Home and Online Common Entrance Exams Tuition in Bicester

If you are looking for someone experienced and trained to teach, you should select a qualified teacher for tuition. It might sound obvious, but if your tutor has teaching qualifications, they will have direct experience teaching children in your child’s age range in the chosen subject. Your tutor will be a subject specialist, able to assess and measure progress, liaise with your school (if required), and be up to date with the latest curriculum changes and exam specifications.

We bring the classroom to your home with high-quality tuition from fully qualified teachers. All our tutors are experienced, professional teachers vetted by us and with enhanced DBS checks. 

On average, twenty qualified and experienced teachers join our service each week. Most of our teachers continue to work in schools; some have become full-time tutors. They come from the state, grammar, and independent sectors, with experience in primary, secondary, and further education.

We also receive many applications from unqualified (though often experienced) tutors and undergraduates, but we turn them all away because we believe that “teachers do it best.” A qualified and experienced schoolteacher provides the best, most reliable, relevant, and safest education for your child. That’s why we only offer experienced and qualified teachers as tutors.

What if I do not want a qualified teacher?

There are reasons why you may consider an unqualified tutor a better fit for your needs than a qualified teacher. You may be looking for someone of a similar age to your child who can act more as a peer mentor and role model than as an educator. Another reason might be cost. Often, unqualified tutors charge less, and a quick scroll on your social media will source tutors for as little as £10 per hour.

Unqualified tutors may have achieved great academic results in their own education, but beware of subject experts who can’t teach. Their experience and knowledge of teaching can massively vary (especially when working with younger children), and this is difficult to identify until you hire them and see how they interact with your child.

Many unqualified tutors rely on worksheets, the equivalent of extra homework, rather than an engaging learning experience. They may also be unable to build rapport or uncertain how to structure a lesson or assess your child’s needs and progress.

If you are not looking for a qualified teacher for tuition, perhaps consider recommendations from friends or a search on Google or social media. You could also look at other tutor agencies that offer a wider range of tutors.

Comparing Popular Tutoring Agencies in the UK

Explore Learning provides tuition centres that support primary and secondary school children aged 4 to 16. They offer a combination of online and in-person tuition and focus on teaching English, Maths, Primary, SATs, and School Entrance Exams. Costs: Their tutors are not qualified teachers. Explore Learning operates on a membership basis, where students attend multiple monthly sessions. Monthly membership fees can range from £100 to £150, depending on the location and programme.

First Tutors is an online platform connecting students with private tutors across various subjects and levels. The platform allows students to browse profiles, read reviews, and choose a tutor based on their preferences. Their tutors are a mix of undergraduates, professionals, and qualified teachers. Costs: The prices of First Tutors vary depending on the subject and the tutor's experience. On average, you can expect to pay between £20 and £40 per hour for the tuition, and you also pay a one-off fee to the platform (between £9.99 to £34.99) to be able to connect with your chosen tutor.

Fleet Tutors specialises in providing private tuition for students of all ages, from primary school to university, with English, Maths, Science and School Entrance Exams as the main focus. They offer face-to-face and online tutoring options. Their tutors are a mix of undergraduates, professionals, and qualified teachers. Costs: Fleet Tutors does not openly disclose its pricing on its website, and you must phone a consultant to find this. However, based on industry averages, you can expect costs to range from £30 to £50 per hour.

Kip McGrath is a well-established tutoring franchise with a network of tuition centres across the UK. It offers face-to-face and online tutoring in English and maths for primary and secondary school students up to 16 years old. Most tutors are qualified teachers. Costs: Vary based on the location and the specific programme, but on average cost £34 per hour.

MyTutor offers online tuition only. It provides a platform for tutors to create profiles and for students to find the right match for their learning needs. All tutors are current or recent undergraduate students. Costs: Tutors on MyTutor set their own rates, and prices can vary based on the subject and the tutor's experience. Expect to pay between £22 and £57 per hour.

