FAQs

How does you choose a tutor to work with a student? – Is there a process if so how does it work

1. Tell Us What You Need
Call us or fill in the short form. Alicja or Joanne, our Tutor Services Managers, will get back to you personally — usually the same day — to arrange a quick assessment call.

2. We Get to Know Your Student
No templates, no box-ticking. We talk through the subject, level, learning style and goals so we understand exactly what’s needed.

3. We Handpick Your Tutor
We recommend at least one carefully selected tutor from our pool of undergraduates, postgraduates, qualified teachers and senior academics — whoever’s the best fit, not just whoever’s free.

4. Together, We Set the Goals
Before the first lesson, you, your student and the tutor agree what success looks like, so everyone starts with the same expectations.

5. Lessons Begin
Structured, purposeful sessions, built around the appropriate (Normally Qualifications Scotland) curriculum and your student’s specific goals.

Which subjects can we provide a tutor for?

We cover all the main exam subjects including English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish, German and French. Primary school tuition is an increasingly important area where we provide tutoring support. We also cover a range of other subjects and skills. For example; Our study skills programme is designed for students who are finding it difficult to plan their study. We also provide tutors for students who have special educational and learning needs. Click for a list of subjects.

Who are your tutors?

We work hard to recruit a strong mix of tutor talent in the team. Our tutors include teachers, academics and many are bright graduates and undergraduates who all have a proven ability to tutor successfully. In every case, we carefully interview candidates before appointing tutors. We look for their suitability overall and as pre-requisites require excellent academic credentials, sound curriculum knowledge, empathy and reliability.

What exactly is online tutoring?

One-to-one personal tutoring via video call is not to be confused with group or classroom-style online lessons where there are multiple students.

If you would like to understand exactly how it works in practice, download our simple guide: Click to Download.

Is online tutoring as effective as physical presence tutoring in the home?

Yes, it is. Online personal tuition is now firmly established and widely preferred. The quality of one-to-one online sessions is excellent — students benefit from the flexibility, a focused environment, and practical tools such as shared whiteboards, file exchange, and session recordings. The majority of our clients now choose online tuition, which accounts for over 95% of our total tutoring hours.

Download the Pros and Cons of online tutoring document to learn more; Click to download.

Do we continue to provide traditional at-home tuition?

Yes, we do where the needs of the client the student and the tutor indicate this is the best option.

Reasons Why our Clients Choose Online  – Flexibility and Choice

Students and parents love the ability to work whenever and wherever with no disruption to family members and in an environment and a location that they choose to allow maximum concentration.

Tutor physical location becomes irrelevant in your choice of tutor. Online tuition widens the pool of tutor choice massively and means you have better access to the best tutor and the one that is right for your needs, rather than only the tutors who live close by.

Reasons Why our Clients Choose Online – Functional

Whatever the mainstream meeting tech you prefer to use, online sessions will deliver a one to one tutoring experience where you can easily focus; exchange files, work on past papers, write and review whiteboards, record the session and much more.

Reasons Why our Clients Choose Online – Safe and Secure

There are no time-consuming travel issues involved, no personal security concerns of any kind.

The tutoring environment is totally within your control, and you can even arrange with your tutor to record sessions. Some find this a great plus for revision, as well as guaranteeing peace of mind.

Which geographical areas do we cover?

Our online tutors of course provide support to students throughout Scotland the UK and further afield. We provide home (physical presence) tutoring to homes within around five miles of the major city centres including, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Stirling. We may have Tutors who are prepared to travel further, or we can arrange for you to meet with the tutor halfway, or in town at the library. Since 2020 most of our tutoring is geography-neutral and online, it’s safe and very effective, but of course, we will make every effort to provide a physical presence tutor if that’s what the need indicates.

When should I start tuition?

That depends on the needs and objectives of the student. It is usual for students facing exams where they need specific grade results to start tuition in September for exams in May the following year. Some students require ongoing tuition to achieve their objectives and have a private tutor as a normal part of their schooling, while others need only a few weeks to resolve a particular study issue. Our advice is to assess the needs of the individual with our experienced managers, Alicja MacIntyre or Joanne Baird, who can advise on timings and budget settings.

Will the tutor travel to our home?

