What to do if you’re looking for a private tutor

Private tutoring can boost motivation as well as grades

If your child is struggling at school and falling behind in class, or if you have professional exams coming up and are feeling the revision fear after years of being at work instead of in the classroom, a personal tutor could help.

Full-time students can benefit from one-on-one help too, even if it is just in the run up to dreaded exams. In fact, personal tutoring can also give you a real edge in high pressure situations, such as school and university entrance examinations. The added confidence picked up in tutoring sessions can boost self-esteem and make testing academic environments much easier to deal with.

That isn’t to say one-on-one private tuition is just suited to academic problems like improving literacy and numeracy or bumping up the number of GCSEs to your name, it’s also an option if you’re learning a language or a musical instrument.

Tutorial times tend to be flexible to fit in with you or your child’s routine and can conveniently take place at your home or the tutor’s, it’s up to you. Unfortunately private tuition can be costly, particularly if it is a long term arrangement. £30 an hour is about the standard price but many private tutoring agencies offer free trials and consultations, and tailor their teaching programmes to suit each individual student.