First Education

Exam season is a stressful time for many students, but tutors can assist in playing a pivotal role in reducing this stress by equipping their students with the tools to succeed. Here are some methods that tutors provide can provide targeted support to help students stay focused, confident, and well-prepared.
1. Assessing a student’s strengths, weaknesses, and learning style are all helpful to identify what study strategies are best suited to each individual student. Tutors can help students by organizing material into manageable sections and setting clear goals of when this material should be completed. This can help students to avoid last-minute cramming and feel more in control during exam season.
2. Tutors also have an important role in clarifying difficult concepts by providing one-on-one attention to address any areas of confusion. Breaking down complex topics into simpler, more understandable pieces, ensures that students grasp the material thoroughly before moving on. This clarity and further understanding also plays a role in significantly reducing anxiety.
3. Tutors should also provide their students with exam techniques for tackling multiple-choice questions, time management, and prioritizing tasks during exams. Practicing these strategies during lessons helps to build familiarity and reduces uncertainty during exams.
4. Simulating exam conditions with practice tests during tutoring sessions allows students to become comfortable under pressure. Tutors use these sessions to pinpoint areas needing improvement and refine exam strategies. Tutors should also encourage students to complete practice papers in their own time under exam conditions so they can build self confidence. This helps the student in believing that they do have the ability to complete the exam which can assist in reducing pressure.
5. Building a student’s confidence is a vital strategy for tutors to display during lessons. By reinforcing progress and celebrating small victories, such as highlighting a student’s improvement in mock exams, tutors boost a student’s self-esteem. Knowing they have the support and guidance of a tutor can make students feel empowered to face challenges and also less stressed on exam day.

Sophia McLean

In the fast-paced world of today, forming and adhering to a consistent routine can feel impossible – particular for students juggling school work, extracurriculars and social lives. How then, can incorporating tutoring into a students’ life benefit their knowledge of structure and time management? Beyond just academic improvement, tutoring offers a myriad of surprising benefits for building a reliable routine that sets students up for long-term success. Tutoring sessions are consistent, scheduled and predictable – qualities that many students lack in their daily routines. Whether its once or twice a week, having regular tutoring appointments encourages students to plan around a stable, non-negotiable commitment. Over time, this repetition helps forge a mental framework for better time management. Similarly, tutors go beyond helping just with subjects – they also help students learn the best learning techniques for their specific needs. A good tutor teaches students how to break assignments into manageable pieces, prioritise tasks, and stick to study plans. These habits naturally merge with other facets of life, making it easier for students to balance schoolwork, chores and even downtime. Similarly, tutoring enables an accountability factor that ensures students’ are kept on track. Tutors act as friendly accountability partners who regularly check in on the students’ goals and progress. The mere recognition that someone will follow up with their schoolwork can motivate students to stick to their study schedules and daily routines more consistently. Finally, a consistent tutoring routine often reduces last-minute cramming and deadline panic. When students tackle material little by little, they’re less likely to feel overwhelmed. The results include better sleep, more free time and a more balanced daily life. Tutoring isn’t just about better grades – it’s a hidden routine-builder that enables students to gain control over their schedules and their lives.

Georgina Maxwell

I observed an experienced tutor working with a Year 9 student in a mathematics session. This observation was particularly valuable, as it gave me insight into how sessions for older students are structured and how tutors can effectively tailor lessons to individual needs, while still following a clear plan, demonstrating how important it is to be flexible and adapt based on what the student brings to each session.

At the beginning of the session, the tutor asked the student if she had any questions or problems from her recent schoolwork that she needed help with, allowing the tutor to immediately address any confusion the student was experiencing.

Rather than following a rigid lesson plan, the tutor used the student’s own questions as a guide for the session, identifying which concepts needed further clarification and which areas the student felt confident in. This approach made the session more student-driven, which helped keep the student engaged and ensured that the lesson was relevant and meaningful to her current learning at school.

Throughout the session the tutor also effectively utilised the variety of resources provided by the tutoring centre, quickly selecting materials, such as worksheets, practice questions, and worked examples, that matched the student’s needs. This allowed the lesson to maintain a good pace, keeping the student challenged, and easily adapting when the student showed signs of struggle with a particular concept/topic and needed additional practice.

The observation showed me the importance of adapting to student needs during lessons and using available resources to support learning, making sessions more flexible, targeted, and effective.

After watching this session, I feel much more prepared to run my own lessons and see how I can adapt these strategies for the younger primary student I tutor.

Evelyn Efstathakis

Before starting my own tutoring journey I had the opportunity to observe an experienced tutor during a session with a Year 3 student. This was incredibly valuable, as I am about to begin tutoring a Year 2 student, a similar age group where attention spans and overall motivation can be challenging to manage.

