Exam season has just been and if you are a parent of a Year 11 or Year 13 student, you will know it. Encouraging youngsters to revise can be a challenge, especially once they go on study leave and no longer have the structure of the school day to follow.
This was the experience in our household while Helen was sitting her GCSEs. To provide some structure and to aid with exam preparation and the revision process we have invested it tutors and one of the resources we have used is Tutorful.
Why Tutorful? It was a name we were familiar with as I have recently used it myself. Needing to improve my French skills, I sought out a tutor. We’ll call the individual I selected as tutor Phoebe. Phoebe, I should add, was tri-lingual had a BA (Hons) in linguistics and was about to undertake a Masters degree in French.
It is a simple process selecting a tutor. You carry out a simple search for your subject and the level you want to study at, be it beginner, intermediate, advanced or A Level, GCSE, Scottish Higher etc. You’ll then be presented with an array of possible tutors, many of whom are qualified teachers. You also get to see what the tutor charges per hour (as a broad indication, most tutors charge between £30 and £70 an hour) and a calendar which shows their availability.
One of the reasons I requested Phoebe was the high number of hours taught and repeat bookings. This information is clearly displayed on the tutor’s profile which makes it easier to choose the correct tutor for you.
When I made the booking, I briefed Phoebe I wanted to focus on the past tense, a particular weak spot of mine. Without going into a huge amount of detail, during the hour long lesson, we focused on what’s known in French as the passé compose tense which focuses on actions completed in the past and their consequences. We looked at saying simple phrases such as “I had a drink” (j’ai bu). Phoebe was also well prepared for the session and really wanted to understand my reasons for improving my French, starting the session by asking me to explain my motives. It was a very constructive hour and under Phoebe’s guidance my knowledge of the passé composé improved greatly. It was an hour well spent.
Prior to having French tutoring, it had been a while since I’d looked at the Tutorful website. Three things shone out at me the moment I saw the site.
Firstly, 100% of its tutors have gone through Disclosure and Baring Service (DBS) checks. You may not be aware of this, but anyone can be a tutor regardless of whether they have had a DBS check or not. The fact Tutorful insists on a DBS check for those who have contact with students is reassuring.
Secondly, 10% of its tutors are also examiners. This provides additional peace of mind as they know exactly what students need to do to get the grades they need.
Third and by no means least, all the tutors have at least two years’ worth of tutoring experience. You can, therefore, be assured they have been through at least two cycles of exams and are experienced tutors, not newbies doing this for the first time.
Other benefits include the very wide range of subject tutors available. The core subjects of English, maths and the sciences are all well catered for (English is one of the subjects Helen has received some tutoring in). If, however, you have a youngster doing a more specialised subject at sixth form, such as criminology or history, you will find tutors for them also. Tutors don’t have to be focused on school or sixth form either, there are tutors providing piano tutoring and others who are offering support with degrees.
The tutoring is all carried out online on a secure platform. A quick word about online tutoring. Some people still have misgivings about online tutoring. Since the COVID pandemic, however, it has become incredibly common.
I have to declare a personal interest in this. I studied online with a tutor when I took my maths GCSE (as an adult) a few years ago. It worked very well as I was able to fit the tutoring around my busy family schedule. Crucially, I also passed the exam so my experience shows online tutoring can work.
We won’t know until August how Helen has done, but she took to online tutoring with ease. As for my experience with Tutorful, it was very positive. As you can perhaps tell, I think there is a lot to be said for learning this way. If you think your child would benefit from tutoring, visit the Tutorful site and see if it could help. I’ll be surprised if Tutorful can’t provide a tutor to meet your needs!
