If you want to become a professional tutor, you need to go through an interview session to prove your expertise, knowledge, and teaching skills. So, it is better to have an idea about the type of questions you will face during the interview session. Let us make a list of tutor interview questions.

Why do you like to work as a private tutor?

Perhaps, you want to earn money from your teaching profession. Besides, you are passionate about teaching children in different schools. Some experts prefer private tuition as a source of extra income. So, if you have time, you can utilise it by tutoring students across the UK.

You may choose the subject you like to teach based on your educational background. You can work as a private tutor even if you are not a schoolteacher.

But remember that you should maintain the right tone of voice while answering your interview questions. You have to create an impression that you have a real desire to work as a private tutor.

How do you keep your student engaged during every private tuition class?

Some young learners feel bored or become disinterested in the subject when you give instructions. But, as a tutor, you are responsible for determining whether the learner is ready for the private tutoring session. You can find the most effective way to keep the student focused all the time.

During the interview, you may talk about your ability to make every lesson fun and interesting for every student. Furthermore, you should be able to adjust your lesson according to the student’s needs. Let the interviewer know about your approach to making an engagement-focused plan for the lesson. It will be easier to answer the question if you have previous experience in teaching students.

What is your standard approach to your daily tutoring session?

Although you can customise and alter sessions to meet your student’s needs, you should create a standard teaching method or lesson plan to teach the learner. It is also essential to implement the right technique to assess students.

Interviewers or HR professionals will ask this question during the interview session. Their main goal is to know your unique tutoring philosophy. Make sure that your approach serves students’ purpose and meets their needs. Sometimes, the interviewer will ask you questions about every step of the tutoring process.

You should let your interviewers understand how you can make learners feel comfortable and allow them to understand the lesson. While answering the interviewer’s question, you can mention a pedagogical method used by you.

How will you cover the lesson fully in a particular number of stipulated sessions?

Regardless of the duration of the session and the subject matter, you have to cover the lesson properly. But, it may affect your time management approach to reach the goal. So, during the interview, you can discuss your plan that helps students get the most out of your tutoring effort.

What should you do if your student cannot understand a concept despite your effort?

Patience is the most crucial thing in this situation. Highly intelligent students do not always hire tutors. However, most students feel the need for professional help, and they fail to manage lessons on their own. So, you have to accept the fact that you are teaching students because they do not understand a particular concept.

With a proper answer, you should let your interviewer know that you would never give up. You may use practical examples, demonstrations, interactive exercises, and some other modes to send your message. You are confident that the learner will eventually be able to remove their queries.

How will you manage disruptive students?

Although it is a 1-on-1 private tutoring session, you should be able to manage an unruly student. Not every learner knows the importance of respecting a teacher. So, to deal with such students, you can apply different tricks-

• Make your lessons fun and more engaging for your student.
• Discuss the problem directly and try to address it.
• Explain to them that troublesome behaviour can lead to failure in academic life or negatively affect the future.

You can talk to the student’s parents if these methods do not work.

How will you set a goal while creating a lesson plan?

You may reveal your individual approach to setting a goal. Interactions with the student are also important while determining the goal. You should focus on the reason why the learner needs your help and what he expects from you. Based on these details, you can identify the right goal to make the lesson plan. The information also helps you select the topics for creating the study plan.

Inform the interviewer that you review the goals every few months. It is because you have to measure the student’s learning pace. As a teacher, you should help students progress faster.

Which is the best environment while tutoring a learner?

The interviewer will ask the question to know whether you prefer a quiet environment, a 1-on-1 tutoring or a crowded classroom setting. Every student is unique and learns a subject better in different contexts. Thus, it is better to show your ability to switch between different scenarios effortlessly. Your tutoring style will allow the interviewer to decide whether you will get hired.

Make sure that you are confident in the chosen teaching style. You have to be flexible because you may face different scenarios.

How will you prepare a student for a particular test?

A typical tutoring session differs from a session intended to prepare for an exam. A student may hire you to prepare for a college admission test or other standardised tests.

While responding to the interviewer’s question, you should prove your ability to provide this type of tutoring service. You need to show how a general tutoring session differs from a tutoring program for admission tests.

So, you can now prepare for other tutor interview questions and establish yourself as a tutor.

Being a private tutor, your main job is to teach students and provide information and notes to make them pass their exams the best way possible. However, teaching can mean a lot more than simply giving lessons and study material. A teacher must connect with the students before giving any kind of lesson, and the other way around, to make sure that everybody remains on the same page and nobody gets left behind.

Students have different calibres when it comes to studying and establishing a relationship with the teacher. Those who are successful in engaging in conversations with the teacher often do better in their studies. Again, there are a lot of times when students are shy and reserved, so they can’t open up and discuss their problems and responsibilities.

Tutoring activities are done to perform several functions, establishing a stronger connection between the tutor and students and among the students. As it helps lighten up the situation, it also helps students improve cognitive functions.

What is the importance of tutoring activities?

As it is mentioned that teaching goes beyond providing lessons and study material, preparation of the mind is essential and develops a pathway for greater reasoning. In later years, students get benefitted from the critical thinking and reasoning they develop in lower classes.

