After a trial, decide three things before you agree to anything: what you want from further lessons, how they fit into your week, and what you still need to confirm with the teacher. Everything about later lessons is arranged directly between you and the teacher.
This page gives you a worked plan to fill in. It pairs with the post-trial reflection guide and with what happens after the paid trial class.
Step 1: Write one goal in your own words
A useful goal is concrete and close to the exam: “stop losing marks on unit conversion in ratio questions” is better than “get better at maths”. Use the evidence you collected, or the pattern you found in the trial.
If you have two goals, rank them. The first one decides how you use the first few lessons.
Step 2: Count the weeks and the hours
Count the weeks to your exam and be honest about how many you can use. Then decide how often you could have a lesson and how much practice you could do in between.
Worked example
Hana has 12 weeks before her exam. After her trial she decides on one lesson a week plus two 30-minute practice sessions between lessons.
| Item | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson hours | 12 weeks × 1 hour | 12 hours |
| Practice between lessons | 12 weeks × 2 × 0.5 hours | 12 hours |
| Hours of work overall | 12 + 12 | 24 hours |
She then notices something useful: half the work is hers. If she skips the between-lesson sessions, the lessons carry the whole load. That shapes the questions she brings to the teacher: what should she practise, and how will she know she got it right?
If the teacher suggests a different rhythm, for example a lesson every two weeks, she can rerun the sum. Twelve weeks at one lesson every two weeks is 12 ÷ 2 = 6 lessons.
Step 3: List what to confirm directly
Write the questions and leave space for the answers.
- The rate for ongoing lessons, and how it compares with the trial rate you were told.
- The day, time and length of each lesson.
- How lessons are paid, and when.
- What you should prepare before each lesson.
- What to do if you cannot attend a lesson.
- What you would like to review after a few lessons, and when.
Keep the answers in writing, so you and your parents share one record. Nothing here is assumed in advance: anything the teacher does not state is something to ask.
The mistake to watch for
The common slip is deciding by how the hour felt rather than what it showed. A pleasant lesson and a useful lesson are not the same, and neither is a difficult lesson the same as a poor one.
Use the reflection questions: did you understand, could you ask questions, and was the next step clear? If you cannot answer one, mark it “unknown” and ask the teacher.
Check yourself
1. You have 10 weeks left and plan one lesson a week. How many lesson hours is that if each lesson is one hour?
Show answer
10 × 1 = 10 hours.
2. You decide on a lesson every two weeks for 10 weeks. How many lessons?
Show answer
10 ÷ 2 = 5 lessons.
3. After your trial you cannot remember whether the next step was clear. How should you record it?
Show answer
As unknown. Note it as a question to ask the teacher. It is not evidence for or against continuing.
Where this leads next
If you want to go back over the hour before deciding, comparing repetition with targeted feedback helps you judge what kind of help you actually needed. For how the trial fits into the whole process, see how online one-to-one tuition works.
Self-study may be enough if the trial showed you the cause and you can fix it alone. If you want a regular rhythm with a teacher who has already seen your work, you can continue with the same assigned teacher and settle the details directly.