Tutoring vs group tutoring vs home tutoring?

[DRDG]

I’d love your thoughts on home tutoring (mum & dad using Bond books and similar) vs group tutoring (Helen Grogan, yellowbirds and similar, term time or half term camps) vs hiring a tutor. Has anyone tried either or both and how do these approaches compare?

We have children at various different stages who need to start preparing for 7/8+ and 11+ respectively in the coming years. At present we are not doing anything other than homework and the odd work book, but I would love to understand what a tutor can add, that mum and dad & Waterstones workbooks can’t, if that makes sense.

Hi DRDG,

Hopefully this quick summary will give you greater clarity and I must just stress that these are only my opinions, I am sure other users will be able to give a more in-depth insight.

Home Studying (your situation):
I am actually speaking from experience as my Mum was my tutor for the 11+ verbal and non-verbal exams when I was preparing for Tiffin School. The advantage here is that the student is engaging with someone who he/she is very comfortable with and has a family bond. The disadvantage is that sometimes the parent is learning/tutoring through almost trial and error. My Mum now works as a full time tutor and she is extremely methodical and rigorous in her methodology but when she was teaching me, our lessons had little structure and we jumped topics erratically. I'm not sure how experienced you are or familiar with the 11 Plus topics so this may or may not be relevant.

One to one tutor:
On the premise that the tutor you select is well qualified, experienced and knowledgeable i.e you have chosen a highly rated tutor, then you can be safe in the knowledge that your child is being taught by an expert. The tutor should not only know the topics inside out but be able to articulate and explain these to your child in a clear and concise manner. One to one tutoring is a very flexible form of learning so the massive advantage here is that lessons can move at a pace to suit the child and focusing on weak areas can be pinpointed easily

Group Tuition:
This is usually a more cost effective method in that group tuition should be cheaper than one to one tutoring. Lessons usually occur once a week for say 2 hours and the rest of the learning is supplemented via homework. The major disadvantage is that the course will move at a set speed and caters for the average student in that class, the top students in the class will find lessons move too slowly and become frustrated whereas the students who are finding the lessons tough may struggle with the pace. A major key point of group tuition is that all topics will be covered and lessons are well structured.

In my opinion, utilizing all 3 methods is the best way to proceed but I appreciate some families have a tighter budget than others. I wish your children all the best with their exam prep and if there is anything else I can assist you with please do not hesitate to message me in the forum or via PM

We send our daughter to Intuition Clubs in North London and that's a tuition group. She finds the group learning experience more interesting than the private tutoring we tried and she actually really enjoys going. They make learning fun for them all so I can highly recommend them.

I'd say go with online tuition. Exemplar Education has been fantastic for my kids. The results of their efforts became apparent VERY quickly. It's flexible too, so do as much or as little as you like, when you like, for a set monthly fee.

Is there such a thing as online learning for science? It all seems to be English and Maths.

After spending over 10 years tutoring in different formats I have found group tuition to be the most successful for the majority of students. I offer small group tuition at my tuition centre in Rotherham. At the centre we teach students in groups no larger than 4, they are taught as individuals (working on their own targets or identified areas) however by being part of a group we can offer paired or group working when appropriate. This can help the students develop deeper understanding of the topics being studied as they share ideas, provide peer support and engage in learning dialogue. During 1:1 tuition it can be very daunting for the student - particularly when working on creative writing, discussing a text or problem solving. The fear of making mistakes is reduced within a small group; we can provide thinking time or independent challenge time without the student feeling the pressure of an adult sat waiting. Having peers around them can offer a new perspective, allow them to bounce ideas off each other and share their success with peers. I have worked with students who 1:1 home tuition is best, however have found that for the majority a small group scenario can be much more beneficial for the learner - as long as the learning is tailored to their needs and not just following a text book or scheme of work.

@helencurrier what year is your daughter in and how long has she been going? I haven’t heard of this company before seeing your post...