As everybody’s capacity to understand and learn varies, it is necessary to bring everyone to a common base so their progress can be observed better. A serious environment may be required to understand tough topics, but it does not work very well in the long run. Instead, a lighter mood ensures that the students learn better and have a better grasp of the topic.

Fun activities such as games are incredibly effective in improving focus and concentration. Also, students don’t get tired quickly. Games and challenges also help boost the students’ confidence a lot.

What are the most popular fun activities to follow?

Firstly, it is essential to note the time duration for such activities. Although it depends on the allotted time to tutor students, fifteen minutes of such activities can stimulate the brain in fantastic ways.

Three activities, each ranging five minutes, are more than enough to make that work. One activity should emphasise focus and cognition, another one should focus on managing different tasks at once, and the last one solely focused on fun and laughter so everybody can be on the same starting point.

These activities fulfil an important purpose – spreading joy and smiles. It is an excellent stimulator in the learning process and can lighten up the mind before engaging in challenging and rigorous tasks.

Being a great tutor is not the ability to teach a complex topic with great accuracy; but the ability to create joy and transfer it into studies. These activities will make you feel loved by your students, and you, as a tutor, can have a significant impact, not just as a tutor but as a significant being in their lives.

Three tutor time activities

Here are three different activities you can do as a tutor to further solidify your relationship with the students.

Activity 1

This game will require one cup per couple of students. The tutor will assign the students in such a way that each student will face one other, and a cup will be placed between them. The game will need long tables or benches to conduct.

The tutor will instruct the students on a number of commands which they have to follow. They would require to point or touch their head, shoulders, and arms as per the tutor’s instructions. When the tutor instructs ‘cup,’ they have to go for the cup. The first student to touch or grab the cup among the two would be the winner. And the game would go on.

Be sure to rotate the students randomly so everyone can face everyone and make the outcomes more interesting and fun.

The key takeaway from this game is that it is very engaging and exhilarating, so students will have a ton of fun participating. The game requires quick thinking and faster reaction, hence increasing the thrill. Fun-having students will bond with the tutor better.

Activity 2

There are various ways to engage students in doing multiple tasks at once through specific training. The best way to do this is to engage in a fun activity.

This game does not require teaming up; it can be played anywhere and anytime. It also does not require any props to play.

The tutor will ask the students to make a thumb-up sign with their right hand. Then, they have to point their index to the thumb up of the other hand. Now, they have to interchange the signs in both hands. The right index will point towards the thumb up in the left hand. Once they understand the task, they have to do it quickly without making any mistakes.

The task may sound like an easy one, but doing it at a go takes a lot of focus and determination. It also exercises both sides of the brain and increases hand coordination.

Another similar game requires the index fingers on both hands to point at each other. The student has to rotate the fingers simultaneously but in opposite directions. This one is a bit harder than the other, as they also have to maintain a similar speed in both hands.

Activity 3

Each student will need a small-sized piece of paper and a pen or marker. First, they have to place the paper flat on top of their head. Then they will use the pen to draw on it. The tutor and students can pick themes together, such as drawing a Christmas tree if it’s Christmas time. They will have one minute to draw and write their name underneath.

As challenging as it sounds, it is one of the best ways to create a strong bond between the tutor and students. It is difficult to draw anything correctly like that, so everyone can share a laugh together viewing their awkward drawing, and no one feels inferior or left out.

As a tutor, your goal is to make everyone feel secure and equal, so everyone can be the best version of their selves and inch towards their goal.

As students, it becomes really easy to catch up with all the academic responsibilities. Forgetting to care about mental and physical well-being can snatch away the sanity from life. Remember, maintaining overall well-being is our top priority in order to lead a healthy and balanced life. Education is vital to achieving success in life, but there should be a system and support for doing good in school while taking care of your well-being.

Here is a compilation of various wellness activities you can incorporate into your everyday life and improve your focus on your educational career.

Art Therapy

During the practise, students explore feelings and experiences via art creation. This develops different ways to think and cope with tension. So, art therapy is beneficial for secondary students struggling with depression, anxiety or any mental health problems.

Baking and Cooking

Baking and cooking can be fun for secondary students. It is like a relaxing therapy to deal with mental and physical health. When you indulge in baking or cooking activities, you get a good time to spend with family or friends.

Volunteer Work

It offers good scope for pupils to return to the community and feel better about their own selves. This sort of community service can help secondary students develop compassion and empathy. Plus, it adds a sense of persistence and increases self-esteem. Volunteer opportunities are available in schools, online resources, or local organisations.

Mindful Breathing

It is one of the most essential wellness activities that people tend to forget. In this activity, you need to pay attention while breathing. So, the steps involve taking slow and deep breaths in order to relax the mind.

It is best to find a calm and peaceful spot to practise mindful breathing. After that, you may either look softly forth or close your eyes gently. Now the centre of attention should be on feeling the physical sensation of air when it is moving in and going out of our body. It releases stress and eases anxiety. As a result, it improves the sense of overall well-being.

