IB DP Tutors for HL and SL Subjects, IA, EE and TOK

DP tutoring is built around criterion-related assessment, command terms and the IA/EE/TOK/CAS structure unique to the Diploma Programme, so it differs from IGCSE tutoring, which is exam-board content revision, and from MYP tutoring, which is broader and less exam-specific. A DP tutor should be comfortable with HL versus SL syllabus depth and with mark-scheme language for the exact subject, not just general IB familiarity. If your child is moving from MYP into DP, mention that during matching — the transition itself, particularly the jump in independent workload, is often the actual issue rather than any single subject.

No tutor should write or substantially redraft an Extended Essay — that breaches academic honesty rules and risks the essay being disqualified at moderation. What a tutor can do is act like a supervisor: reviewing the research question for focus, checking argument structure and sourcing, and flagging where analysis has slipped into description. Useful EE support looks like short, regular check-ins rather than long sessions, because the actual writing has to remain the student's own work throughout. If a tutor offers to 'help write' sections directly, that is a warning sign worth acting on immediately.

It depends on the subject more than on online tutoring generally. HL Maths, sciences and economics work well online because a shared whiteboard and screen-annotated past papers cover most of what a lesson needs. Subjects with heavy discussion, like some Language A or Individuals and Societies courses, still work online but benefit from a tutor deliberately building in more back-and-forth rather than lecturing at a screen. Where online genuinely struggles is with a student who needs physical presence to stay focused — that is a real limitation, and home or hybrid tutoring usually serves that student better.

First, a specific look at why — is it exam technique, gaps in one topic, or something with the IA and mocks pulling the average down. A predicted grade that has not moved after a reasonable stretch, usually six to eight weeks, is worth raising directly with the tutor rather than waiting through the term. Sometimes the fix is more session frequency; sometimes it is the wrong tutor for that specific subject and level. IB Gram treats a tutor change at that point as normal problem-solving, not as a failure of the plan or the student.

Fees are set between the family and the individual tutor, and they vary by subject, level, tutor experience and session frequency, so there is no single number that applies across HL Physics, EE supervision and a Group 6 arts subject alike. It is reasonable to ask a shortlisted tutor for a written plan with a per-session rate and an estimate of total sessions before an exam session, rather than agreeing verbally. Comparing that plan against what a specific problem actually needs — one weak topic versus a full six-subject overhaul — usually matters more than comparing headline rates alone.

Yes, and it is more common than families expect — a subject mismatch or a personality mismatch usually surfaces a few sessions in, not on day one. IB Gram supports moving to a different tutor without treating it as starting over; the school feedback, mock results and diagnostic notes from the first attempt carry over and usually make the second match faster. Waiting through a poor fit to avoid an awkward conversation is the more expensive choice, since exam-session timelines do not pause while a mismatch gets tolerated.

Home tutoring depends entirely on a tutor already being local to the family, so it is available in some cities and not others, and coverage tends to cluster where several IB schools sit close together. Online tutoring is available worldwide regardless of city, run in the family's own time zone, which is why most DP families end up using it for at least one subject even if they also arrange home tutoring for another. If home tutoring is not available locally, a hybrid plan — online for the subject, occasional in-person catch-ups if a tutor is ever nearby — is usually the realistic middle option.

Earlier is easier, but a late start is not wasted if the goal is scoped honestly. Beginning in year one, well before IA deadlines and mocks land in year two, gives a tutor time to build subject depth rather than just patch gaps. Starting six to ten weeks before a May or November session still works for closing a specific, identified weakness — a shaky topic, exam technique under time pressure — but it is not realistic for rebuilding an entire subject from a low base in that window, and a straightforward tutor will say so rather than overpromise.

Tutors are encouraged to work from whatever the school's IB coordinator has already provided — IA rubric comments, mock exam papers, the current predicted grade — rather than starting from a blank syllabus outline. IB Gram itself has no relationship with any school or its coordinator and does not contact schools directly; that channel stays between the family and the school. What a tutor can do is ask the family to bring that feedback into sessions, since it is usually more precise than a general 'weak in this subject' description and saves time that would otherwise go into re-diagnosing something already known.

No. IB Gram is an independent tutoring platform and has no official affiliation with the IB Organization, Cambridge International or Pearson Edexcel. It does not set the DP syllabus, mark any assessment, or speak on behalf of any exam board — it matches families with tutors who are familiar with how those bodies structure and assess the Diploma Programme. Any claim of official partnership from a tutoring platform is worth double-checking directly with the exam board in question, since IB Gram makes no such claim and structures its service accordingly.