How to find the best GCSE maths tutor
January marks the academic year's mid-point, giving students approximately 20 weeks until the start of GCSEs. Wherever your child is with maths revision and whatever their mock grade, they still have time to improve their grades, catch up and ensure they have a strong foundation for the exams. Here's how working with a maths tutor can improve their outcome.
Is it too late to use a maths tutor?
Despite being halfway through the academic year, it's not too late to seek the help of a tutor. Whether your child is aiming for a grade 9 or looking to boost their understanding of maths, the right tutor can provide personalised and practical support to help them achieve their GCSE goals.
A maths tutor can help students by boosting their understanding and confidence, filling in gaps, and challenging them with advanced material. Tutors can also structure revision plans and fine-tune exam strategies to help improve grades. The support a tutor provides can also significantly improve students' understanding of the material, how to revise, and how to work through exam papers.
Can a tutor help raise grade levels?
If your child is aiming for a higher grade, they will need to improve their skills and work out precisely what examiners want from them.
An independent study found that three in four students increased their performance by up to three grades with personalised tutoring. Performance in mathematics showed even more significant improvements, with 80% growing grades by up to three levels after 12 months of consistent tutoring.
How can tutoring boost confidence in maths?
The above study also shows that a rise in confidence is critical to academic success in maths. 90% of students in the study who increased their confidence also improved their grades. Within the context of maths, one in two students defined confidence as feeling prepared for exams and assessments, and 76% reported increased confidence after 1:1 tutoring lessons.
Becoming confident in math involves changing your mindset, building foundational knowledge, and developing strong problem-solving skills. If your student struggles with advanced topics, this may be due to gaps in their foundational knowledge and a lack of practice, which feeds their lack of confidence.
A combination of solid foundational skills taught, regular practice, strategic learning, and targeted one-to-one support can help in all these areas.
What questions should I ask a maths tutor?
When choosing a tutor, you want someone with experience and a strong understanding of the specific math level you're seeking help with. Ask about their background and qualifications and whether they have experience teaching or tutoring the particular math topics you need help with (e.g., algebra, calculus, geometry).
A good tutor will start by assessing the student's strengths and weaknesses through a diagnostic test, conversation, or a review of past work. Whatever method they use, ensure the tutor understands where to focus efforts and creates a personalised learning plan.
Finally, discuss goals and expectations and ensure your child knows what's expected of them. One-to-one tutoring once a week won't benefit a student's grade levels if they don't practice what they are learning around their tutoring sessions, work on past papers and challenge themselves within their revision.
Ensure your child understands that a tutor's support can significantly improve their understanding of the material and exam performance if they do their part, especially if they're aiming for higher-tier GCSEs or specific grades!
How can I find maths tutors in my area?
First Tutors can quickly help you find the right maths tutor in your area. Select your subject and your level, decide whether you want online or in-person tutoring, and add your postcode.
A list of relevant tutors will then be shown. Tutors write their tutoring profiles and add customer reviews so you can get a strong sense of how they approach private tuition.
You can then message them via the platform to determine their fees, arrange lessons, and discuss your child's needs.
First Tutors take up references and run an identity check for you; all you need to do is pay a one-off fee (between £9.99-£34.99, linked to the tutor's rate) and begin lessons. There are no fixed-term commitments and no hourly commission.