An article in The Guardian reported how pupils in England exhibit signs of anxiety in the run-up to their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and Advanced Level (A-Level) assessments. They tend to snap, disengage and experience panic attacks, all classic symptoms of anxiety, in this case, exam stress.
It’s understandable. GCSE and A Levels, in particular, are high-stakes exams. A pupil’s outcomes can significantly influence their chances of getting an offer from their target universities.
If your child is showing signs of stress because of their upcoming GCSE or A-Level exams, consider private tutoring. You can obtain an online science tutor for A-Level and GCSE science, biology, chemistry, and physics. Private online tuition is also available for GCSE and A-Level maths, statistics, and other subjects.
How Private Tuition Can Help
Many things can lead to exam stress. Lack of self-confidence is a primary cause. Others are inadequate preparation (or a perceived lack thereof) and scarce information on exam-taking and studying strategies.
Private, one-on-one tutoring on the GCSE or A-Level subjects your child is most worried about can help alleviate exam stress. Just getting regular lessons can boost their confidence about the adequacy of their exam preparations. After all, they are getting extra lessons on top of the lectures they attend in school.
Here are other ways private tutoring, particularly online tutorials, can help your child cope with GCSE and A Levels exam stress and, more importantly, improve their chances of getting the desired results.
- Personalised Approach: Pupil-Centred Learning
In classrooms, a teacher teaches lessons based on the syllabus and according to the speed at which most members of the class learn. This forces pupils to proceed at a uniform pace, which can be problematic if your child has a distinct learning style and tempo. Any student unable to keep up gets left behind.
With private tutoring, your child sets their own pace. They can spend as much or as little time as they want on a topic because tutoring is highly personalised, and a tutor can adapt quickly. Your child’s physics tutor can spend one hour or longer unpacking particles and radiation if necessary, but breeze through electric current and resistivity, which your child may have already mastered.
Personalised learning benefits your child because it ensures revision time is spent exactly where it’s needed. Your child also begins to understand topics they used to find difficult, which can boost their confidence in themselves and help them feel prepared for their upcoming exam.
- Curriculum Expertise and Exam Strategy: Filling Knowledge Gaps
You can choose tutors who specialise in specific exam boards. In your child’s case, find them a tutor with hundreds of hours of experience guiding students on GCSE and A-Level subjects.
Expert GCSE and A-level subject tutors are fluent in mark schemes, command words, and past paper patterns. They can fill your child’s knowledge gaps in many things, including the following:
- Exam coverage: What topics will the paper cover, and what types of questions will likely arise? A private tutor will direct your child’s attention to the important and likely topics, ensuring your child does not waste their time brushing up on concepts that are unlikely to make an appearance.
- How the exam works: Will there be vignettes? How about multiple-choice and free-response questions? What can your child expect when they sit for the exam? A private tutor specialising in GCSE and A-Level papers can help set expectations and minimise your child’s anxiety about their upcoming assessments.
- How best to prepare for the exam: A private tutor can also give your child practical tips on improving their mental and physical condition, guidelines on handling the time pressure, and test-taking strategies that may improve their scores.
A private tutor’s expertise in GCSE and A-Level papers will ensure your child learns not only what to study but also how to study and take the test.
- Flexibility: Convenience and Time Savings
Online tutorials mean there’s no need to commute. Sessions can happen in 60-minute bursts or extended revision blocks. This makes private tutoring services ideal for fitting around mocks, revision schedules and even physical and mental wellness breaks.
- Detailed Discussion: Deeper Understanding and Correct Expression
Students can lose marks not from their lack of knowledge, but from not knowing how to explain themselves. A private tutor specialising in the GCSE or A Levels can break down complex concepts into manageable chunks and, in the process, help your child practice getting their point across efficiently and effectively.
- Technology: Simulations, Whiteboards, and Instant Feedback
Private online tutoring provides certain benefits that may not be available in a classroom setting. The tutor can create and use virtual simulations and whiteboards to promote comprehension of complex topics. They can share their screen and provide instant feedback, too.
If the tutorial platform records sessions, your child gets the added benefit of having video recordings they can replay for self-revision.
Private Tuition: The Smarter Way of Preparing for GCSE and A Levels
Supplement your child’s classroom education with private tuition. This can increase your child’s confidence, boost their preparation, and equip them with pro-level knowledge to help them ace their GCSEs and A Levels.