How Often Should Your Child Have Tutoring Sessions?

One Session Per Week Is the Starting Point

For most students, one hour-long session per week is the baseline. This is enough to maintain meaningful progress, give the student time to practise between sessions, and keep costs manageable.

Below this threshold — say, one session per fortnight — progress is slower and the tutor spends more time recapping previous material than moving forward.

When to Increase Frequency

Consider moving to two sessions per week when:

• Your child is significantly behind and an exam is approaching
• There is a large volume of content to cover in a short time
• Your child is working through a specific project, coursework, or set of past papers
• Progress is good and the student wants to accelerate

The Upper Limit

More than three tutoring sessions per week for the same subject is rarely productive for school-age students. It leaves insufficient time for independent practice — which is where consolidation actually happens — and risks tutor dependency.

Session Length

Forty-five minutes is appropriate for primary-age children. Sixty minutes works well for most secondary students. Ninety minutes suits older students working on extended writing or past papers, but should include a break.

Intensive Periods

In the weeks before key exams, many families increase session frequency temporarily. This is effective when the foundational understanding is already in place. Intensive tutoring without prior groundwork — starting weekly sessions two weeks before a GCSE — has limited impact.

Ask Your Tutor

The best person to advise on frequency is the tutor who knows your child. After a few sessions, ask directly: "Given where they are now and what they need to achieve, how often do you think they should be coming?"