Outdoor Activities

Involving in outdoor activities is the best way to boost your mental and physical health. Activities like camping, hiking, gardening or just a simple walk can relax, rejuvenate and recharge your mind.

Spending moments in an open environment leaves a positive effect on your mood and reduces stress levels.

Creative Writing

It is a way of expressing one’s thoughts through writing their mind. It allows secondary students to go deep into their imaginations and vent out their creativity. There are so many options to unfold your creative mind that the list will be never-ending. However, to name a few of them, short stories, poetry writing or journaling, creative writing is an excellent activity that helps secondary students to understand their thoughts, emotions and experience in a better way.

Alongside helping in reducing stress and improving mental health, creative writing can also improve writing skills. This means you are divulging in an activity that will help you improve your academics.

Hiking

For secondary students, hiking is also an excellent way of bringing a change in the environment and overall well-being. It is a type of cardiovascular workout that helps to de-stress the mind. A short hiking trip through nature increases creativity and improves attention towards studies.

Besides, hiking also gives a scope to cut off from modern technologies and various worldly distractions. Hence, this allows you to forget worries and compels you to bond with nature and the environment. So, we can say that hiking is a perfect wellness activity for secondary students.

Sports

Sports participation is one of the healthiest ways to improve both physical as well as mental health naturally. Team sports help in improving teamwork skill development and communication, making it ideal for building social connections and relationships.

Besides, sports can lessen stress and enhance overall well-being; consequently making it perfect for secondary students’ well-being.

Swimming

If you are dealing with educational stress, you can indulge in low-impact exercises like swimming. Swimming is an excellent form of full-body exercise. It strengthens the muscles and improves cardiovascular health.

In addition, swimming provides another way of relaxing and de-stressing from academic learning. You can do this fun and lively activity alone or in groups to improve your overall well-being. Moreover, doing this in a group can be an excellent societal activity for secondary students.

Gardening

It is a great activity to spend time with plants and flowers. It can be really fun to bond with beautiful nature and maintain physical and mental wellness. Gardening gives you a way to reduce the pressure of secondary level and boost your mood. The activities involve digging soil, plantation and weeding.

All these help students learn more about plant life and the process of growing foods. This life skill ensures improved overall well-being.

Music and Dance

These are two powerful expressive forms that can improve the physical and mental health of students. When you listen to calm and relaxing music, it offers a soothing experience. Likewise, dancing is a fascinating and lively form of exercise.

Music and dance hold the power to boost your mood with positivity, thus, reducing the stress level and uplifting your overall well-being.

Careers in the education sector can be both enjoyable and successful options for those who like the idea of working with people of different age groups and teaching them. Specifically, tutoring is a rewarding part of the education career, which is more likely to allow flexibility.

Many students are in need of support to develop their language skills. This means when you are working as a language tutor, you should specialise in the English language to build an education career.

If you want to work as an online English tutor, the technologically advanced world allows you to work even without leaving your home. Thankfully, students get the opportunity to connect with their educators wherever they are in the world.

Online teaching has rapidly become popular as it offers teachers and students a platform to teach and acquire knowledge of various subjects. So, whether online or offline, the need for English teachers is always at its peak.

Who is an English tutor?

An English tutor is one who chooses an educational profession and works with students, whether individually or in groups, to support their learning. Often, students find it difficult to understand lessons taught in their regular classroom. Sometimes, the reason could be shyness to question or difficulty adapting to the teaching method. English tutors come in help as primary teachers or as a guide for the students taking classes elsewhere.

English tutors may be employees of an organisation that searches for tutors to match them with students. Otherwise, they might have an individual agreement with each student. As a tutor, the option to work spreads from working in one’s own country or choosing to teach abroad. Sometimes, a tutor works in the home country and teaches students virtually from other countries to make the most of it.

What is the work of an English tutor?

An English tutor gives additional support and assistance to students of different age groups in learning English. He might physically meet with the students on a one-on-one basis to provide individualised learning or in small groups and tailor the content of the subjects based on the need of each student.

In this way, an English tutor plans an individualised teaching process that complements the primary classes of the students.

Usually, they assess the learning as well as growth in the subject of the students and work on them following the set goals for lesson planning, developing English skills and delivering instructions. The work of a tutor also involves communicating with the guardians of the students or other responsible parties.

How can you become a Tutor in English?

If you want to consider English teaching as a good career option, here are some of the useful steps to follow:

1. Earn your diploma

Typically, English tutors need to have at least a high school diploma, bachelor’s degree or equivalent. If you complete high school with full attention to your studies and classes, it can help you gain success in college as well as an English tutor.

2. Good knowledge of your English skills

During and after post-preliminary studies, it is crucial to hone your skill in the English Language. You can try reading a variety of genres and writings frequently. In addition, take extra coursework if you find that helpful. Work together with a partner or coach to be sure that you have good conversation skills and are ready for your role as an English tutor.

There are several courses that teach you how to provide guidance and support to the students in order to build a good rapport, teach grammar and refresh their English vocabulary.

