Should We Change Our IGCSE Physics Tutor?

Changing tutor can disrupt a student’s routine, but staying with an ineffective arrangement can also waste time and confidence. The decision should use specific evidence rather than personality alone.

Separate discomfort from poor teaching

A useful lesson can feel demanding because the student has to show incomplete working and think without prompts. That discomfort is different from a tutor who dismisses questions, supplies every answer or fails to respond to the student’s method.

Ask what happened in the lesson:

• Was the student asked to explain their thinking?
• Did the tutor identify the exact error?
• Was the explanation understandable?
• Did the student attempt another question?
• Was homework or follow-up clear?
• Did the tutor treat mistakes respectfully?

Warning signs that deserve attention

Consider a change when a pattern persists:

• lessons are generic despite marked evidence being provided
• the tutor lectures while the student remains passive
• incorrect Physics or obsolete syllabus content is taught
• Core and Supplement requirements are confused
• practical-paper skills are ignored
• the student’s questions are dismissed or mocked
• promised marking or feedback repeatedly does not happen
• the tutor guarantees grades or fixed improvement dates
• professional boundaries or safeguarding expectations are not respected

A single scheduling error or difficult topic should be discussed before it is treated as a complete verdict.

Ask for a specific adjustment

Describe the issue without attacking the person. For example:

• “Please make the student write each calculation step on the shared board.”
• “The mock shows repeated unit errors. Can the next lessons address this directly?”
• “We need clearer feedback on what to practise between lessons.”
• “Please distinguish Core from Supplement when planning the work.”

Ask how the tutor will check whether the adjustment worked.

Listen to the student, but examine the reason

A student may dislike a tutor because the lesson is too passive, too fast, too slow, intimidating or simply unfamiliar. They may also prefer a tutor who gives answers and avoids challenge.

Take the student’s experience seriously while asking for examples. The goal is not to choose the easiest lesson, but a respectful environment where the student participates and learns independently.

Protect continuity if you change

Prepare a short handover:

• current syllabus position
• Core or Extended route
• examination session
• Paper 5 or Paper 6 entry if known
• recent marked papers
• recurring error categories
• resources already used
• preferred communication and any relevant learning needs

Do not force the new tutor to repeat the entire course before looking at the evidence.

How to judge the replacement

Use a taught trial based on real student work. Check whether the tutor observes the method, gives a precise correction and asks for independent application. Confirm pricing and schedule terms before booking.

No tutor can guarantee a grade. A better fit should be judged through teaching quality, student participation and changing error patterns.