Superprof is an online platform that connects students with tutors across various subjects and interests, including music tuition, Rubik's Cube coaches, drumming lessons, and art and cooking classes. It caters to a global audience, allowing students to find tutors both locally and internationally. Tutors are generally students and undergraduates, not often qualified teachers. Costs: Superprof allows tutors to set their own rates. On average, you can expect to pay between £15 and £40 per hour, though some charge more than this.

Tutor Doctor is a global tutoring franchise that offers personalised in-home and online tutoring services. It matches students with tutors based on individual needs and learning styles. Tutors are generally students and undergraduates, not often qualified teachers. Costs: Like many other tutoring agencies, Tutor Doctor does not openly disclose pricing on its website. Costs can vary based on location, subject, and tutor experience, with average prices ranging from £30 to £50 per hour.

Tutorful is an online platform that connects students with local and online tutors. It provides a platform for tutors to showcase their qualifications and expertise. Tutors are generally students and undergraduates, not often qualified teachers. Costs: Tutorful allows tutors to set their own prices. On average, tutors charge between £13 and £35 per hour.

Tutorhunt is a service that offers online tuition only. It provides a platform for tutors to create profiles and for students to find the right match for their learning needs. Its tutors are a mix of students, undergraduates, and some qualified teachers. Costs: Tutors on Tutorhunt set their own rates, and prices can vary based on the subject and the tutor's experience. Expect to pay between £20 and £40 per hour.

Wherever you go or whoever you choose, please take the time to interview the tutor first, check their credentials and be sure they are safe to work with your child.

Face-to-Face Tuition

Face-to-face tuition is the traditional and perhaps the most widely recognised form of tutoring. It involves a teacher providing tuition for your child in person, usually at your home or some neutral setting (e.g., a library or café). About 60% of the requests we receive from parents are for face-to-face tuition, particularly those for children in their younger years or who require support with SEN.

The advantages of face-to-face tuition are:

• Face-to-face tuition allows more personal interaction between your son or daughter and their teacher. The teacher can physically observe your child’s learning process and provide individual guidance. 
• Face-to-face tutoring can provide a more focused environment, as there are fewer distractions. Your son or daughter can concentrate on their studies without getting distracted by social media or other online activities.
• Face-to-face tutoring provides better communication between you, your child, and the tutor. You can sit in on lessons or have a quick chat before and after each session. There are fewer chances of misunderstandings and miscommunications, which can occur online.
• Face-to-face tutoring can be more engaging as a teacher can use different techniques, such as visual aids, to make the learning process more interesting and interactive.
• With face-to-face tuition, it is easier for a teacher to identify learning gaps, as they can observe your child’s performance and provide immediate feedback to them and to you.

The disadvantages of face-to-face tuition are:

• Depending on your location, there may be fewer teachers available for you, so your choice and selection may be more limited. The list of teachers we provide for you is for relevant teachers who live within 15 miles of your home, as it needs to be practical for the teacher to travel to you.
• Tuition fees for face-to-face tuition are about £6 ph more expensive than online tuition, as teachers are required to travel to your home, and this extra fee mitigates their travel costs.

Overall, while online tutoring offers many benefits, such as a wider choice of teachers, flexibility, and convenience, many parents still see face-to-face tuition as offering the personal touch. It enables the teacher to build a closer rapport with your child and, arguably, can support them to achieve better results.

Online Tuition

With the advent of technology, online tuition has gained immense popularity. It allows your child to connect with their teacher remotely, eliminating geographical constraints. This mode of tutoring often involves video calls, shared documents, and other digital tools to facilitate effective learning. Our teachers use a range of platforms for their online lessons, including Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, etc.

