A good tutor is invaluable; a bad tutor is worse than no tutor at all. The market is unregulated and the variance in quality is enormous.
When a tutor is worth it
A tutor is worth it when your child needs structured accountability you cannot provide, when there is a specific weakness (timing, confidence, a single subject) that needs targeted work, or when you simply do not have the bandwidth to manage the preparation yourself alongside work and other children.
A tutor is not worth it when the underlying issue is reluctance — no tutor can make a child want to do the 11+, and forcing them through it via paid expertise rarely ends well.
Group tutoring versus 1-to-1
Small group tutoring (three to six children) often outperforms 1-to-1 for 11+ specifically. Children benefit from seeing how peers tackle problems and from the gentle competitive energy of group work, and group rates are typically a third of 1-to-1.
1-to-1 is justified when a specific weakness needs surgical attention or when the child finds group settings distracting. For most children, group is the better starting point.
What to look for
A good 11+ tutor knows your specific region's test format intimately, has children passing into your target schools every year, gives parents specific weekly homework rather than vague directions, and is honest about whether your child is on track.
Avoid: tutors who guarantee a pass (impossible), tutors who only take 1-to-1 (often a margin choice rather than a child-best-interest choice), and tutors who cannot tell you the qualifying score in your region.
What to ask in the first conversation
How many children did you tutor last year? How many passed and into which schools? What does a typical week of homework look like? How will you communicate progress to me? What happens if I am not happy with the work?
A confident, experienced tutor will answer all of these directly. Vague answers, especially on the pass-rate question, are a meaningful warning sign.
Cost expectations
In 2024–2025 prices, group tutoring runs roughly £20–£40 per hour per child, and 1-to-1 runs £40–£80 per hour with London rates at the higher end. A typical preparation programme runs from spring of Year 5 to the test, which is around forty weeks.
Total spend across a full preparation typically runs £800 to £3,200 depending on cadence and format. This is a substantial investment — be honest about whether the return justifies it for your family.
Self-tutoring as the alternative
A motivated parent with a willing child can absolutely prepare for the 11+ without a tutor. The work is in the mark-and-review of practice papers, the weekly topic drills, and the discipline of timed sittings — none of which require a paid expert.
See our <a href="/strategy/strategy-self-study-no-tutor">self-study guide</a> for a step-by-step plan that costs only the price of practice materials.