3. Pursue further education

Many tutors often require a bachelor’s degree in addition to their diploma certificate, primarily when they work with an organisation. Therefore, consider pursuing a degree from a college or a reputed university. Be sure to act mindfully to research factors like available majors, financial aid, tuition fees and more.

Choose to explore the colleges of your locality in-person or other places where you can relocate. Online degree programs are also a good option. Whatever you do, it is better to discuss your plans and options with a trustworthy coach or mentor who can come to your help.

4. Command Over The Subject

When brainstorming on the ways to become an English tutor, remember to have a good knowledge of the subject. Even if English is not your native language, you may get a real insight into the subject. Regardless of the fact that you are a native English speaker or not, you should have an excellent command of the grammar and vocabulary parts.

5. Experience

Your portfolio seems to be more impressive if it has some kind of teaching experience. Whether you worked in a school or tutoring company earlier, you can add that experience to your portfolio to start giving classes to learners.

6. Decide On The Type of Employment Structure

Explore the roles with organisations that team tutors with the learners and consider your interest in teaching students individually. It depends on your choice of what type of employment structure suits you right.

English tutor skills

To become a successful English tutor, it is primarily essential to have some skills that can help in providing support in students’ interaction, their growth assessment, delivering English language content, and excellently engaging their interest in the lessons you cover.

Below are some of those specific skills that help every English tutor gain success in their teaching career:

• English language acquisition
• Communication
• Active listening
• Patience
• Flexibility
• Organisation
• Lesson planning

Maths is sure one of the most intimidating subjects for almost anyone. Still, anyone can be great at the subject once they start to practice the fundamentals. If you are great at maths, you can also use that knowledge to teach others. But before doing that, you got to have some necessary skills and a more in-depth perception of the subject. As we all need maths every day in our daily lives, anyone can be a maths tutor if that person has commendable knowledge of the subject and they have the skill set to teach.

How to decide on the level you want to teach?

The level you would want to teach would depend on two things. Firstly, it is upon your own skill level that is fit to teach students up to a certain grade. Again, you can decide on the level earlier and then prepare yourself with the knowledge and skill required. For example, identifying the student’s grade will help you analyse the requirement, and you can narrow down your focus to certain topics. Familiarising with the curriculum will also aid in the preparation of the topics to teach.

You can tutor for maths for four distinct levels – primary school, secondary school, then college and sixth form, and finally, higher education maths.

You can teach primary school and sometimes secondary school maths if you at least have a secondary school graduation with good grades. College and higher education maths may require specialisation and higher degrees to teach maths. However, it is recommended to make yourself familiar with the required level of qualification. If you have a specialisation in maths, you should be eligible to tutor any grade till college. With that, the ability range is wider in secondary levels, especially between GCSEs and A levels.

How to invite students to your maths tuition?

Inviting new students for your maths tuition is quite straightforward. If you have signed up for a tutoring agency, then the agency will bring students. Again, if you are thinking of starting your own tutoring business, you need to advertise yourself on various social platforms. Keeping your academic achievements and professionalism on display is a must, as parents tend to make the teacher’s achievements a priority while searching for tutors.

You may mention your preferred teaching grade to specify your student requirements. Posting ads about your business on social media and using various methods to grab a student’s attention are key.

How to make money from tutoring?

You can earn good money each month if you apply the right strategies for your tutoring business. How you make your money will rest on how you are offering tuition. If you offer tuition through an agency, your earnings directly depend on the policies of the agency, which generally is a certain percentage of the agency’s earnings. Sometimes these agencies agree to pay a fixed amount each month, which has its own pros and cons.

There are no such restrictions if you handle your tutoring business yourself. The amount of money you make will go to you directly. On the other hand, you’ll need to take care of the management and tuition yourself, which may not be suitable for many.

Hence, it is better to weigh both options and see which one fits you better – both in the case of income and responsibilities. If you can afford to handle both, you can have your own tutoring business, or signing up to an agency would be a safer option. Many tutors start teaching from an agency and then open their own businesses after gaining some experience.

How to choose a tutoring agency?

Signing up for an agency is an excellent way to start your tutoring career. Many people join an agency not only to teach but also to gather experience about how to run a tutoring business. Hence, the things you learn will certainly help you form your own business.

Now, many people prefer to focus on the tutoring part, so choosing the right agency becomes significant. It also helps to identify the trends in the tutoring business. You have to go through the perks a tutoring agency offers and then decide if that suits you or not. Different agencies have different rules and perks; some may offer a higher sum, while some might give you more time to spare – it ultimately comes down to you which one suits you. Ultimately, your own and the agency’s interests should match. Only that way you can teach and also learn.

How much can a maths tutor make?

The money you make from tutoring varies on the number of hours, your teaching mode, experience, the class you are teaching, and also whether you are agency-based or not. Teaching one-on-one typically pays more. You can set your own teaching rate if you have an independent tutoring business. Given all the facts, maths tutors make within a range of 12 pounds/hour to 25 pounds/hour; in rare cases, highly qualified and experienced tutors can make close to 30 pounds/hour.