The advantages of online tuition are:

• For face-to-face tuition, the teacher must be local to you so they can practically travel to your family home to deliver lessons. The need to be local limits the choice of teacher and their available timeslots. An online teacher can literally be based anywhere in the UK. This means there is much greater availability of more teachers, meaning more chance of finding that perfect teacher, the one who is just the right match for your son or daughter.
• There is no travel involved with online tuition, which reduces the cost of your lessons by about £6 ph. It also means teachers do not arrive late at your house due to travel delays … and is better for the planet! If either you or your teacher are travelling away from home, perhaps on holiday, tuition can still continue if required.
• For teachers travelling, lessons less than one hour long are not usually viable due to the travel time and costs involved, but with online, more frequent shorter lessons can be given, which particularly suits children who tire easily or have short attention spans.
• On a practical domestic level, there is no need for tuition to take place over your kitchen table. Your child can work in familiar surroundings, with no one invading their privacy, which can be less daunting for a nervous child.
• Lessons are still live and interactive; this is not a case of just watching a video. This may be primarily through dialogue and shared screens; there are also impressive virtual classroom and whiteboard apps which enable both teacher and child to write simultaneously using an electronic pen on a shared virtual whiteboard. Other add-ons allow the teacher and your child to edit PDFs together in real time. Also, the sessions (from your child’s perspective) can be recorded and used later, including lesson notes, which may include links, embedded videos, and simulations.
• Today’s children live in an online world, so they are used to using computers and screens for learning. Many schools embrace online tuition as a hybrid of classroom teaching and interactive whiteboards.

The disadvantages of online tuition are:

• Online tuition is less effective for younger children or those with SEN. These children often find it difficult to concentrate and focus through a screen and generally will do much better in a face-to-face arrangement.
• Online tuition heavily relies on technology, and technical problems such as poor internet connectivity, software glitches, or hardware malfunctions can disrupt the learning process.
• Online tuition can lack the personal touch and the immediate feedback that face-to-face interactions provide. Your child may struggle with the absence of a physical presence with self-discipline and motivation when learning in an online environment. It may make it easier for your son or daughter to procrastinate or disengage.
• Certain subjects, such as science, may involve hands-on activities that are challenging to replicate online. Lack of access to labs, workshops, or physical materials can impact the quality of education in these areas.
• Excessive screen time can lead to issues like eye strain, fatigue, and other health-related concerns. Students spending extended hours on digital devices may face physical and mental health challenges.

Small Group Tuition

By teaming up with friends and family members, parents can create their own small groups for tuition, either at home or online. This innovative approach allows children to benefit from the highest-quality teachers and enables parents to share the costs, making quality education more accessible.

Children should be of similar ages, abilities, and ambitions. The group size should be no larger than four. The cost of each lesson is automatically charged equally across the group. Parents can easily manage the size of their group and can start and stop lessons at any time.

The advantages of small group tuition are:

• Within a small group, your child can still receive personal attention if the group is not too large and the range of abilities is not too disparate. Whether adapting the pace of instruction, providing additional practice materials, or offering targeted guidance on challenging topics, the teacher can ensure that every child progresses at their own pace and maximises their potential.
• Small group tuition encourages collaboration and peer learning. Students can share their knowledge, exchange ideas, and support each other's learning. This collaborative environment fosters critical thinking, communication skills, and teamwork ... all valuable attributes that extend beyond schoolwork and exams.
• Group tuition is significantly more cost-effective than one-on-one tuition, as tuition fees can be shared across the group. Small group tuition costs range from £15 to £35 per student per hour, depending on the subject, the tutor's qualifications, and the group size.

The disadvantages of small group tuition are:

• Liaising with your friends or family members to create your group will take some of your time. We provide you with a secure and easy way to invite others to add their payment card to your account, and you can change the size of your group at any time.
• You will also need to agree with your group on lesson times and a venue for the tuition unless you are choosing online tuition.

When you complete the website form telling us the subject, subject level, age group, and location (if face-to-face) for the tuition required, we provide you with a list of profiles of teachers who can offer tuition in the subject and level you are looking for and who are currently available.

Take your time reading through these teacher profiles, and when you are ready, you can invite teachers to contact you. Most parents invite 2 or 3 teachers, but you can choose more. You are not committing to any lessons at this stage; just having an initial chat to see if they are a good fit for your needs.