During the observation, I noticed how important it was to structure the session with small breaks in between content, with the tutor using short games and activities as both a break and as a reward for completing work. This strategy kept the student motivated, giving her a clear incentive to stay focused throughout the session. It also broke up the learning into smaller, more manageable sections, which is especially important for younger learners who may struggle to concentrate for long periods. After seeing how effective this was, I plan to use a similar strategy in my own sessions to keep my student focused and enthusiastic.

The tutor has also created a strong relationship with the student, which made the session flow more smoothly and allowed for greater participation. She maintained a friendly, joking rapport that made the student feel comfortable to ask questions and express herself without fear of making mistakes, demonstrating how creating a relaxed and supportive environment and building trust is critical for learning to happen, especially with younger students.

Observing this tutoring session gave me a much clearer understanding of what an effective and engaging lesson looks like. It made me feel more confident and better prepared for my own first session, providing me with practical strategies I can apply to create a positive and motivating learning experience for my student.

Evelyn Efstathakis

Christina was taking a primary school tutoring session on general Maths and English.

They began the session with counting by 10’s, which the student did well, and Christina made sure to praise the student as he was going.

After the fact, Christina asked the student how their weekend was and prompted them to engage in a little casual conversation to give the student a break of the tutoring session, but also to give them practice with structuring a narrative.

This is a great way to built a young students confidence and practice in past tense chronological sentence structures that I haven’t have much experience with, so it was great to observe this used as both a break from the tutoring session while also giving the student valuable practice communicating.

Afterwards, Christina set the student on a timed times tables worksheet on 7,8 and 9 times tables. Throughout, she encouraged the student to vocalise their thoughts and take their time.

I often instruct my high school students to sit timed exercises, and now I also see that the exercise can also be adjusted to accommodate a younger student.

Throughout the session, Christina was very effective at keeping the session collaborative, where she asked the student what topic they would like to work on and when they would like a break. This seems to be a very effective way of both making sure the student enjoys the tutoring sessions and teaching the student the skills of initiative they will need for their later years of school.

As a tutor of high school students, observing Christina’s tutoring session has introduced me to a number of skills that both differ and are similar when teaching young students. I will definitely work some of these techniques into my future sessions.

Sebastian Zois

The use of educational games in tutoring offers an engaging approach to learning, which can improve a student’s understanding and knowledge. Educational games, whether they are physical or online, provide students with an interactive experience that encourages them to enjoy learning and tutoring.
One of the benefits of the use of educational games is that they promote thinking critically about what they’re doing as opposed to just receiving information. This is because students actively participate in the game which requires them to solve problems and apply their knowledge. This helps students to enjoy their learning while also understanding content more effectively. For example, math games can encourage student’s mental maths as they have to solve arithmetic problems quickly.
Educational games can assist with meeting different student’s learning styles, such as kinaesthetic and auditory. These games can be designed to address various learning preferences, offering a useful tool for tutors to meet the needs of different students. For example, some students may find it difficult to learn about science content with a verbal description and may need a game such as matching concepts, or ordering steps to assist with learning.
Furthermore, educational games create an environment where students have to take risks and make mistakes. This allows students to become more confident with getting questions wrong, and encourages giving this a go. This is critical for education, as some students may second guess themselves as they lack confidence, which can cause them to not attempt certain questions or difficult subjects.
Although educational games offer many advantages, they can also become a distraction for students as opposed to a learning tool. This is because students can become more focused on the competitive aspects of the game, thus resorting to other tactics such as guessing instead of critically thinking.
Overall, educational games can be an effective alternative learning tool for tutors to use, however they can become ineffective if not used correctly.

Chloe Cooke

Tutoring from a young age has a significant positive impact on a child’s cognitive ability and overall brain development. During early childhood, the brain is highly malleable, forming new neural connections rapidly. Introducing structured learning through tutoring at this stage enhances brain plasticity and supports the development of core skills such as memory, attention, problem-solving, and language.

Early tutoring stimulates both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Activities involving reading, math, and language help strengthen logical reasoning, comprehension, and verbal skills, while creative tasks foster imagination and emotional intelligence. Personalized tutoring also helps children develop metacognitive skills—the ability to think about their own thinking—which is crucial for long-term academic and life success.

Additionally, one-on-one tutoring often provides a nurturing and supportive environment where children feel more comfortable asking questions and exploring ideas. This confidence-building interaction promotes curiosity and a love of learning. As children engage in consistent practice and feedback, their working memory and executive functions such as planning, strategically organising, and focusing have seen to improve significantly.

