IB Diploma · Years 12-13
IB Computer Science tutors
Computer Science at SL or HL, with an Internal Assessment requiring a fully documented solution for a real client. HL adds abstract data structures and a case study released annually.
- USD 30-36 per hour
- One-to-one, online
- Free 1-hour trial class
What IB Diploma actually demands
Six subjects plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS. The workload is the defining feature, and the Internal Assessments, coursework worth a substantial share of each subject grade, are what most often slip.
The programming-and-theory route: how machines represent and move data, plus writing and tracing algorithms by hand and at a keyboard. The exam tests a narrower, more precise skill than the one most keen programmers have been practising.
Where IB Computer Science students lose marks
- Writing code that works but cannot be explained in the terms the mark scheme wants
- Tracing an algorithm on paper under time pressure without a computer to check it
- Losing marks on binary, hexadecimal and two's complement arithmetic that was never properly drilled
- Treating the theory paper as memorisation when it tests applied understanding
Is this the right subject at this level?
Students who want to build things and are comfortable with the logic and maths underneath. It is the stronger choice for engineering, computer science or any degree with a quantitative core.
What it costs
USD 30-36 per 60-minute one-to-one lesson at IB Diploma, the same rate in every city we teach in. Billed monthly against lessons actually taught, with no prepaid blocks and no minimum commitment.
Paired lessons (2 students) are USD 21-25 per student. Small group lessons (up to 6 students) are USD 15-18 per student. What each format is good for is here.
How we teach it
One-to-one, online, with a shared whiteboard. The first thing we establish is the exact syllabus the student is entered for: schools do not always publish the version they actually enter, and preparing for the wrong paper structure wastes a term.
After that the work is diagnostic: a past paper under timed conditions, marked together against the published scheme, to find out where the marks are genuinely going. That is almost always more useful than covering the syllabus again more slowly. The full process is here.
Computer Science: questions parents ask
My child is good at coding but their grade is poor. Why?
Because the exam does not test coding the way they practise it. It asks for algorithms written by hand in pseudocode, traced through a table, and explained in the vocabulary of the mark scheme. A student who builds things all weekend can still lose half the programming paper.
Computer Science or ICT, which should we choose?
Computer Science if the student is comfortable with abstraction and wants a technical degree route; ICT if they prefer applied, precision-driven work assessed largely at a computer. Neither is the easy option: they are difficult in different directions.
Which programming language will be taught?
Usually Python, because it is what most schools use and it maps cleanly onto exam pseudocode. For A Level practical papers we work in whichever language the student will actually sit the paper in.