You may wish to generate further teacher lists for other subjects or consider different types of tuition. For example, if you want a greater choice of teachers, request an online teacher list.

When you invite a teacher to contact you, you can send them a note with any extra information, and you can expect them to e-mail, text or call you in the next day or two.

Our teachers are generally very reliable and good at contacting you within 24 to 48 hours, but if you do not receive a response from a teacher, please let us know, and we will follow up. Sometimes, a busy teacher does not see the e-mail, or it has gone into their spam or junk folder.

If you are unsure about what to say or what to ask your teacher when they make contact, please read this guide for your introductory call.

A guide to your introductory call

If you are in the process of choosing a tutor for your child, then it is a good idea to organise an initial introductory call or meeting with the tutor (face-to-face or online). This will enable you to learn more about their character, qualifications, experience and teaching style, and you will be better able to assess whether they are a good fit for your child.

How to structure an introductory phone call or initial meeting

This introductory call or initial meeting may take around 20 minutes. Feel free to include your child in this call (if they are of a suitable age) if you want to see if there is a good rapport between them and the teacher.

• Ask the tutor to introduce themselves to you in more detail and discuss their teaching style and experience.
• Discuss your child’s needs and the purpose and ambition for the tuition.
• Provide the tutor with any further details they need regarding the role, such as your child's age and year group, school, current working level, relevant exam board or exam dates, and any specific SEN, EHCP, or diagnostic reports.
• Ask the tutor how they might initially assess your child and how they would implement a plan to measure progress.
• Be clear about your own expectations around setting work and whether you want the tutor to provide and mark any structured homework.
• Please clarify whether you want the tutor to liaise directly with your child's school and class teacher.
• Confirm the timings, timescale, and tuition location if it is face-to-face.

Next steps

At the end of the call, confirm any next steps.

• If you decide that this tutor is the right fit for your tuition needs, you may wish to arrange a first lesson with them. If you want time to think about it, please tell the tutor you will get back to them by a specific date.
• If you decide on a first lesson, agree on a time and location that works for both of you and discuss what to expect from that first lesson.
• Establish some ground rules. You should be able to give 'reasonable' notice to your tutor should you need to cancel a lesson with them. Please clarify how you will communicate with your tutor if this happens (text, voicemail, e-mail, etc). Most tutors expect 24-hour notice, though they understand that giving 24 hours is not always possible (e.g., last-minute illness). This reasonable notice also applies if your tutor needs to cancel a lesson due to unforeseen circumstances.
• For safeguarding reasons, tuition should always occur in a supervised setting, i.e., with a parent, guardian, or carer present in the home, whether face-to-face or online.
• Confirm their availability for your preferred lesson times.

How do I know if I have chosen well?

Be around for the first few lessons and listen in on the teaching and learning.

Have a chat with your child after each lesson and watch their response. Though your child may initially be nervous or unenthusiastic, you should quickly begin to see a positive response.

With many years of experience teaching children one-to-one, we know children often make remarkable progress in only a few weeks. Ability, self-belief, confidence, enjoyment … all begin to take root and grow.

Safeguarding is crucial when it comes to tutoring, whether it's face-to-face or online.

Background checks and references

Qualified teachers are required to undergo appropriate background checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This check helps to identify any criminal records or history that may pose a risk. You can ask your teacher to bring their DBS and teaching certificates to their first lesson.

You can also request your teacher bring references from previous clients or employers to their first lesson with you. You can access some reviews for teachers in their profiles.