Scientific studies using brain imaging have shown that early educational interventions can lead to changes in brain structure and function. For instance, children who receive early cognitive support show increased activity in areas of the brain related to language and decision-making.

Ultimaltey , tutoring at a young age plays a vital role in boosting cognitive development by enhancing neural connectivity, building key learning skills, and fostering a growth mindset. These benefits often lead to better academic outcomes and greater adaptability in future learning environments.

Jordan Udler

One of the most common misconceptions about tutoring is that it’s primarily about fixing or solving a student’s weaknesses. This can perpetuate ideas that the student is behind or lacking which can be highly discouraging to students. But effective tutoring is far more empowering than that. At its heart, tutoring is a partnership and a safe collaboration to further existing knowledge. Tutoring provides an opportunity to collaborate with the individual student, meeting them at their specific needs.

Rather than focusing on correction, tutoring is about collaboration and alignment. Alignment to each student’s needs. It’s about meeting students exactly where they are, not dragging them toward a predefined goal, but working alongside them with support and encouragement whilst helping them build confidence in their own process. Each student is unique. Their learning styles, pace, interests, and even the way they express understanding vary greatly. That’s why tutoring doesn’t just reteach content. Instead, we adapt, listen, and guide, molded specially to the student. This allows students to see their own thinking more clearly. Tutoring should empower students to reveal their strengths, not only just their weaknesses. This is highly effective as students commonly respond better to positive reinforcement whilst learning, encouraging them to utilize their strengths to work on their weaknesses. For students, tutoring can often be quite vulnerable, thus highlighting the importance of collaborating with students and meeting their needs to create a safe environment to learn without judgment.

This approach respects the student’s intelligence and values what’s already working. Often, this leads to better outcomes because the student feels less pressure to “get it right” and more freedom to explore what’s possible.

Jessica Ciappara

There’s a common misconception that English doesn’t require formulas as it’s often seen as a purely creative subject. But this is untrue! My experience has taught me that success in English, especially at high school levels, absolutely benefits from clear, structured approaches.

In my first lesson with any new student, particularly in the senior years, it can be tricky not knowing what their prescribed text is yet. So, I start with a Paper 1 past paper. It gives me a window into their ability to work with unseen texts and extract meaning on the spot. We focus on annotating short answer sections, which helps me quickly assess two key skills:

1. Can they identify literary devices on the spot?

2. Can they unpack the deeper meaning behind them?

With students in Years 7–10, I often use the hard-copy textbooks in Room T, or I use ChatGPT to create unseen questions tailored to their level. These are great for giving them consistent practice in annotation and comprehension.

When teaching literary devices, I go through each one in a memorable, student-friendly way. For instance, metaphors can be tricky to spot so I say, “If the sentence has a hidden meaning beyond what’s literally there, meaning starts with ‘M’, so does metaphor.” It’s a small trick, but it sticks.

I then introduce my PIE method for annotation:
P – Purpose (what is the device doing in this context?)
I – Impact (how does it make the audience feel?)
E – Effect (what does the audience learn?)

Students often mistake a device’s definition for its purpose. For example, personification isn’t just “giving human traits to something non-human” but rather, what specific trait is being given here, and why?

To help them remember audience response, I use the car crash analogy: If you crash without a seatbelt, the impact might be a broken arm, and the effect is learning to always wear a seatbelt. It’s about linking techniques to meaning, emotion and takeaway which is a kind of formula in itself.

The point is that english doesn’t have to be a subject where you wait for a student to have an assessment. Formulas and structured lessons are needed to develop core skills needed to tackle the assignment once it approaches.

Briana Vaz

One of the biggest shifts I’ve noticed as a tutor is moving from explaining information at students to helping them discover it themselves. At first, I thought good tutoring meant being the source of all the answers. Over time, I’ve realized it’s often about asking the right questions.

When students struggle with a concept — whether it’s analyzing a poem or solving an equation — their first instinct is usually to ask, “Can you just tell me the answer?” And it’s tempting to do that. But when I pause and instead ask a guiding question, something changes.

Questions like, “What do you notice here?” or “What’s the first step you would take?” shift the session from passive to active. Students are forced to engage, even if they’re unsure. It’s often in those messy moments of trying, guessing, and correcting that real understanding is built.

I’ve also noticed that asking questions builds confidence. Students who are used to seeing school as a test of right and wrong start to see it more like a conversation they can participate in. Over time, they need less and less from me to get unstuck — because they’ve learned how to think, not just what to think.

In the world of tutoring, where every student’s needs are different, questions are the bridge. They personalize the learning, reveal misconceptions, and encourage growth. As tutors, we’re not just teaching content; we’re teaching curiosity. And sometimes, the best lessons start not with an answer, but with a question.

Daniel Aghmesheh