HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a geography tutor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists geography tutors. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to check course knowledge, and the terms to agree.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a geography tutor in five steps

  1. Name the course, board and case studiesGCSE, A level, National 5 or Higher, the board, and the case studies your child's school uses. A geography tutor works from those.
  2. Ask for the vetting for your nationDBS in England and Wales, PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland — a geography tutor teaching a child every week during term should show you theirs.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomWhich levels, how many geography students now, and what those students went on to do. Knowing geography is not the same as teaching it.
  4. Book a single lesson firstJudge a geography tutor on one geography lesson before paying for a block of lessons.
  5. Write down the termsWhat investigation help covers, the notice to stop, and lessons missed for illness, agreed in writing with the geography tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

None of the four UK nations licenses or registers geography tutors; anyone may advertise geography tuition online with maps and graphs on screen, or at home. What a tutor knows and has taught is a matter of asking and seeing evidence; there is nothing to look up. England's Teaching Regulation Agency keeps the record of qualified teacher status, but only employers may use its checking service — not parents. A geography degree, QTS or examining experience help; knowing your board's case studies and skills questions matters most.

Ask the geography tutor what they hold, where they trained, and for two people they teach now. If a geography tutor says they are a teacher, ask where, and which specifications they have taught since last September. gov.uk →

Criminal record check for a young learner

In England and Wales, teaching or instructing a child on more than three days in any 30, or once overnight, is regulated activity — so a geography tutor seeing your child every week during term should hold an enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. The definition changed on 1 September 2026: a geography tutor who is supervised is now inside regulated activity too. Scotland uses PVG scheme membership, and mygov.scot names tutors and instructors a parent engages for a child as a role to ask about; in Northern Ireland, a self-employed geography tutor gets an enhanced AccessNI check with the children's barred list through an Umbrella Body.

You cannot apply on a geography tutor's behalf. Ask to see their own certificate and read its issue date — it has no official expiry — or PVG proof in Scotland, or an AccessNI certificate shared from their nidirect account. gov.uk →

The terms for a block of lessons

Working as a trader, a geography tutor must teach with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Booked online or agreed at your home, geography lessons carry 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; if you asked for teaching to start inside those 14 days, you pay for what was given. Agree in advance what happens about fieldwork help that went too far.

Ask for what investigation help covers, the notice to stop, and lessons missed for illness in writing, and keep the message, before a block of lessons changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

Fieldwork coursework: the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022

In England, a paid service that completes all or part of an assignment a post-16 student must do personally is an offence under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, which covers the A level geography investigation. A geography tutor may teach methods and give feedback within the board's rules.

Ask the geography tutor how they support the investigation, and expect them to name the limits. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Geography tuition is exempt from VAT when the geography tutor gives it personally as a sole trader or partner, geography being ordinarily taught in schools; the same lessons from a company or its employees are standard-rated. A tutor working alone under the £90,000 registration threshold does not charge VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask who invoices — the geography tutor or a tuition company; a sole trader under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Before the first geography lesson, can I see your criminal record certificate and its date?”

A good answer: "Yes — here it is." A geography tutor teaching your child every week during term should hold the enhanced check for your nation and show it without fuss.

“Do you know the case studies my child's school uses?”

A good answer: Yes, or a plan to learn them from the school's materials — case studies differ between schools.

“How do you teach the geography skills questions?”

A good answer: Maps, graphs and statistics practised directly, since they appear in every paper.

“How will you help with the A level investigation?”

A good answer: Methods, data presentation and feedback within the rules — the writing is the student's.

“How do you teach long geography answers?”

A good answer: Planned answers with case-study detail, marked to the scheme each week.

“What happens if you cancel a geography lesson, or we do?”

A good answer: Clear written rules: what notice you give, and that a geography lesson a geography tutor cancels is rearranged or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and any extra for evenings before the exams
  • The minimum booking — usually one hour — and what happens if a lesson finishes early
  • What the student brings (the specification, case-study notes, an atlas) and what the geography tutor brings
  • The topics agreed before the first hour: the board, the case studies, fieldwork write-up skills
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for geography lessons with your child
  • Promised grades: no honest geography tutor guarantees a set mark on the investigation
  • They offer to write the investigation for the student
  • A large upfront payment beyond a block of lessons, with nothing in writing
LOW
£25
TYPICAL
£35
HIGH
£55

What a geography tutor costs: £25–£55 per hour

Geography tutors charge by the hour; A level fieldwork guidance and examiner-led lessons cost more. Geography Tutor price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Geography tutors near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. Read the courseSpecification, case studies and recent marked work.
  2. Case study detailFacts, figures and named places learned per case study.
  3. SkillsMaps, graphs and statistics practised on real questions.
  4. Long answersPlanned and written by the student, marked to the scheme.
  5. Exam timingTimed papers before the exam, and the gaps taught again.

Case study
A real place or event studied in detail and used as evidence in answers.
Skills paper
Questions on maps, graphs, statistics and fieldwork.
Fieldwork
Data collected outside the classroom; examined at GCSE, coursework at A level.
Independent investigation
The A level geography coursework.
Command word
Assess, evaluate, explain — the instruction that sets what earns marks.
Higher geography
Scotland's SQA course.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkKeep the case-study notes and the invoices, with the written terms.
Test the progressAt half term, compare a timed nine-mark answer with the first one: more place-specific detail should appear.
Know what is promisedNo geography tutor can promise a set mark on the investigation. What you are owed is the geography lessons agreed, prepared and on time.
Leave the reviewReview the geography tutor once the block ends; if it went wrong, the make-it-right step gives them the chance to fix it first.

STEP 1Tell the geography tutor, in writingName the geography lessons that fell short and the remedy you want; with geography tutors, it is often fieldwork help that went too far. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you can ask a geography tutor to repeat what fell short, or for part of the money back if that cannot be done.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the geography tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers geography tutors, so a consumer complaint goes to Trading Standards through your nation's helpline: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeSmall claims handle a dispute with a geography tutor without a solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales (small claims track), £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland. Keep the case-study notes and the invoices as evidence.

Hiring a geography tutor: questions people ask

Not automatically. Teaching your child every week during term counts as regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in 30, which a barred person may not do, so the check worth seeing is an enhanced DBS with the children's barred list — or PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

None is required by law in any part of the UK; anyone can teach geography. Ask about their geography background and the courses they teach.

£25–£55 an hour, with £35 typical for GCSE. See the geography tutor price guide for the full range; type your town above for real geography tutors nearby.

Usually not. Geography is taught in schools, so a geography tutor working as a sole trader or partner is exempt; tuition from a company or its employed tutors is standard-rated and carries VAT once over £90,000.

With methods and feedback, yes. In England, a paid service that writes the coursework for a student is a criminal offence.

Online works well for geography, with maps and graphs shared on screen.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

How to hire: GCSE TutorHow to hire: A-Level TutorHow to hire: Maths TutorHow to hire: English TutorHow to hire: Science TutorHow to hire: Physics TutorHow to hire: Chemistry TutorHow to hire: Biology TutorAll 701 hiring guides →

Geography tutors near you

Geography tutors in LondonGeography tutors in ManchesterGeography tutors in BirminghamGeography tutors in GlasgowGeography tutors in BelfastAll geography tutors on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  2. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  3. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  4. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  5. gov.uk — check a teacher's record (England)
  6. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  7. gov.uk — statement from the qualification regulators on GCSEs, AS and A levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  8. gov.scot — school leaver attainment in National Qualifications (SQA)
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  11. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  12. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  13. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  14. Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, section 27 — offence of providing a relevant service
  15. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  16. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  17. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register