State secondary - When to start tutoring?

[AylesBuck]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice from parents who have older/adult children. DCs are currently achieving well in KS3 state school, and I want to ensure they have the best possible chance when it comes to their GCSEs and A-levels.

For those of you who have been through this, when did you start tutoring for your children? Did you find it beneficial to start earlier or closer to the exam years? Any specific tips or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

GCSE grades are important for getting into 6th form and for some university places.

Yes, but:

I think people's point is that past the 'required grades' for 6th form the non-A level subjects generally do not matter all that much. Very few (if any) university courses are going to turn down someone for science because they got a 5 not a 6 in history for example.

I think parents also need to consider the pressure they are putting on a student if they tutor in more than 1 or 2 subjects. You could maybe turn a 'natural' grade 5 student into one that gets 7s with heavy tutoring, but then what? You push them into A levels that then means they need tutoring to keep up at all?

I'm all for tutoring for a known reason with a known aim, but not 'just because'.

GCSEs are important. Many universities drill down to GCSE results. Not only that, but if you don’t do well at GCSE then you’re going to struggle at A level. For example, my DC school say that for Maths if you don’t get at least a 7 then you are going to find it hard going.

DS (yr 10) has had a shocking journey through English, this year alone he has had 10 different teachers, so he has been tutored. Next year he will also have French and science. The teachers don’t seem to care enough and there is no real ownership I find. DD has been failed throughout the school and will definitely be a negative on their trackers and they seem to think that’s ok. So she also has been tutored.

my DC school say that for Maths if you don’t get at least a 7 then you are going to find it hard going.

Lots of places won't even let you start A level maths without a 7.

I would say that 'overcoming poor teaching' would be a very good reason to tutor. As would 'school doesn't teach above grade 7' etc.

I am sorry for those DC @MrsElijahMikaelson1 and others who have been failed by their school and I agree, support (maybe tutoring) might well be needed to allow and help them to reach their natural level.

But I agree with @TeenDivided - no uni was bothered about DS2's 6 in Spanish. It could have been a 7 - MFL is my subject so I could have helped and was willing to - but he was not bothered, knew he did not need it, there was no point.

Yes if Oxford is an aim then GCSE grades are looked at in detail, tho if a student needs tutoring in many subjects to achieve a raft of 7-8-9, Oxford may not be for them. But otherwise, genuinely, if an able student is achieving 6+ in chosen A level subjects and 5-6 in maths and English, they will be fine for sixth form and most unis. Unis do look at GCSE but not, I suspect, to the extent some think. DD's 6 in maths was never a barrier to offers from RG unis to study English.

no uni was bothered about DS2's 6 in Spanish. It could have been a 7 - MFL is my subject so I could have helped and was willing to - but he was not bothered

Come to think of it, both of my kids decided late in the day that they wanted to do an MFL at university that they hadn't previously studied.

Both arranged and paid for tutoring in that subject themselves (I did offer!). They made the most of it because it was wanted, and because they were paying.

Disagree. No tutoring here (state school) and all the focus in year eleven was on how to answer the questions. DD is predicated all 8s and 9s with no tutoring at all.

As others have said it depends entirely on the school.

You're trying to turn out well formed, resilient people. They're better off going for a bike ride unless they're actually in danger of failing an important subject.

Both my sons had maths tutors for GCSE and A level. There's nothing wrong with the maths department at their school, in fact it's very good, but I felt some one to one support would be helpful as they both wanted to follow careers in STEM but aren't really natural mathematicians. That was the only subject I felt there was any need for anything extra though. And it was the extra structured time, one to one that I felt made the difference, not the quality of the teaching so I'd probably still have done it whatever school they'd been at. In fact I got the tutor's name from a colleague whose DC was with her already, and they were at private school.

The only tutoring my four have had is for the 11+ - and only in NVR and VR. DS1 had some maths extension tutoring because he was doing Y5 maths in Y2 and was 'bored' at school, and DD had about a term's worth of help from a biology tutor in Y12 because her teacher was off sick for most of one term, so she felt behind in the syllabus.

Two are now at uni - stellar grades at GCSE and A level, and number 3 has just taken GCSEs with good predictions. We may get some maths tutoring for the Y10 child, but that's because he missed so much during Covid and isn't as secure in the basic structures, so is finding maths a bit more of a challenge than the others did.

If your children are at a good secondary, you may not need to tutor - the 'education' that our children are getting in secondary schools is actually learning to pass tests - they learn mark schemes and model answers to get the grades they need. So if you have a child that has a good memory and works consistently, tutoring isn't always needed (IME).

I think if totally depends on the child: honestly looking at where they are now and what they need/want to achieve. It’s easier to say no tutoring if your child is doing well and on course for their goals. Some learn quickly, others more slowly. Add in huge variations in memory and attitude and it’s difficult to generalise. I spent too long following advice of those whose DC were different to mine and I wouldn’t do that again.

Also, there is a huge amount you can do without a tutor. Get some work books and do a bit each day over the summer, talk through goals and what they want to achieve, work on touch typing.

good luck OP 😀

Hi @AylesBuck !

We tutored at different times in secondary school. Our daughter came to us when she felt she needed it.

Same here. No tutoring. The (state) school did a great job preparing students for the exams.