What qualification do you need to teach maths, and can you do that while being a student?

Having a GCSE in maths with an A grade is enough to teach maths; however, there is no strict rule. You need to have the degree you want to teach in maths or any other numerical-based subject. With that, a specialised maths degree can help you teach maths at any level.

You can tutor peers if you have an A level or higher level of education. Learning and also teaching can give you more experience and knowledge on your own subject. Hence, tutoring seems a better option for students instead of part-time jobs.

Peers around you may excel at the tests with much ease while you struggle to keep up the motivation to study. Often, this brings negative thoughts and demotivates you thinking that you aren’t as bright as the students in your class. You may find it challenging to ace the GCSE, but if you know the right techniques, the examination will be smooth and easy.

Along with these overwhelming thoughts, you may decide procrastinating is the best way. Here, we have come up with the best GCSE tips to help you revise in a way that you start loving science and move forward to excel in those examinations.

Best Revision Tips and Techniques for GCSE

1. Use flashcards

After revising one of the concepts, use a flashcard to write down all its key points.

It is better to do this after finishing each mini sub-units. For instance, if you are currently revising the GCSE AQA Biology, then write down every important point you got in the first section of Biology Unit 1. This section typically explains everything about cells and microscopes.

Again, repeat this same procedure for the next part, including cell differences, chromosomes and mitosis. The key is to revise the critical points from the flashcards effectively. Note the easier concepts at the back side and the tough ones at the front of the flash cards. This is a great way to focus more on the more complex ideas and less on the topics you are already acquainted with.

2. Usage of mind maps

Along with the use of flashcards, get hold of mind maps. Make a mind map on your flashcards when revising a chapter or concept. In case you require more space, you can also use plain A4 paper. Later compile all those mind maps you prepared in the study folder.

Periodically, make it a routine to revisit your study folder and start revising following the flashcard technique described above. Mind maps help you to link the concepts with each other and form a clear overview of the entire concept.

You may make mind maps on the entire unit or chapter if needed. For instance, if you choose the unit of chemical calculations in chemistry, you are likely to include moles, relative masses, reacting mass calculation, reactants limit, titration and percentage yield.

All these key points can provide you with a good overview of the entire unit and help you understand how some areas are relevant together. Simultaneously, you can know the areas that you have to keep on working.

3. Revise Actively

When we say revise actively, we mean that you should actively think about the concepts you are studying. Studying and taking notes passively or cramming won’t help you retain the memory of the concept in detail.

So, the basic yet best technique you can choose is to read the concept from the textbook or your notes. Then, cover it and recite, recalling from the memory the things you have just learnt. After reciting, it’s time to check how much you can remember. Sometimes, you may need to note down or draw the main information based on the chapter you are learning.

It is essential to check your book or notes to see if you are missing some points. If you do, fill in those gaps by following the same steps over and over again. Repeat them until you are fully confident of the topic you just learnt. Hence, the step of read-cover-recite and check is one of the primary keys to get success in GCSE.

4. Space out learning

The most helpful way to remember information for a long period of time is to learn the topic over a long time. Suppose you are in your year 11. You can begin your learning process in a small portion right from the start of the year. This needs a proper organisation in order to ensure all the concepts of the course will get covered by the examination time.

However, spacing out chapter learning is not about revising the same topic intensively every single day. It could simply mean dedicating some minutes post-school hours to reviewing the concept, which was unclear in the classroom.

You can slowly go through the concept again by increasing the intervals like two days, six days, ten days and so on. Eventually, the concept will seem to be easy to retain in your long-term memory.

However, if you just leave the revision part for the last months of the examination, you may not be able to recall all the information. Therefore, avoid underestimating this technique, as it is one of the highest-ranked techniques for effective learning.

5. Practice Exam Papers

Practising test papers rank among the highest techniques that allow students to learn more effectively. Doing so will enable you to acquire knowledge of the chapter and identify the void spaces in your topic acquisition. Plus, you can know how to answer the questions better to gain full marks.

6. Create analogies

An analogy is all about comparing a thing with another similar one. This learning technique helps in improving memory. Most importantly, it allows you to understand the things you could understand. You can compare the school wall to a plant cell. Just like the walls of a school offer support and protect the premise, plant cell walls also provide support and protection to the plant.

GCSE is a very important stage in any student’s academic career. As soon as students reach the tenth class, they start to prepare for the test, as it is always better to prepare early for such an important milestone. Starting early, you can be less stressed in year eleven. To sum up the preparation, you need to gather as much material as possible and manage your time accordingly to cover as much as possible. That would put you at an advantage over other students.

How to manage time for preparation?

There is no doubt that students are under a lot of pressure due to the short time and a lot of material to cover. This is why managing time effectively becomes an essential part of the preparation for GCSE.

There are some tricks you can use and strategies you can adapt to distribute the pressure equally, thus giving you time to study all that you can.

Making a study routine

The first thing that you have to do is make a study routine. For that, you need to arrange your day by the things you prioritise. Remember, it is essential that you keep some time for relaxation, helping you get some time to retrospect and think about your learning.

