The pandemic forced almost all 11+ tutoring online. Five years on, online has stayed mainstream — but in-person tutoring is back in many areas. Which works better?
Online tutoring: pros
- Wider tutor choice — your child can have a tutor anywhere in the country.
- Lower cost — typically 10-15% cheaper than equivalent in-person.
- No travel time — easier to fit into a busy week.
- Recorded sessions — many tutors offer this, helpful for revision.
- Less awkward for shy children — talking on screen feels lower-stakes for some.
Online tutoring: cons
- Harder for younger children to focus — Year 4s struggle more than Year 5s online.
- Tech issues — pen/paper work needs a graphics tablet or document camera, which not every family has.
- Less rapport — some tutors say it takes 2-3 sessions to build the same connection as one in-person.
- Easier to slip into distraction — children can have other tabs open.
In-person tutoring: pros
- Focused attention — child can't escape to YouTube.
- Faster rapport — easier to build trust.
- Better for writing tasks — tutor can see notes, mark in real-time.
- Useful body language cues — tutor sees confusion immediately.
In-person tutoring: cons
- More expensive (10-15%).
- Travel time eats into the day.
- Limited to local tutors (smaller pool).
- One missed session is harder to make up.
The verdict
For Year 5+ children who can focus on a screen, online works well. For Year 4 children, in-person is usually better. The biggest factor is the tutor's individual quality — a great online tutor outperforms a mediocre in-person one.
Practical hybrid: in-person for the first 4 weeks to build rapport, then move online for the long term.