How do you go about finding a good tutor? There are many excellent tutors. We cannot speak for other services, but we can explain who we are and how we operate.
Sophyra Tutors is led by Joseph Russell-Bishop, a chemical engineer and our Founder and Director. During his own schooling, he saw a shortage of specialist science teachers. He later set out to offer students support in exactly that area.
Natalia Ambridge is a former school principal and headteacher with more than twenty years' experience in school leadership. Through her work, she knows the difficulty some secondary schools face when recruiting specialist teachers. A teacher may be a specialist in a related subject, rather than the subject they are teaching at A-Level.
Those experiences shaped Sophyra Tutors: a way for students to access specialist subject support alongside their school education. You can read more about Joseph and Natalia on our About page.
Teaching that fits the course
Our subject tutors have at least four years of school teaching experience and a master's degree or doctorate in the subject they teach. Many are current exam-board markers.
The course matters too. We match the tutor to the student's subject, curriculum and level, with provision across IB, Cambridge, Edexcel and AQA. If you have the syllabus code, bring it to the first conversation. It helps us check the match for the course the student is actually studying. You can explore the courses we cover on our subjects page.
What the tuition costs and how a term works
At Sophyra Tutors, a sixty-minute subject lesson costs €100 at GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and IB Diploma level. One lesson a week over a ten-week term comes to €1,000, with no registration or placement fee.
A termly enrolment reserves the same tutor at the same time each week. That gives the work a regular place in the week and continuity from one lesson to the next.
- Weekly tuition: €1,000 for ten sixty-minute lessons over a ten-week term.
- Intensive tuition: €2,000 for twenty sixty-minute lessons over a ten-week term.
The subject lesson rate stays at €100 for sixty minutes at every level, with no volume discount. The total depends on how many lessons you book and any separate services you agree.
At the midpoint and end of the term, both the parent and student receive a written report. It explains what has been taught, what the student has secured and where the work needs to go next. This gives you something specific to discuss with the tutor as the term progresses.
Cambridge baseline assessments are also available on request, at an additional cost agreed before booking. Their results can help inform the learning plan alongside schoolwork and the tutor's assessment. Our approach page explains how assessment and reporting fit together.
All tuition takes place online. The safeguarding page sets out the recruitment checks and safeguards that apply before a tutor meets a student, and the pricing page has the full fees and termly arrangements.
What progress can look like
The starting point may be a topic that has never quite made sense. It may be the step from understanding an explanation to answering a question independently, or the adjustment to a different curriculum. Agreeing the priorities with the tutor gives the lessons a purpose and provides a starting point for reviewing progress.
Look for what the student can do for themselves: explaining a concept in their own words, for example, or working through a type of question that previously stopped them. Applying a method accurately to an unfamiliar problem is another useful sign. These are things to discuss with the tutor when deciding what to work on next.
The Education Endowment Foundation's review of one-to-one tuition highlights the importance of targeted support, well-prepared teaching and links to classroom learning, with progress monitored along the way. That research concerns educational interventions; it cannot predict an individual student's result. Progress depends on the starting point, the work undertaken and the time available, so a particular grade cannot be guaranteed.
Start with a conversation
You do not need a finished tuition plan before getting in touch. Sophyra's free fifteen-minute consultation is a first conversation about the subject, curriculum and support you are looking for. Tell us which topics are causing difficulty and whether there is an exam or other deadline ahead. A detailed assessment of the student's work may need a separate next step.
Use that conversation to ask about tutor availability and how the starting point will be established. Before booking, check what preparation and feedback are included, when progress will be reviewed and how the plan can change. The full cost and arrangements for missed lessons, cancellation or a change of tutor should be clear too.
Book a free consultation to talk through the support available and what it would cost for the schedule you have in mind.
Frequently asked questions
How much does IB tutoring cost at Sophyra?
IB subject tuition costs €100 per sixty-minute lesson, the same rate as GCSE, IGCSE and A-Level. Let us know the subject, course and level so we can check the tutor match.
Are ten lessons cheaper per hour than one lesson?
No. Ten subject lessons cost €1,000, at the same €100 per lesson. Booking a term reserves the same tutor and weekly time, with written reports at the midpoint and end of the term.
Are there additional fees?
There is no registration or placement fee. Optional Cambridge baseline assessments cost extra, with the assessment and fee agreed before booking. The pricing page sets out the fees for each service; we can discuss the full cost of your proposed arrangement at the consultation.
Does admissions preparation cost the same as subject tuition?
Admissions preparation has separate rates: €150 per sixty-minute session for Oxbridge interview and ESAT preparation, and €130 for UCAT preparation. These services are booked by the session.
How is the tutor matched to the student?
We begin with the subject, curriculum, level and support you are looking for. A syllabus code and examination year are helpful if you have them. For IB, tell us whether the course is Standard or Higher Level and, for Mathematics, AA or AI. These details help us check which tutor is available for the course.