Breaking down the hours

Secondly, you will need to break your study hours into short spans for effective learning. There are studies that suggest that studying for short periods can effectively improve attention span and aid in a better understanding of the subject. Longer hours can actually hamper effective studying as our minds lose focus and attention. It is best to have one-hour studying sessions spread across the day.

Prioritising topics

In all the subjects you are preparing, there will always be some topics and tasks that need special attention due to their challenging nature. The best thing to do is to prioritise your tasks according to their level of difficulty. You can complete the tasks which are easier to finish and leave the difficult tasks for later. You can attempt the tough ones in the morning or whenever you are feeling fresh and energetic.

Doing away with distractions

As a growing teenager, you’ll come across a lot of distractions during that period. However, it is best to prioritise what you want to do and keep the other things for later. For example, you have a test coming up, yet you can’t do without your daily dose of video games. Although playing for some time will hurt in the long run, but playing games for more than the allotted time and not finishing the tasks will hurt your preparation.

Trying to make the most of time

It is true that motivation doesn’t come the same way every day. You may feel energetic and enthusiastic about finishing your tasks quickly, but again, you may not feel like doing so the next day. As it is completely normal and takes time to follow as a routine, you may try to squeeze in short study sessions on those days where you can. As attention works as a flow, you may be able to do more than you intended, which may make you confident. Whenever you feel it, you can manage an hour and arrange for a small revision so that you can easily move forward with later topics.

What strategies to apply while preparing for GCSE?

Let’s be real, rote learning is an old concept, and it may not be the best option for everyone all the time. In fact, reading and understanding serve as a greater process of learning as it involves critical thinking and rationalising. Moreover, study timings and duration also affect the outcome of your preparation.

There are a few strategies to apply when preparing for GCSE.

Summarisation

It is one of the most fundamental techniques when it comes to effective learning. Summarisation helps in understanding and learning large, difficult topics or parts using simple logic and reasoning. Breaking up the topics also helps with memorisation. You can easily differentiate between the critical and not-so-important parts by summarising.

Flashcards

You can adapt to different game strategies. For example, flashcards are an effective way to memorise important figures, statistics, and facts. You can take a good look and try to memorise it by imagining the card.

Frequent tests

It doesn’t matter how hard and how focused you are; you only have to prove yourself through tests. Frequent tests on the topics can improve your memory, presence of mind, and faster thinking. You won’t be thinking about the answers in the hall but only writing them down if you have tested yourself enough number of tests. The best way to attend this is to solve papers from previous years. If you prepare the questions from the last five years, that can be enough for you to score high.

What extra can you do besides study?

Although you are studying hard and trying your best to crack GCSE with flying colours, you can always go the extra mile to stand out. You may focus on some extracurricular activities, learn a new language, and also improve your skills and vocabulary. All these will help you to get ahead of the competition and help you in the future.

GCSE is, no doubt, a challenging exam, but being in year ten may give you an advantage, and you can start early. Early starts are good and calculated if you want to be ahead of others. With a good strategy and a healthy balance of relaxation and study, cracking GCSE is only a matter of time.

Many students in Wales and England appear for the GCSE exam in Year 10/11. When they are in Years 8/9, they select subjects they like to study for GCSE. Your school may also ask you to choose your GCSE options. But which options should you choose for your future study? Students often feel confused about their choices. Let us provide you with a brief GCSE options guide.

Know about GCSE compulsory and optional subjects

Students at the GCSE level normally need to study more or less 9 subjects, depending on their schools. Out of these 9 subjects, some are compulsory subjects, while others are optional subjects. The core subjects or compulsory ones include Science, English, and Mathematics. Many schools in England choose English as one of the compulsory subjects. So, students need to read English Literature for the exam. However, in Wales, learners should choose Welsh as the core subject.

Science subjects are divided into 3 categories, including Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. GCSE candidates can also study Combined Science. Some schools also include GCSE Religious Education as a compulsory subject.

The remaining subjects for GCSE will be optional ones. Some schools provide you with a form to let you select your options. Many academic institutions encourage students to choose a digital system to decide on optional subjects.

What are some common optional subjects for your GCSE?

Depending on your school, you can find variations in the optional subjects.

• Some common foreign languages taught at schools are Spanish, French, and German. However, there are also foreign language options like Japanese and Mandarin.
• Again, optional Humanity subjects are Religious Studies, Geography, and History.
• If you are interested in technology, you can choose from technical subjects, including Computer Science and Food Technology.
• Music, Art, Design, and Drama are some arts subjects for GCSE students.

Selecting at least one subject from the given categories is not compulsory. You may pick multiple ones from a particular category depending on your interests. When you are at A-level, you are not obligated to choose a subject in your GCSE exam. Still, it is better to check the A-level subjects before deciding on your GCSE options.

Questions that you must ask yourself to choose your GCSE options

In our comprehensive GCSE options guide, we recommend focusing on a few questions.

What are your long-term goals?

You must concentrate on your long-term vision before picking your GCSE options. Which university degree would you like to choose? What is the available A-level for the preferred degree?

