It can be quite difficult to spot that your child needs help coming up to their GCSEs or A levels; they want to be independent and frankly don’t always know they need help. Tutor My Kids offers some pointers to help decide.
Ask the question.
It’s always worth asking your teenager which subjects they’re finding hard – it may be the subject matter, the way it’s taught or how well they get on with their teacher. It’s worth asking the question of school too. Schools and colleges are pretty direct these days – many teachers will say if they think a private tutor may help.
Mock results.
Mock results are invariably below the grades your child will get, because they’ve got another 6 months+ to go at this point, but if they’re significantly different from the result they were expecting, it could be helpful to get a private tutor to help with GCSEs or A levels. If your child has any learning difficulties, it’s also worth asking if they can get extra time in the exams. Take a look at Could my child get extra time for GCSEs and A levels?
What grades do they need?
The government are now insisting all students get GCSE maths and English and it certainly easier to get these done in year 11 with the other GCSEs, than have them hanging over into year 12 or 13. Take a look at the new GCSE grades for information on the new grading systems.
Does your child need a specific grade to get into their sixth form, university or apprenticeship choice?
How can a private tutor help?
A private GCSE or A level tutor can help in all sorts of ways. Firstly they can help with subject knowledge – filling in any gaps which your child has not fully understood. Secondly, they can advise on where to pick up marks. Many of our tutors also mark or set exam papers, so have a really good understanding of where marks can be gained and lost. Finally, confidence should not be underestimated, a student who is confident of his or her abilities is invariably calmer and more relaxed going into the exams, which means they’ll suffer less from exam anxiety and perform better.
When is the right time to get help from a private tutor?
Whilst it is always good to be guided by your child and by school, as a provider of private A level and GCSE tutors in Cambridge and surrounding areas, at Tutor My Kids we’re also aware that availability of good tutors drops rapidly the closer it gets to the exams.
They’re in year 10 – is this too early?
This depends on your child. If they’re very far behind the grade that they need in year 11, they may well be value in finding a private tutor in year 10.
How do I find a good tutor?
At Tutor My Kids we’re biased, but we think that teachers make the best private tutors. Almost all our private tutors in the Cambridgeshire area are teachers. Teachers know how to put across the information well; it’s what they do everyday. We also believe that the personality fit between the tutor and student is as important as their subject knowledge, so we always visit our clients personally and always interview our tutors face to face to ensure a great match. Personal recommendation is always a good way to find a good tutor and we’re always delighted by how many of our clients recommend us to their friends and colleagues. And of course, our tutors are all DBS checked.
If you’re sourcing a tutor yourself, do ask for testimonials from present or previous clients and check them out.
For more information, please email Rachel Law or call her for an informal chat on 01223 858421.