Cape Town has hundreds of people advertising maths tutoring — university students, retired teachers, agencies, and everything in between. Quality varies wildly. Here’s how to choose well.
Start with subject mastery, then teaching ability
A tutor needs two separate skills: knowing the maths, and being able to explain it. Ask what the tutor scored for matric maths (80%+ is a reasonable bar) and what they’re studying now. Then ask them to explain one concept your child struggles with — you’ll know within two minutes whether they can teach.
Ask these five questions
1. Which syllabus do you know best — CAPS, IEB or Cambridge? They differ more than people think. 2. How do you handle a student who’s lost confidence, not just marks? 3. Will you set and check homework between lessons? 4. How do you report progress to parents? 5. What happens if the fit isn’t right?
Red flags
Be cautious of tutors who promise specific mark improvements, can’t name the current Grade 12 syllabus topics, resist any form of progress reporting, or teach straight from a textbook without past papers. And for home tutoring, always confirm background checks have been done.
The trial lesson test
A good first lesson diagnoses before it teaches: the tutor should find the real gaps (often two grades back) rather than launching into this week’s homework. If your child comes out saying "that actually made sense" — you’ve found your tutor.