Before a paid trial lesson, prepare one page: the confirmed details, two sticking points, one attempted question, and a short list of questions for the teacher. This sheet gives you the template and a filled example.
The one-hour trial agenda builder on this site can turn the same answers into a printable agenda, and it stores nothing on our servers.
What should be on the page?
Fill the sections in this order. The first takes two minutes; the others take about ten between them.
Step 1: Confirm the basics
| Item | My answer |
|---|---|
| Subject and syllabus code | |
| Exam year and route (for example Core or Extended, if the subject has them) | |
| Teacher’s confirmed rate for the trial | |
| Date, start time and how I will join | |
| Device, headset and a quiet place checked |
The teacher’s actual rate is confirmed before the lesson. Write it in the box once you have it, and ask again if it is blank. Check the syllabus code on the Cambridge subject page or with your school’s exam officer.
Step 2: Name two sticking points
Describe each in one sentence using what happens when you try, with the topic as a label.
| Topic | What happens when I try | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 |
“Algebra” is a topic. “I can expand brackets but I lose the sign when there is a minus in front” is a sticking point, and a teacher can work with it straight away.
Step 3: Bring one attempted question
Choose a question you could not finish. Bring your working, including the crossed-out parts. The wrong turn shows more than the final answer.
Step 4: Questions to ask the teacher
Pick from this list, or add your own.
- How would you explain this differently from how my class did?
- How will I know after the lesson what to practise?
- What should I do between lessons if I am stuck?
- How do you usually check that I have understood, not just followed?
- If we continue, how are schedule and fees arranged?
The last question is for the conversation after the trial. Fees, schedule and ongoing support are agreed directly between student and teacher then.
Filled example
| Item | Example answer |
|---|---|
| Subject and code | IGCSE Chemistry 0620, exam year: confirmed with school |
| Route | Not applicable |
| Confirmed rate | Noted from the teacher’s WhatsApp message before the lesson |
| Date and time | Saturday, 10:00, joining from a laptop |
| Setup checked | Headset works, desk cleared, phone on silent |
| Topic | What happens when I try | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Balancing equations | I balance the metal and forget the oxygen, so the atoms do not match. |
| 2 | Mole calculations | I do not know which number to divide by which. |
Attempted question: “Calculate the mass of 0.25 mol of calcium carbonate, CaCO₃.” The student brings their working: Mr = 40 + 12 + 48 = 100, then 0.25 × 100 = 25 g. The working is correct. The real sticking point shows up on the next question in the set, where the mass is given and the moles are needed.
Questions for the teacher: “How do I decide whether to multiply or divide in mole questions?” and “How do you check I have understood, not just copied the steps?”
Check the arithmetic: the relative formula mass of CaCO₃ is 40 + 12 + (3 × 16) = 100, and 0.25 × 100 = 25.
After the lesson
Spend five minutes writing three lines: what the teacher explained that was new, the one thing to practise before the next lesson, and any question you forgot to ask. The same summary helps if you later discuss arrangements with the teacher.
Keep the sticking points in your mistake log so you can tell in a week whether they have moved. You can also browse other sheets on the resources page, see how the trial works, and find the tuition page for your subject from our subjects list.