Additional safeguards

Even with a DBS in place, parents should take additional safeguards. For example, we recommend the following:

• Always interview potential tutors before inviting them into your home (whether face-to-face or online).
• Avoid holding the lesson in a bedroom. A central location in your home, often the kitchen table, is often the preferred arrangement.
• For online tuition, implement parental control settings on the devices your child uses. This helps monitor and restrict access to inappropriate content.
• Discuss privacy measures with your teacher, such as your child recording the lesson for future use, using a virtual whiteboard and ensuring that screen sharing is limited to the necessary materials.
• Sit in on the first lesson or two, especially at the beginning and if your child is younger. Gradually grant more independence as you get to know your teacher and establish trust.
• Always leave the door open so you are within earshot.
• Regularly check in with your child about their experiences with their teacher. Create an environment where they feel comfortable sharing any concerns or discomfort. Teach your child about online safety and appropriate behaviour. Encourage them to communicate openly with you if they feel uneasy about anything.
• Maintain open communication with your teacher. Discuss any concerns promptly and ensure there is a clear channel for ongoing dialogue.
• Trust your instincts as a parent. If something doesn't feel right, address it immediately and consider finding an alternative tutor if necessary.

Tuition fees

Many tutors and tutor agencies do not show their fees, so you will need to contact them directly to find out and/or negotiate.

Our fees are clearly shown on our website here.

For the majority of our teachers, tuition fees for one-to-one tuition are as follows:

• Primary, EYFS, KS1 and KS2: Face-to-face tuition is £46 ph, and online tuition is £40 ph.
• SEN and Learning Support: Face-to-face tuition is £46 ph, and online tuition is £40 ph.
• 11+ and Year 7 Independent School Entry: Face-to-face tuition is £48 ph, and online tuition is £42 ph.
• 13+ and Common Entrance: Face-to-face tuition is £55 ph, and online tuition is £44 ph.
• Year 7 to Year 9 (all academic subjects): Face-to-face tuition is £46 ph, and online tuition is £40 ph.
• GCSE and IGCSE Tuition (all academic subjects): Face-to-face tuition is £48 ph, and online tuition is £42 ph.
• A-Level and IB Tuition (all academic subjects): Face-to-face tuition is £50 ph, and online tuition is £44 ph.

Our teachers are free to set their own tuition fees, and some choose to charge a higher rate than this, especially if they are offering a specialist subject, level, or experience.

When you look at your teacher list, the tuition fee for each teacher is clearly shown in their profile. The teacher has set their own fee, which is not for negotiation. You may consider the teacher's fee as part of your selection process when shortlisting your teachers.

If the cost is an issue, you can invite your partner, grandparents, or other family members to contribute to the tuition costs. We provide a secure and easy set-up for you to invite others to add their payment card to your account. You can also pair up with other families to create a small tuition group, automatically sharing the costs across your group. Group tuition is significantly more cost-effective than one-on-one tuition, as tuition fees can be shared across the group. Small group tuition costs range from £15 to £35 ph per student, depending on the subject, the tutor's qualifications, and the group size.

Breakdown of costs

Of the total fee you pay, 75% will go directly to your teacher, and 25% will cover the platform costs, which include VAT, card processing, and our business costs.

• VAT is charged at 20%.
• Card processing costs are 1.5% and 20p per transaction.
• Our business costs are almost exclusively directed at recruiting and vetting high-quality teachers. We do not invest in paid advertising on Google or social media but choose to grow organically, as happy parents tell other families about us. We also do not run a large office or have a large team of administrative and technical staff.

Other costs

There are no further costs for you. Travel costs for face-to-face tuition are included in the tuition fee. Teachers will provide their own resources for all their lessons, though you may choose to supplement these.

No upfront payments

You do not need to pay registration fees to use our website or teachers. You pay nothing in advance. You pay after each lesson. You are in full control and can authorise or, if necessary, query your teacher's timesheet before payment. You can also stop tuition and cancel your account with us anytime.

Your payment card details

After your first lesson, you must add your debit or credit card to your account. We use Stripe Payments Europe Ltd, a secure card payment system which transfers your tuition fees directly to your teacher’s bank account.

You can invite your partner, grandparents or other family members to contribute to part or all of your tuition costs.

You can also choose to create a small tuition group with fellow parents and other families, automatically sharing the costs across your group.

We provide a secure and easy set-up for you to invite others to add their payment cards to your account.

Your timesheets

After each lesson, your teacher will add the lesson details to a timesheet, which you can see in your account. You will be notified by text and e-mail each time this happens. 

