TUTORING
GCSE & A-level Geography tutor
Hi! I’m Eddie
I’m a Geography Student at a Top 10 UK University. At A-Level, I studied Geography, Economics, and Biology. I also undertook an EPQ, in which I achieved an A*. I’m a Geography tutor working with GCSE and A-level students across CIE, AQA, Edexcel, and OCR.
When I got my own A-level Geography script back, one examiner comment has stuck with me ever since: “a descriptive account… but little evaluation.” Every single fact or data point I gave was correct. I knew the content. What cost me the marks was structure and technique – I’d explained multiple causes side by side instead of weighing them against each other and reaching a judgement. It’s one of the most common way strong Geography students lose marks.
I’m now a Geography undergraduate at a top-10 UK university, and I tutor GCSE and A-level students in the subject. This page covers both levels – if you’re specifically looking for A-level support in Loughborough, I’ve also written a dedicated guide to A-level Geography tuition in Loughborough covering local school exam boards in more depth.
Why Geography specifically trips students up
Across AQA, CIE, Edexcel, and OCR, the syllabus splits between physical geography, human geography, and a demanding skills strand – cartographic, statistical, and IT skills most students have never been properly trained on. At A-level, there’s also a Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) worth 20% of the final grade, requiring an independent 3,000-4,000 word investigation. GCSE Geography carries its own version of the same problem at a smaller scale, with fieldwork write-ups that get marked on evaluation, not just description.
Three things trip students up more than anything else, at both levels. Fieldwork investigations are the first: moving from describing data to properly evaluating it. Command words are the second. “Evaluate” asks for a judgement backed by weighed-up evidence, while “discuss” asks you to explore multiple sides without necessarily landing on one. Mixing the two up costs marks even when every fact on the page is correct. Inferential statistics are the third, and this hits hardest at A-level: Spearman’s Rank, Chi-Squared, Mann-Whitney U (you’ll also see these in other subjects, such as Biology).
According to GoStudent’s independent study of over 2,600 students, around three in four improved their performance by up to three grades through personalised tutoring. 90% of students who gained confidence also went on to improve their grades.
What Geography tutoring costs, and what you’re paying for
UK GCSE tutoring generally runs £25–£40/hour, A-level £30–£55/hour, with qualified teachers and specialists charging £40–£60+. Geography tends to sit at the more affordable end of that range compared to Maths, Physics, or Chemistry, where a shortage of confident tutors, and plenty of students pushes prices up.
I’m priced at the lower-mid end of the GCSE range well under specialist/QTS rates – while still being a current Top 10 UK University for Geography undergraduate with an A* in the subject. You’re getting strong, recent subject mastery (including the stats and data-response side that trips a lot of students up) without paying for a teaching qualification you may not need for straightforward GCSE or A-level support.
The Education Endowment Foundation’s research shows properly targeted 1:1 or small-group tuition adds 4–5 months of extra progress in a year. It can also boost average grades by over half a grade, often enough to shift a student across a critical grade boundary.
Grade boundaries worth knowing if you’re aiming for the top
Confirmed A-level grade boundaries from the June 2025 exam series show a real gap between exam boards on how many marks an A* actually needs. Eduqas is the toughest at 82%, followed by AQA at 80% (241/300), OCR at 79%, and Edexcel at the most forgiving end at 77%. That gap is worth both mentioning and considering. If your child’s school offers a choice of exam board, it’s worth knowing which one their subject sits under – a few percentage points can be the difference between an A and an A* when results come in.
Different exam boards are different in their marking – for example, CIE tend to be quite predictable in what their mark schemes contain, so it’s easier to practice past papers and be fairly confident you’ll get those marks. And even if there’s no choice to make, it’s useful context: it tells you how much margin for error your child actually has, so you know where to aim with past paper marks.
Unlike the domestic UK boards, CIE (Cambridge International) doesn’t publish a single “A needs X%” figure — thresholds are set separately for each subject, exam series, and component combination. That variability is why exam boards and being familiar with their marking matters: knowing how a specific syllabus’s marks convert to grades allows you to focus revision on the subject that needs it most.
Sources: AQA subject grade boundaries, June 2025; Pearson Edexcel GCE grade boundaries, June 2025 Grade Threshold Table CIE, June 2025 Threshold Tables.
What a session with me looks like
Every session starts from where the student is currently at. I like to set small tasks between sessions, like a past-paper question or a data set to interpret (of course, not all students have time for these, so I can adapt!). I mark them against their exam board’s spec before the next session, so we’re always working on gaps and covering new ground.
One parent, Rachael D, described my impact:
“Eddie is a very experienced, engaging and patient teacher. He helped my son hugely with exam technique tips and boosted his confidence before his assessment.”
Another parent, Fol O, described a similar experience getting her daughter up to speed:
“Thank you so much for the due diligence you applied during your first session with Elizabeth, giving all it takes to ensure that she gained good understanding of concepts.”
I’ve tutored Years 4 through 13 across Geography, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Maths, and English, both online and in person. I also hold an Enhanced DBS check.
Frequently Asked Questions — GCSE & A-level Geography Tutor
Do you tutor GCSE, A-level, or both?
Both. The command-word and fieldwork-evaluation issues that dominate at A-level start showing up at GCSE too, just at a smaller scale, so I work with students at either stage.
Do you tutor in person or online?
Both. I tutor online across all exam boards, and offer in-person sessions where location allows — see my Loughborough-specific Geography page if you’re local.
Can you help with just the NEA, not the whole course?
Yes. A lot of parents get in touch specifically for NEA support, since it’s worth 20% of the final grade and often gets the least classroom time. I can work on the full course or just that piece, depending on what’s needed.
What if I’m not sure whether my child needs a tutor for knowledge or for technique?
Give your child a “discuss” question and an “evaluate” question on the same topic. Ask them to write just the opening sentence of each answer. A “discuss” opener should set up two or more perspectives without picking a side yet. An “evaluate” opener should signal that a judgement is coming. If both openers sound the same, that’s where they’re going wrong. However, a tutor can cover both in a single session.
Do you also offer tutoring in other subjects?
Yes! Alongside Geography, I tutor Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Maths, and English from Years 4 through 13. You can see the full range of tutoring services here.
Ready to Close the Gap? Get in Touch with Eddie
If your child’s Geography grade is being held back by technique rather than knowledge, get in touch below.