It is to be noted that universities will check your GCSE subjects to determine your academic knowledge and talent. While applying to university, you will have AS grades. If you have not yet decided on your long-term goals, you can go for the most commonly chosen subjects.

What is the potential workload?

Quality is always more valuable than quantity in every aspect. So, you must not overlook the workload while choosing your subjects. Remember that some subjects are more stressful and challenging than others. Make sure that the workload for GCSE subjects is manageable.

Some more tips for choosing your GCSE optional subjects

These few tips will help you make the right decision-

Maintain a balance

Maintain a proper balance of your academic subjects while choosing GCSE options. For instance, if you are interested in Arts, you can select a language or History. The main reason for preserving balance is to have more options or opportunities in the future. With the progress of your academic career, you can find a better career path.

Focus on your subject and not your teacher

Often, students try to avoid subjects when they do not prefer the teacher. In fact, it is not the teacher but the subject that will influence your career.

Check the marking scheme

In the case of Drama, Art, and other GCSE subjects, coursework is significant. If you do not like to appear for an examination at the end of every session, you can avoid subjects related to your exam performance.

Subjects in which you have a genuine interest

Are you good at some particular subjects? As you enjoy reading those subjects, you can choose them for GCSE. You will easily be able to secure better marks.

Get advice from genuine people

You can depend on others’ views to make your decision. The best person to ask for recommendations is your teacher. However, you may also consult trained professionals like career advisors. You can talk to your friends if you are still in a dilemma. There are also online forums where GCSE students discuss relevant topics.

Do not think too much about your salary in the future

While choosing GCSE optional subjects, many students consider future job opportunities. As a result, they also think of the potential salary.

Most commonly, students with finance, engineering, medical, and technology careers get high-paying jobs. Mathematics is one of the compulsory subjects for students in the UK. However, it is not the right time to focus on your jobs and salary. You can choose subjects that interest you.

Universities appreciate core subjects only

Many universities do not bother with your optional subjects. They like to check your grades in Maths and English.

So, you can try out these tips for your GCSE options. Our comprehensive guide will help you make the right selection. Take some time to choose your subjects for GCSE.

Whether you want to choose your career as a tutor or a parent in search of the best tutor who can improve your child’s skills, here are the top qualities you need to know to identify what makes a good Tutor. A good Tutor will provide support to the regular classes and boost the confidence of their students. He will be the guide that your child ever needs to handle curriculum challenges.

However, the choice of trusting someone with the education of your child can be overwhelming, especially when there are so many private tutors and tuition providers to select from.

What are the qualities that a great tutor should have?

As a parent/guardian, we always wish the best for our children. Therefore, we need to look for a knowledgeable, experienced, professional and expert tutor to improve our child’s abilities. Excellent tutor is always flexible with their teaching methods and adapts to the learning style of their students.

#1. Align with Tutors, Students with their Parents

An excellent tutor will likely begin with a deep conversation with the parents and the students. This is to ensure that each of these three parties gets a unique insight into the strengths as well as weaknesses of the students. In addition, the tutor also takes into consideration cases where there are exceptionalities like dyslexia, ADD or PTSD in the students.

When engaging in an in-depth conversation, it also knows the teaching techniques, lesson planning on the curriculum, upcoming tests and exams they have to prepare to boost the confidence level and score of the student. Therefore, a tutor gets to understand the areas the students need more help, and the student receives guidance to do better.

#2. Uncover Learning Styles

A good Tutor can identify the unique learning style of every student and present information in a way that leaves the most significant effect on them. A tutor adapts to what is best for their students, from auditory, visual, kinesthetic, verbal, and logical to social and solitary or a mix of different learning styles.

#3. Experienced and Qualified

A tutor who has the much-needed qualifications and experience is perhaps the best one. This is because they have:

• a deeper understanding of the curriculum that is currently in the syllabus across multiple year groups
• the ability to deliver information according to the need of the students
• taught different ranges of age and abilities of the students in the classroom
• experience in providing a curriculum in multiple ways
• the capability to use teaching methods in order to help students of a variety of learning styles
• the ability to adjust to various methods of assessment and plan for the improvement of the students
• the idea of using assessment to its best potential to inform the next step in studying

#4. Develop a good rapport with the students

The role of a tutor differs from a regular school teacher. One of the main differences between a school teacher and a tutor is that a tutor has an opportunity to build a rapport with every learner on a more personal ground.

A large number of tutors use this chance to build a good rapport with their students and work on a one-to-one ratio or in small tuition batches. Both these settings enable them to learn about the students and get to know them in a much better way.

In the long term, this lets the tutor recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the students. The quality of a good tutor is to listen to their students. He will give adequate time to the students and listen to them. In this way, a tutor can build a strong relationship that will allow them to form more tailored lessons in unique styles for their student’s learning.

When a student feels comfortable in the learning environment the tutor sets, it becomes easier for a tutor to work on the student and push him to perform their best.

