Benefits of Private Tutoring

You may be already considering private tuition for your child, or you may have heard a few things about it and would like to more. Or perhaps you want to give yourself the knowledge needed to make a decision about private tuition for your child- after all, this is one of the most important decisions a parent can make.

So, we have put together this article to explain the benefits, particularly with an emphasis on the core subjects of Maths and English. We hope you find it useful!

Why private tutoring?

Private tutoring can provide a number of academic and personal advantages over a traditional classroom-based education.

The one-to-one nature of this tuition means that tutors can adapt lessons to individual students, based on their strengths and weaknesses and the ways in which they tend to learn more efficiently.

It’s a low-pressure setting- less formal and geared to the specific student. Children in private tuition tend to find themselves better able to ask questions, they feel less anxious and the lack of the rigid classroom environment and “peer pressure” helps them to build confidence that otherwise might never have the chance to develop.

The pace of learning can be adapted based on whether the student finds certain concepts harder (in which case more time can be spent on them to ensure they are learned before moving on) or easier (in which case they can move swiftly on)

Tutors can provide specific strategies around revision for exams such as the 11+. They can also provide guidance around critical aspects such as time management during exams (something that is not always covered in the traditional classroom environment).

Unlike the rigidly timed school day, private tutoring sessions can be scheduled to fit into family lives.

Students with special educational needs (e.g dyslexia or ADHD) tend to respond far more positively to one-to-one learning.

Private tutoring in maths

In Maths, the misunderstanding of important concepts can affect students in the long term. Private maths tuition provides a targeted environment to address this issue, allowing new concepts to be introduced based on knowledge already in place.

Self-confidence is particularly important in Maths, which many students find daunting and “foreign” and struggle to understand effectively in the classroom environment. Private tutors can turn this barrier on its head, fostering a culture of treating mistakes as opportunities to learn more about the subject. This also helps to stop incorrect ideas or practices from becoming second nature to the student.

Private tutors can quickly bridge gaps in learning which if left unchecked can cause greater issues further down the road.

Private tutoring in English

Unlike Maths, which has “correct” answers to problems, English is a more subjective subject and private tutoring therefore becomes especially valuable.

Tutors can teach important skills such as building essays or a thesis, putting forward arguments and developing a distinct and persuasive writing style. This is especially important in terms of making examiners “take notice” of a student’s work.

They can help to identify issues with punctuation, grammar and spelling which can unnecessarily cause points to be dropped in exams.

The low-pressure, personalised environment of private one-to-one tuition also helps students with those areas relating to the spoken word- debates, presentations and other forms of verbal articulation.

The subjective nature of English allows more than one interpretation to be valid, and private tutors provide an ideal environment for students to put forward their own ideas- something that can be quite challenging in the traditional classroom environment.