Having 2 tutors for same subject.

[Lovesummersun]

Wondering if having 2 maths tutors is too much to help DC get the grades he needs in GCSE? One to cover weeks topics and one to do exam practice; year 10 child. Maths at his school is not strong and DS said he doesn’t understand his current maths teacher.

Bonkers, give all the time to one, use the maths practices to inform where they focus teaching. Or look for an AI system for assessment, some will recognise what you do know and what you don’t and focus on what you don’t. They may even have access to one through school.

Working at level 5, needs a 7

I think current tutor is fully booked but will double check

Does he need a 7 to pursue the subject at A level, or for another subject requirement?

If it’s really difficult for him, given the extra support he has, I’d be concerned that the next stage would be hard.

Good point

Surely one tutor would be better? Relationship with the tutor (as in, do they get on ok?) is important and I would stick with the one where that is better. Could you not do double lessons if needed?

Agree, why does he need a 7? A 5 will get you into most unis tbh. If you need tutoring to get to a 7 then maths or maths-based FE and HE is probably not a good plan.

So firstly a 5 is a pass.

if he’s needing more input to get up to a 7 then presumably he’s looking at doing a levels one of which is maths.

i cannot say this strongly enough - maths a level is absolutely the wrong choice for a child who needs a tutor to get to a 7.

OP, has your DS always been weak in Maths or have they suddenly declined?

If it's always been a weaker subject, then think VERY carefully about them doing it at A level as it's incredibly hard and there's a huge leap from GCSE to A level standard. A grade 7 is still not good for A level and some schools wouldn't let someone with a 7 onto their A level course which gives a good indication of where the pupil should be to be capable of succeeding at A level.

If it's something recent that's happened and they'd previously been working at top levels in Maths, then, yes, maybe 2 tutors may bring them back up to speed and then maybe A level wouldn't be so much of a stretch for them (assuming they didn't get the same teacher they don't understand in sixth form!!).

Similar happened with my DS. Maths had always been his best subject, always near top of the class at primary and early secondary years, but then one year mid secondary school, he "crashed and burned" in it with, what he says, was an utterly crap teacher that couldn't explain things. He went from something like 90% in the prior year end test to something like 40% the next year - very demoralised. We didn't get tutor, but me and DH "tutored him" ourselves during the Summer holidays - basically bought books, revision guides, practice papers, etc for that standard, and re-did the year ourselves. He started the next year much more confident, different teacher, and by the end of the year, back up to circa 90% in the year end test. He went on to grade 9 at GCSE, A* at A level and a First degree in Maths at Uni.

So, sometimes, extensive "tutoring" can help, but really only if it's to tackle a particular short term problem rather than a general weakness.

maths declined when starting in new school in year 10.

Thank you all. I will check again with current if they can do 2 sessions per week.

I am a maths tutor and I think you're better with just one assuming it's one-to-one. Each tutorial is an opportunity to better understand the child's learning style, abilities, perception etc. so you're splitting that if you employ too. Maybe if you've got some kind of group arrangement - they can be cheaper but less focussed - it would make sense to have a one-to-one in addition. If he doesn't understand the regular teacher who is having to broadcast the material in a very general way then one-to-one would seem wise.

I do have availability as it happens.

If in year ten then at least there's time to turn things around.

Is there a particular reason why he needs that much tutoring? Unless there is, I'd be inclined to say if he can't get a 7 without that much tutoring, he isn't up to getting a 7 and he needs to be looking at further careers or courses that need lower maths grades. If something he wants to do REQUIRES a 7, I'd be inclined to think that to do that thing well and without massive stress, he needs to be doing maths at that level fairly easily. If he's needed school AND TWO tutors to get him there, it seems unlikely he'll cope with that level of maths plus other learning.

Thank you all. Tutor said she can accommodate an extra session if needed. Will think about it; I think the main reason for the extra tutoring is that he has fallen behind since starting in new school. If he applies himself and do practice and self learning he may not need an extra session.

One tutor but a good one , experienced for 3 h per week if it is y 10 + a lot of homework.

Very late for tutoring tbh. My son is now ending y8 and with the tutor he was already doing higher tier gcse papers 2h per week. His two friends also do with the same tutor.

It is more about systematic approach rather than everything in two years.

Teacher/Tutor here: Choose one excellent quality tutor and discuss covering both content and interleaving exam practice on that content every 5 hours, you could do 2x1 hour lessons a week (at GCSE a 2 hour lesson isn't recommended unless it's holiday hours). When it comes to exam practice ask for 'walking talking mocks' or 'live modelling and I do/we do/you do' tasks so that your DS isn't just answering exam questions online or in person and then being marked later - feedback should be active. You can DM me if you want some more advice or signposts, I've written loads of articles on what to look for in a tutor, how to know tutoring is working etc...