“Private tuition can lift a C grade to an A”

“I see all kinds of kids. I tutor children who don’t attend school for a number of reasons – perhaps they have health problems like ME; also there are those who’ve been bullied and taken out of school; or the bullies themselves who’ve been excluded.
 
“I also teach children who are in school but may be struggling with maths and need extra help, or those who are doing very well and want to guarantee an A at the end of the course. Usually, I’ll see them once a week over the course of the year in the lead-up to exams.”

“I coach a lot of children for GCSEs and A-levels. Once in a while I’ll teach young pupils, but that’s rare." 

“Private tuition will lift a grade that was probably going to be a C to an A or a B, and that happens across the board."

“Yes, but it’s almost a self-editing process. The parents I see are going to be the ones who are supportive and want the best for their children. Once in a while you get parents who throw money at a problem and hope that it will sort itself out, but that is rare. Usually, the parents are really enthusiastic.”

“The children can be reluctant to start with, but after one or two tutorials they find that they can understand mathematics and become quite keen.

“I always start by asking lots of questions and seeing what people can and can’t do. Then I adjust the level of teaching accordingly.

“Since the introduction of the National Curriculum, I know what topics pupils must be taught. It doesn’t matter what exam board is being used, or what school they are at. 

“The pace of the lessons depends very much on the individual student. Some want to brush up on what they’ve learnt that week. Other students relish getting one step ahead."

“If children are being home-schooled then I set weekly homework. I don’t for those who are attending school and for whom I’m the icing on the cake. They’re teenagers. They need to have a life!”

“If you tell someone you’re a maths tutor the first thing they will say is ‘Oh, I was terrible at maths at school’. Most people view maths as a weird, insular subject that only some people are allowed to understand and that’s not the case. The human brain can do maths. If you had trouble with the subject at school, then you were taught badly."

“Recently, the agency I work for has had more enquiries than ever. Parents who might otherwise have sent their children to a private school might not be doing that, but will supplement their child’s education with extra tuition. So, paradoxically, the recession has been a boost for us.”

“Most parents go through agencies and that can provide peace of mind. For instance, a good agency should have all prospective teachers checked via the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure they have a clean record. An agency provides a degree of security for everyone involved – parents, students and tutors.”

“It is an incredibly rewarding career. If you teach someone for a long period of time, you watch them develop and grow, and learn to love the subject. They might not have enjoyed the maths to start with, then they realise they can do it and some progress on to A-level or university.

“One boy I’m teaching at the moment was bullied at school and is now home-schooled. Watching him develop from being at Year 9 level to take the GCSE two years’ early has been very rewarding.”