How long to keep on tutor for GCSE this year?

[AngieBolen]

I found a fantastic maths tutor for DD last Christmas, when we thought exams were still going a head. He was amazing with her when she was off school, but now I'm wondering when would be a natural time to stop?

It's likely DD will get a 3, and will need to retake next year, so am not sure whether to make her continue over the summer (the one time I've never made my DC study is over the summer). My gut feeling is to stop at may half term and resume in a September?

Did you sign a contract that asks for a half term's notice? You will need to tell him quite soon if so!

Does he have a lot of places available? If you quit for half a term, he might be less able/likely to take you back in September.

Maths is one of those skills that gets lost when not practised regularly, especially for children who struggle. If she is motivated enough to want to pass next year, then I think continuing would be most helpful. If she is objecting, obviously, then there's not much point.

If you can afford to I would keep the tutor on for the whole of next term. I’d probably have a break over the summer but not for the whole of the 6 weeks.

I think in your position I'd want to have a strategy discussion with the tutor. What is working, what is not, what are the (realistic) goals and how can you and the tutor both help your daughter reach them. That might naturally sort out when she should have breaks from tutoring / how to keep things ticking over through holiday periods / whether and when more intensive sessions might be helpful.

My mother used to work as a private remedial teacher, and one thing she always used to do was offer lessons in the last fortnight of the summer holidays to help students be ready for back-to-school; the first week or two of term she didn't teach most of the younger ones while they settled back into routine.

My daughter has just stopped with her tutor. She is predicted a 7, but felt the need for one on one tuition so I was happy to have a tutor, but now feel she can continue on her own. She is not doing a math related A level.
I think your child needs done extra tuition as she will have to pass math, but maybe reduce the number of sessions over the summer. Conversely, have you spoken to her school? Will increasing the number of sessions in the short term enhance her chances of getting a 4?

tricky one? when you say she's 'likely' to get a 3 - is that what the school are predicting?

If there is any chance that she might get a 4 then that's worth going for?

isn't it going to be difficult to keep her motivated with the tuition between may half term and results day anyhow as she won't see the point in them if she may already have passed?

if genuinely her max grade is a 3 then i think i'd carry on with some tutoring right through until the resit in November - you dont want to lose momentum?

Her "current grade" at autumn half term was a 3, her mock grade was a 1. I know she's capable of a 4. I've suggested to the tutor alternate weeks over the summer - three months is a long time not to do any maths if she's going to sit an exam in November. I'm hopeful the grade boundaries will be low in November and she'll secure a 4 (I've told her she could get a 5 if she keeps working, so she agrees to it). It's a lot of money to spend if I don't need to though, but I would be so happy with a 4 I probably wouldn't care!

I'm a tutor. I tutored someone who got a 3 at gcse level. Mum gave him a break over summer and we started in September for November retakes. It was a very bad move. He went backwards A LOT over the summer and he didn't manage to get the 4 in November either. I think he would have got it without the break

That's interesting @Heartofstrings, thank you.

We could rod of a poor English Lang one on Feb, and a great Spanish one in the same month. Reason being, we needed to be on the same wavelength as the school teachers. Tutors would have useful, only if GCSEs exams would be sat in the summer, even then I would not have a tutor beyond March