#5. Adapt to the requirements of the students

A successful tutor does not blindly set goals without considering the ambition and abilities of the students. They, instead, set attainable goals without being overambitious whilst explaining the targets. If done otherwise, they can rebound and make the student less motivated and unhappy with the learning process.

A common teaching technique that helps the tutor to start teaching is by choosing a topic in which the student feels confident. This is simply to boost their morale for tougher sessions that a tutor will simplify through his teaching.

#6. Flexibility and patience with students

Flexibility and patience are perhaps vital characteristics that make a tutor successful. If a tutor has flexibility, it means he may incline to alter and adopt new teaching techniques. This demonstrates that he can approach different types of teaching techniques that suit the individual needs of every student.

Similarly, patience is the key to becoming a successful tutor. Some subjects will come as a challenge for the students. A tutor needs to patiently bring the students to term and gradually move to the end of the chapter. Then, he has to review the lesson taught thoroughly to make the teaching more effective.

#7. Improve the Skills of the students

A good tutor looks after improving the study skills of the students and aims to make them work independently without further help. Tutors can efficiently instil the skills so that the student performs well in their academics and also in life.

Different schools offer varied options for students to choose General Certificate of Secondary Education, but teachers will help you provide plenty of information and notices.

What GCSEs should you take?

Typically, you can take around nine subjects for GCSE, including Mathematics, Science and English as the core subjects. Since the English language is a compulsory subject in every school, along with English Literature in most of the schools, you may have to choose them mandatorily. However, there are some exceptions as well, and you need to check them to make sure what the compulsory subjects are. Sometimes, regional language is also made compulsory. For example, if you are studying in Wales, you have to choose Welsh.

Science can be either divided into three distinct sciences like Physics, Chemistry and Biology or as a combination of two science subjects in GCSEs. Contrarily, some schools may even make other subjects compulsory. So, it is best to ask your teachers to know the rules of your school.

Optional subjects

It can be fun to choose your optional subjects. The choices of subjects in every school are different. Depending upon the preferences your school provides, you may choose among them.

Modern foreign language

The most common subjects taught in school are German, French and Spanish. There are some schools where languages like Japanese and Mandarin are also offered. Some schools have a rule set for students to choose a modern foreign language as GCSEs. So, ask your teacher to get detailed information on whether it is compulsory or take them as a part of the options.

Humanities

Humanity subjects like geography, history or religious studies are also given as options. In addition, you can also get the options of subjects like art and design, music or media studies.

Technical Subject

Technical subjects such as food technology, computer science, design and technology are some of the options you can get for GCSEs.

PE: The students can do PE in 10 and 11 years, but it can also be taken as a GCSE option.

How to choose the right GCSE options?

If you cannot make up your mind and come to a decision, it is better to take the help of teachers about the subjects that you have more inclination. They can make it easier for you to decide by explaining the course and teaching part of the subjects you like but are yet to take.

In the UK, all students must take GCSE examinations by the end of the 11th year. The group of children are mainly 15-16 years of age after studying the GCSEs options for a whole two years. However, it is for the very first time that the subjects which you choose depend on you.

Nonetheless, it is no less than a challenge to choose GCSEs, especially when you have additional compulsory subjects. Therefore, it is significantly more crucial to understand the number of GCSEs you must opt for in order to work on the options.

In most UK-based schools, you may take up to as many as ten distinct subjects for your GCSE. However, every student should take up English language and Mathematics.

Besides, most educational institutions have a rule of taking English Literature and two science subjects. The majority of the students then opt for three or four subjects from a wide variety of subjects from the list of arts, humanities and languages.

How many GCSEs are possible to choose from?

GCSEs are something that thousands of children take up every year in the UK. Fortunately, there is liberty for the students to choose the subjects they would want to study from the varied options.

The best part about selecting GCSEs is the flexibility in taking the number of subjects. Since every school has separate rules and regulations regarding GCSEs, make sure to check the information regarding the GCSE on the official website of your school.

How many GCSE subjects are compulsory?

It generally depends on the school how many subjects they make compulsory. In the UK and Wales, the students of GCSE must select GCSE English language, GCSE Science and GCSE Mathematics.

However, some schools also ask you to do other subjects as well. You may take GCSE English literature along with the options of science as three different subjects or combined science.

Again, most schools ask students to complete ten GCSEs. Nonetheless, they allow you to choose more than ten or fewer options. Along with other compulsory GCSE subjects, the school you attend may also ask you to take a language paper. Here you may get full freedom to select the preferred subject you want to pursue. This is going to occupy the place of one of the three or four GCSE options.

What is the minimum number of GCSEs you can take?

For students in the age group of 15-16 years, GCSE exams are compulsory. Technically, you can take a minimum of two subjects.

However, if you aim to progress in education and further in employment, it is indeed a good idea to get more than two GCSE options. In most of the UK schools, you can take a minimum of eight to nine subjects for GCSEs.

What are the maximum GCSEs you can take?

There is specifically no limit on the number of subjects you can choose for GCSEs. All students are usually expected to choose ten subjects, but you can try out an additional one. Speak to the teachers and the school authorities so that they can arrange extra classes outside your timetable to gain qualifications.