focused on the task and don't like small talk (ds has ASD, not sure about the tutor!) so they get loads done. Ds was predicted an A at Easter but he now feels he should easily get an A - he is doing mocks next week so we'll know more then. If ds is already at A level then they are going to work through either GCSE additional maths or FSMQ stuff next year ready for A Level as ds wants to do both maths and further maths.

If ds's experience is anything to go by I would say go with 2-3 hours a week but only between Sept until about Christmas - then all the school based revision stuff will kick in and he may well be too busy to fit in tutoring but it would have given him a big boost.

Maths teacher here. I would have a frank discussion with teacher first. Knowing exactly what he needs to do to go from a B to an A is important and it may be you and he can do it together without tutoring. There are many on-line resources around to support the move. Your school may subscribe to www.mymaths.co.uk which has graded lessons topic by topic that students can work through independently.
However, the gap between a B and an A is normally algebra and algebra at this level is often scary for parents. You may still wish to invest in a tutor. Once a week from September through to May would be ideal. Cramming does not work, especially in preparing for a move to 'A' level. Two approaches to tutoring work in my opinion:

1. tell the teacher of your plans and get teacher and tutor to work together to fill the gaps and support the progression. I do this with 2 or 3 students each year and have come to know the local tutors very well. It works, many students just need some consistent one-to-one input.
2. make sure your tutor is an ex-maths teacher who knows the difference between a B grade and an A grade. So many tutors work on building 'confidence' and it all can become a bit woolly. You have a direct expectation and need to make sure the tutor understands this.

Just a thought - if your child qualifies for free school meals or pupil premium, schools have money to spend and often employ tutors after school to work with these students one-to-one or in very small groups. School has money to pay, free to parents/students. Maybe worth an inquiry.

The maths tutor that saw DD a couple of times early this year, said he recommends about 3months of once a week just before the GCSEs. Infact, after the two sessions, her confidence had improved significantly and she is much more motivated in lessons

I'm not a teacher of any kind. It's not that difficult to know the syllabus well, or find out what topics/questions are B/A/A*/etc. I do think confidence is very important, but I like to build confidence by showing the tutee that they can actually understand stuff and answer questions correctly

My daughter target grade was an A and by the end of Y10 we weren't even expecting a pass. The teacher was appalling. During Y11 she had two hours a week (have to say tutor was cheap - I was paying less for 2hrs than you are being quoted for 1 and he came recommended). She came out with a B. You may find that tutoring doesn't happen in the holidays so that will be less expense. Certainly try and go on recommendation. Where do you live? The thing is if you go for intense at the end he will be busy with all subjects and it may be too much

As others have said, IME weekly over a longer period is more effective than cramming immediately before the exam. I have taken on students fortnightly, but find it is significantly less effective than weekly, so generally wouldn't recommend it as it can be false economy. If you would struggle to afford weekly 1-to-1, have you thought about finding a friend with a child with similar needs/goals and pairing up? I have a number of students which I see in pairs and if they are well-matched ability-wise this can work well and is generally preferable to seeing a student less frequently.

Mutters to self wondering how many of DDs friends are actually being tutored.
Its never something I considered for her.
DS had two hours to crack a handwriting problem and has never been back.

I agree that really understanding maths is necessary if he is contemplating physics at university. Some physics courses are supposed to be an uphill struggle if further maths A level has n't been done.

Much better for him to have slow but steady building up of understanding maths concepts than just learning the steps needed to answer the questions particularly at the last minute.