HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

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

No register lists physics tutors. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to judge physics and maths strength, and the terms to agree.

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  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a physics tutor in five steps

  1. Name the course and boardGCSE physics or combined science, A level, Higher or Advanced Higher — and the board. A physics tutor plans each differently.
  2. Ask which check they holdA physics tutor should name it: an enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland — and show the date.
  3. Ask about recent studentsHow many learners at your level a physics tutor teaches this year, and what changed for them.
  4. Start with one lessonOne physics lesson online or at home, with plenty of paper for calculations tells you more than any profile; commit to a term's block of lessons only afterwards.
  5. Agree the terms in writingWhat happens when the tutor cancels, the notice to stop, and any admissions-test help priced on its own — in writing before the first payment. A message on Locufy counts.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

None of the four UK nations licenses or registers physics tutors; anyone may advertise physics tuition online or at home, with plenty of paper for calculations. What a tutor knows and has taught is a matter of asking and seeing evidence; there is nothing to look up.

Ask how long they have taught physics, what training they had, and for someone who can vouch for them.

Criminal record check for under-18s

For a physics tutor teaching your child every week through the course, the England and Wales rule is simple: more than three days of teaching in any 30, or one overnight, makes it regulated activity, and the right check is an enhanced DBS with the children's barred list. From 1 September 2026, supervision no longer removes a role from regulated activity, so a physics tutor working under another teacher still counts. Living in Scotland, ask for PVG scheme membership: mygov.scot includes tutors and instructors a parent engages for their child. In Northern Ireland, ask for an enhanced AccessNI check, which a physics tutor working alone obtains via an Umbrella Body.

Before the first physics lesson, see the certificate itself (a parent cannot apply for one on a self-employed physics tutor's behalf) and check the date; in Scotland, PVG proof; in Northern Ireland, the AccessNI certificate shared online. gov.uk →

Qualified teacher status and recent teaching

Qualified teacher status (QTS) is recorded by England's Teaching Regulation Agency, but its check-a-teacher's-record service is for employers, so a parent cannot search it. A physics or engineering degree, QTS or examining experience help; for A level mechanics, ask how they teach the maths.

Ask a physics tutor who says they teach in a school which school it is, and which boards and levels they have prepared students for in the last two years. gov.uk →

Your rights when paying for a term's block of lessons

Like any trader, a physics tutor owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the booking with a physics tutor is made online or at your home, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 allow 14 days to cancel; teaching you asked to begin in that time is paid for. Agree in advance what happens about a scarce specialist cancelling at short notice.

Ask for what happens when the tutor cancels, the notice to stop, and any admissions-test help priced on its own in writing, and keep the message, before a term's block of lessons changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Physics tuition is exempt from VAT when a physics tutor gives it personally as a sole trader or partner, physics being ordinarily taught in schools and universities; teaching sold by a company or its employees is standard-rated. Anyone teaching alone below the £90,000 registration threshold charges no VAT at all, so there is no VAT number to ask for.

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

“Is your criminal record check the enhanced one, with the children's barred list?”

A good answer: Yes, and dated. For physics lessons with a child that is the level to see — PVG membership in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

“How do you teach the maths in physics?”

A good answer: Rearranging equations, units, vectors and graphs taught directly — a physics tutor who skips the maths leaves the marks behind.

“Which topics do students find hardest, and how do you teach them?”

A good answer: A specific answer — circuits, forces, waves or fields — with how they make them concrete.

“Do you cover the required practicals?”

A good answer: Yes, the method and the data analysis questions the papers ask about them.

“Have you taught A level mechanics or electricity recently?”

A good answer: Named topics and recent students, if that is the level you need.

“Can you help with an engineering or physics application?”

A good answer: If offered, planned and priced separately from the course lessons.

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

A good answer: A notice period both ways, written down, and any physics lesson the physics tutor cancels made up or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, with 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, a calculator, past papers) and what the physics tutor brings
  • The topics agreed before the first hour: the board, the required practicals, the maths in physics
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • No criminal record certificate for regular physics lessons with your child, or "it isn't needed for physics"
  • Promised grades: no honest physics tutor guarantees a top grade in mechanics
  • They cannot explain a topic without reaching for a formula sheet
  • A term's block of lessons demanded up front, with no written refund terms
LOW
£35
TYPICAL
£48
HIGH
£60

What a physics tutor costs: £35–£60 per hour

Physics tutors charge by the hour; scarcity keeps rates above many subjects, and A level costs more than GCSE. Physics 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

Physics 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. Find the gapsA short test across topics and the maths skills physics leans on.
  2. Maths first where neededRearranging, units and graphs fixed early, because every topic uses them.
  3. Concepts with examplesEach topic explained with diagrams and worked problems before exam questions.
  4. Practicals and dataRequired practicals, uncertainties and graph work practised on real exam questions.
  5. Timed papersFull papers under time in the months before the exam, then the lost marks taught again.

Required practicals
The experiments a physics specification lists, examined in the papers.
Equation sheet
The list of equations given in the exam; some must still be learned.
Mechanics
Forces and motion — a large part of A level physics.
Uncertainty
How precise a measurement is; asked about in practical questions.
Advanced Higher physics
Scotland's SQA course above Higher.
Six-mark question
A longer written answer marked on the quality of explanation.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkHold on to the worked calculation sets and the invoices; together with the agreed terms they settle most disagreements.
Test the progressAt half term, compare a timed set of calculation questions with the first session's — method marks should be climbing.
Know what is promisedNo physics tutor can promise a top grade in mechanics. What you are owed is the physics lessons agreed, prepared and on time.
Leave the reviewOnly booked physics lessons can be reviewed on Locufy; if something went wrong, the make-it-right step sends it to the physics tutor first.

STEP 1Tell the physics tutor, in writingSet out the problem (a scarce specialist cancelling at short notice is a common one) and ask for a fix or a refund by a date. Where physics lessons paid as a term's block of lessons were not taught with reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 entitles you to a repeat or a fair reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the physics tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers physics 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 physics 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 worked calculation sets and the invoices as evidence.

Hiring a physics tutor: questions people ask

The law does not require it of every physics tutor. What it does say is that a barred person must not work with children in regulated activity, which across England and Wales includes teaching a child on more than three days in 30 — so ask to see an enhanced DBS check, PVG membership in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland.

There is nothing official to look up for this kind of teaching. Ask for their physics background, the levels they teach, and references.

£35–£60 an hour, with £48 typical; A level mechanics and electricity sit at the top. The physics tutor price guide breaks it down; search your town above to see physics tutors who work near you.

Usually not. Physics is a school subject, so a physics 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.

There are fewer of them than for most subjects, and strong A level physics tutoring needs strong maths as well.

For GCSE calculation skills, sometimes. For concepts and practicals, a physics specialist is better.

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: Chemistry TutorHow to hire: Biology TutorHow to hire: Primary School TutorAll 701 hiring guides →

Physics tutors near you

Physics tutors in LondonPhysics tutors in ManchesterPhysics tutors in BirminghamPhysics tutors in GlasgowPhysics tutors in BelfastAll physics 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. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  15. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register