Which private tutors are most in demand?
1st equal: English tuition and Maths tuition
No surprise that English and Maths tutors are top of the popularity stakes. This, however, does not simply mean that children find these subjects tougher than Science or History, but rather that there is the most pressure to excel with numeracy and literacy. Exams, whether pre-tests, 11+ or 13+ Common Entrance focus on the fundamentals as they are an essential stepping stone to making headway across the curriculum.
3rd and 4th equal: Verbal and Non-Verbal tuition
Close contenders are private tutors for Verbal reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. These skills are assessed at an early stage by public schools when making decisions on their young candidates. They can be the first hurdles before being invited to sit English and Maths 11+ papers. Luckily, the exercises can be broken down into manageable chunks and practiced and perfected without too much anxiety. Unfortunately though, schools allow little or no time for such practice so private tutors are a valuable option.
5th and 6th equal: French and Latin tuition
French and Latin come in joint following the 11+ favourites above. Some students have difficulty learning verbs and vocab and in grasping grammar. Others simply have not covered the ground and need fast track private tuition to catch up with their peers. This maybe because they have come from overseas where the curriculum has been different or because they have switched from a state to a private school and are entering Year 7 two years behind their peers. A significant number of prep schools struggle to accommodate the handful of boys and girls who need to start their French and Latin Common Entrance preparation at a later stage. Private tutors can work at an accelerated pace to fast track young students through the ISEB syllabus.
7th Science tuition.
Science is next in line. Private tuition across all three Sciences has risen dramatically in popularity over the last year. Children can find it difficult to keep up with the volume of material presented to them in Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Furthermore, if teachers are stretched for time to cover the many and varied topics, the pressure sets in. A private tutor can pin point the essentials, bring the text book to life and add value because at the pace of the student.
8th Geography tuition
Geography has caused a surprising amount of confusion, not least in Year 8, with the multitude of concepts to understand, the glossary of terms and case studies to learn. When children realize that this is a subject that goes far beyond colouring pencils, the panic can set in. The all-important Geography project looms large in Year 8 and a growing number of children ask for help beyond the classroom. Geography private tutors are hard to find in this niche area but extremely valuable.
9th and 10th equal: History and RS
These wonderful subjects start as story telling; children can listen to adventures and imagine themselves the hero of the battle, fighting the good fight. However, when the questions commence and evidence needs analysing, point scoring is more difficult. There are a great many skills in play for History and RS and a weighty amount of content to tackle. Children often find it helpful to walk through their ideas and answers with a private tutor, especially at Scholarship level.