How the online classroom works
What you need before the first lesson, what actually happens in a session, and why for several subjects this is a better arrangement than sitting in the same room.
What you need
Less than people expect. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
- A laptop or tablet with a working camera and microphone. A phone works in an emergency but is too small for shared work.
- A reasonable connection. Video plus a shared whiteboard is not demanding; if streaming video works, this will.
- Somewhere quiet, ideally not a bedroom. A kitchen table with the household moving around it is fine; a room with a television on is not.
- Headphones. Optional, and they help more than people expect: particularly for languages, where the difference between two similar sounds matters.
- Paper and a pen. Genuinely. Several subjects are still assessed by hand, and a student who only ever works at a keyboard is practising the wrong thing.
What a session looks like
Video on both sides, plus a shared whiteboard that tutor and student can both write on at the same time. The student's written work has usually been sent ahead and comes back marked, so the first ten minutes are spent on where the marks actually went rather than on whether the answer was right.
After that: the day's topic with a worked example, then the student attempting a real past paper question live while the tutor watches. That last part is the point of the hour. Watching someone work tells you things a finished answer never does: where they hesitate, what they delete, which step they skip.
Practical subjects
For ICT, Computer Science and anything else assessed at a computer, the student works on their own machine and shares their screen. This is not a workaround. It is closer to exam conditions than any in-person lesson, because the student is using the setup they will actually sit the paper on, with their own software versions and their own file structure.
It also makes a specific and common failure visible: work that is correct but saved in the wrong format, named differently from the instruction, or not evidenced. A tutor watching the screen catches that. A tutor looking at a printed answer does not.
Written and essay subjects
The student photographs or scans their work and sends it before the session. The tutor marks it against the published mark scheme (awarding or refusing each individual mark, not just checking whether it is right) and returns it annotated.
Students find the first one uncomfortable, because they usually discover they scored six out of eleven on an answer they were pleased with. That discomfort is the most useful thing that happens in the first month.
What we send you afterwards
A short written note from the person who taught the lesson: what was covered, how it went, and the specific thing that needs to happen before next week. Not a dashboard and not an automated score: a paragraph from a human who was there.
Recording: sessions are not recorded by default. If you would like one recorded for revision we can arrange it, with the student and parent both aware beforehand. We do not record without telling everyone in the room.
If something goes wrong
Connections drop. When one does we reconnect and carry on, and if a session loses meaningful time we make it up rather than charge for it. If it keeps happening, we will tell you and suggest what to change: a lesson that is not landing is worth naming rather than quietly working around.
Questions about online lessons
What do we need before the first lesson?
A laptop or tablet with a camera and microphone, a reasonable connection, and somewhere quiet. Nothing to install: the shared whiteboard runs in the browser. Headphones help more than people expect, particularly for languages.
Can practical subjects really be taught online?
Yes, and often better. The student works on their own machine and shares their screen, which is far closer to exam conditions than watching a tutor demonstrate on theirs. For ICT and Computer Science practical papers in particular, that is the arrangement we want rather than a compromise we accept.
How does the tutor mark written work?
The student photographs or scans it and sends it before the session, and the tutor marks it against the published mark scheme and returns it annotated. Handwritten work matters: several subjects are still assessed on paper, and practising only at a keyboard builds the wrong habits.
What happens if the connection drops?
We reconnect and carry on, and if a session loses meaningful time to it we make that time up rather than charge for it. If it keeps happening we will say so and suggest what to change, rather than quietly working around a lesson that is not landing.
Are lessons recorded?
Not by default. If you want a session recorded for revision we can arrange it, with the student and parent both aware. We do not record without telling everyone in the room.
How does the free 1-hour trial class work?
You book a time, we call you, and we ask what is actually going wrong, the syllabus code, the year group, what the last report said, and what you have already tried. At the end of it we tell you whether we think tutoring will help, and if so what shape it should take. If we do not think we are the right fit, we say so on that call. There is no charge and no obligation to book anything afterwards.
Are lessons online or in person?
Online only. Every lesson is taught over video with a shared whiteboard and a live code editor, so the student and the tutor can write and run the same code at the same time. We do not offer in-home or in-person tutoring anywhere.
Who will actually teach my child?
A specialist we match to the subject, level and problem you describe when you get in touch. You will meet them on an introductory call before anything is booked, and it stays the same person week to week: continuity is most of what makes tutoring work. We will never name a tutor before one has actually been assigned.
How quickly can lessons start?
We reply within one working day, then match a specialist and tell you when the free trial class can happen the week after. If you are in an exam term and the timeline is tighter than that, say so on the call and we will tell you honestly whether we can meet it.
What happens if it is not working?
Tell us early rather than late. Sometimes the fix is a different approach; sometimes it is a different tutor; occasionally the honest answer is that tutoring is not the bottleneck and something else is. We would rather have that conversation in week three than have you quietly stop booking.