The question comes up regularly: is online English tutoring as effective as in-person? For many parents, particularly those who grew up with traditional education, the idea of learning via a screen can feel like a compromise.
It’s a fair question. Here’s an honest answer based on both research and experience.
The Case for In-Person Tutoring
There’s no denying the advantages of face-to-face interaction. For younger students especially, being physically present with a teacher can make it easier to build rapport, maintain focus, and pick up on non-verbal cues. Some children simply respond better to the proximity of a real person in the room.
In-person tutoring also removes the technical variable — there’s no risk of Zoom dropping out, no concerns about microphone quality, no distraction from a glitching screen share.
The Case for Online Tutoring
Online tutoring has matured enormously over the past decade, and the evidence increasingly suggests that — when done well — it is equally effective. A growing body of research, including studies from the Education Endowment Foundation, has found no significant difference in learning outcomes between online and in-person small-group tuition.
But beyond the research, there are practical advantages that in-person tutoring simply can’t match:
Access to the Best Teachers
In-person tutoring limits you to whoever is within travelling distance. Online tutoring removes geography entirely. Your child can work with the best teacher for their specific needs — whether that teacher is in London, Edinburgh, or, in Jacqueline’s case, returning from Malaysia in January 2027.
No Travel Time
For busy families, the logistics of in-person tutoring can be exhausting — school run, homework, dinner, and then a 45-minute round trip for a one-hour lesson. Online sessions happen from home. The lesson ends and your child is already there.
Familiar Digital Tools
Today’s secondary school students have grown up using screens for learning. Shared documents, annotated PDFs, digital whiteboards, and screen-shared texts are second nature to most. In many ways, online tools make the collaborative analysis of a text easier, not harder.
Consistent Environment
Your child learns in their own home — their own desk, their own chair, no commute, no unfamiliar environment. For some students, this consistency is genuinely beneficial for concentration.
What Actually Makes the Difference
Here’s the honest truth: the format (online vs in-person) matters far less than the following:
- The quality of the teacher — their subject knowledge, teaching skill, and ability to give meaningful feedback
- Group size — a one-to-one session online will always beat a one-to-twelve session in person
- Regularity and consistency — tutoring that happens every week, at the same time, with clear goals, produces results; sporadic sessions don’t
- Feedback quality — students improve when they know exactly what to change, not just that something needs improving
A brilliant teacher in a small online group will produce better outcomes than a mediocre teacher sitting across a kitchen table. The medium is almost never the limiting factor.
Our Approach at Thorogood English
All Thorogood English sessions are delivered online via Zoom — small groups of no more than six, with a qualified teacher and former examiner who knows exactly how marks are awarded at IGCSE and A-Level.
Classes launch in January 2027. If you’d like to secure a place — or simply find out more — join our waiting list.
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