Broadly speaking, yes, if the geography and the needs indicate this is the best option. Much depends on the physical location of the tutor and the student, as well as the specific tutoring needs.  We sometimes see clients whose needs include face-to-face tuition choose to meet with tutors at an agreed safe and secure location. At home, tuition remains an option we can deliver, where it is sensible and convenient to do so.

How much does it cost?

The fees start at £39/hr, and can go higher for the tutors with outstanding or special skill sets, or where tutors are responding to more demanding requirements. We guarantee the agreed price for the duration of your tuition with our tutors. Click here for more details of pricing.

How is payment made?

We made a change to keep everything compliant with the Government tutoring rules relating to paid tutoring. From 1st October 2025 (a little earlier for existing clients), after your first lesson, you’ll receive an invoice and an email with a Pay Now button. This takes you to a secure payment page powered by TutorCruncher and Stripe — the same system used by Apple and Amazon.

Once you’ve paid by card, future lessons will be even easier: you’ll get a confirmation email, and your card will be charged automatically three days later. Don’t worry — you’ll never be charged before a lesson takes place, only after the lesson.

And if you have any payment queries, contact Alicja or Joanne, who are happy to help.

What is the ideal number of sessions?

There is no minimum number, but the idea is for tuition to be an ongoing programme for the pupil. To deliver improved outcomes, 1.5 hours is a better value than 1 hour, and two hours for most (but not all) children is too long. Traditionally, tuition seems to have been 1 hour; our experience is that the tuition in such a case is reaching its peak in effect just when it runs out of time. However, we also have children who prefer shorter, more frequent tuitions. For most, however, you get the best results from 1.5 hours once a week over a minimum of three to six months.

Why are many of our Tutors Undergraduates?

It’s a question we are often asked and there are two reasons. First, we look for academically excellent specialists who have also recently succeeded within the Exam System. This profile leads us to gifted, young undergraduates and academics who can immediately relate to the needs of your child and who has the best and most recent experience of the exam system from the sharp end. The second reason is simple: it’s difficult to find the very best specialist teachers. Our experience is that many teachers are excellent generalists, and if they are typical teachers, they will be fully employed in their schools. Where we find excellent teachers, who fit our demanding Tutor profile, we hire them, but our main task is to supply clients with the best, in our view and for tutoring the exam system, the best undergraduates often have the edge.

Do you provide tuition for adults?

Yes, we provide tuition for any age group. We often have adults who have returned to education, studying a variety of subjects, the most common being English, Languages or Science-related subjects.

When do our tutors work?

To fit with school commitments, school-level tuition is mainly carried out during the evening or weekends. Adult tuition tends to be throughout the day. We are flexible, a time is agreed between the tutor, tutee and ourselves that fits in best with everyone’s commitments.

What is the minimum session time?

We feel that 1½ hours is the optimum length for a tuition session. Where Primary tuition is involved, then this tends to be for 1 hour. The 1½ hour session allows the tutor and tutee a good length of time to achieve a lot of work and overall gain the best results. There are occasions where we might agree to two-hour sessions, but only in special circumstances is two hours a value option for tutees and parents.

How frequent are the sessions?

The majority of tuition is received weekly. We also have clients who prefer fortnightly sessions with their tutor. Often, tuition is increased leading up to exams. We are flexible and understand that breaks may be taken during holidays.

What measures are taken to ensure best practices, including Safeguarding?

We are corporate members of the UK  tutoring body, The Tutors’ Association and we fully support their code of practice, including safeguarding procedures.

You can download our own code of practice here: Code of Practice for Tutors

What are the terms and conditions when I choose Scotland Tutors to provide tuition?

You can download a PDF of the full terms and conditions here: Terms and Conditions of  Agreement 

Upon agreeing to proceed, you will receive an email from your Tutor Services Manager, who will normally be Alicja McIntyre or Joanne Baird. It will confirm what has been agreed, what happens next and it will be personalised to cover your specific needs.

Cancellation charging

The schedule of fees for cancellation of a session(s) is as follows:

48 Hours plus No charge
Under 48 hours  and more than 24 hours 50%
Under 24 Hours  100%
 This extract is provided for your convenience as a summary of the Terms and Conditions of Sale. You may download the full terms and conditions that apply to our agreement to supply tuition here; Terms and Conditions