• You will have 24 hours to review this timesheet entry before payment is automatically charged to your credit or debit card. You can log into your account to approve or query this timesheet entry.
• If you query a timesheet entry, the payment will not be charged to your credit or debit card until the query has been resolved with your teacher.
• If you approve a timesheet entry, your credit or debit card will be charged immediately.
• If you are part of a shared payments team, the total tuition fee will be divided equally across your payment team.

Following payment of the timesheet, you will receive two invoices on your account detailing the tuition fee due to the teacher and the platform fee (VAT, card processing fee and our business costs) due to us.

Refunds

We're almost certain you will be happy with your choice of teacher, but if the first lesson is not a success, for whatever reason, please contact us, and you will not be charged for the lesson. We will also look for an alternative teacher if you wish. 

Bad actors

Occasionally, we experience parents trying to negotiate fees directly with teachers, even suggesting they pay the teacher directly, cash in hand, with no records of invoices, receipts, VAT costs, etc. Our teachers are often embarrassed if this happens, and they will report this to us. We will then close the parent's account.

We request that you give “reasonable” notice to your teacher if a lesson needs to be cancelled. This means as much notice as is practically possible. However, we all understand there are circumstances where it is difficult to give sufficient notice.

We request that our teachers give you the same “reasonable” notice if they need to cancel the lesson for any reason.

We strongly recommend that you and your teacher discuss a clear process for communicating any cancellations in your initial meeting with them, e.g., sending a text, WhatsApp, or a phone call. Communication is the key to maintaining a strong relationship between you and your teacher. 

We do not specify a 24-hour cancellation policy, as it is difficult to maintain this policy as every situation differs. For example, it would seem wrong to charge for a lesson if your child has a sudden illness. Equally, we have had cases of teachers being caught in traffic due to accidents, etc., and unable to get to the lesson.

If there is a dispute (fortunately, this is very rare), then our suggested cancellation guidelines stated in our Terms and Conditions are:

• If a lesson is cancelled by a parent with 24 hours notice, the teacher should not charge for the missed lesson.
• If a lesson is cancelled by a parent with between 1 to 24 hours notice, the teacher should charge 50% of the tuition fee.
• If a lesson is cancelled by a parent with less than one hour's notice or a no-show, the teacher should charge 100% of the tuition fee.

Starting tuition

You can start the tuition whenever you wish, during the next few days or at some later date. Simply contact your chosen teacher and confirm the date, time and venue of the first lesson with them. If you have not done so already, you can add your payment card to your account.

Pausing tuition

You can pause tuition whenever you wish, e.g. for half-terms or school holidays. Simply contact your teacher in advance and let your teacher know.

Stopping tuition

You can stop the tuition whenever you wish, after one lesson or after many. Simply contact your teacher and let them know that you no longer require lessons. There is also a button in your account (which looks like the image below) that you can press that will let the teacher know that you are stopping lessons.

Click here if stopping lessons

Restarting tuition

If, in the future weeks, months, or years, you wish to contact your teacher again to restart tuition (perhaps with a sibling), simply ask them if they are available. Their contact details will always be held in your account. There is also a button in your account (which looks like the image below) that you can press to confirm that you are restarting lessons, which will re-activate the role.

Click here if restarting lessons

Closing your account and deleting your data

Most parents choose to keep their account open with us, even if they have never started or have stopped their tuition.

Keep our account open to request further lists of qualified and experienced teachers. You can also use our free resources, parent guides, and exam library, where you can access and download SATs, 11-plus, GCSE, and A-Level exam papers and mark schemes. (If you can't find what you are looking for, drop us a line, and we will try to find it for you and add it to your library.)

We promise not to pester you or try to sell you anything else, nor bother you with endless marketing emails. We will not pass your details to anyone else.

You can close your account at any time. At the bottom of your account, there is a large red button (which looks like the image below) that will permanently close your account and delete all your data. Please note that once you have deleted your data, we cannot retrieve it.