HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

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

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

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a science tutor in five steps

  1. Name the courseCombined or separate (triple) science, the board, the tier, or National 5 in Scotland. A science tutor needs all four to plan.
  2. Vetting firstBefore science lessons online with a shared whiteboard, or at home, see the enhanced DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate that fits your nation.
  3. Ask about recent studentsHow many learners at your level a science tutor teaches this year, and what changed for them.
  4. Start with one lessonOne science lesson online with a shared whiteboard, or at home tells you more than any profile; commit to a block of weekly lessons only afterwards.
  5. Write down the termsHow time is split between the three sciences, the notice to stop, and extra lessons before exams, agreed in writing with the science tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

None of the four UK nations licenses or registers science tutors; anyone may advertise science tuition online with a shared whiteboard, or at home. Degrees, teaching experience and checks are all things you ask about directly.

Ask for the qualification and where it was gained, plus a reference from a current learner.

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 science tutor seeing your child for an hour a week, more before mocks should hold an enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. The definition changed on 1 September 2026: a science 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 science tutor gets an enhanced AccessNI check with the children's barred list through an Umbrella Body.

You cannot apply on a science 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 →

Who has a science tutor actually taught?

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 science degree or QTS helps; ask which of biology, chemistry and physics they are strongest in, since few tutors are equally strong in all three.

Ask a science tutor for the school they teach at, if any, and the levels and boards of their students this year. gov.uk →

The terms for a block of weekly lessons

Paying for a block of weekly lessons makes it a consumer contract: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a science tutor must use reasonable care and skill. Booked online or agreed at your home, science 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. Most arguments with science tutors are about a block spent on one science while the others slipped.

Ask for how time is split between the three sciences, the notice to stop, and extra lessons before exams in writing, and keep the message, before a block of weekly lessons changes hands. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Science tuition is exempt when a science tutor gives it personally as a sole trader or partner, the sciences being ordinarily taught in schools; the same lessons from a company or its employees are standard-rated. On top of that, an individual whose taxable sales stay under £90,000 a year is not registered, charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask who invoices — the science tutor or a tuition company; an individual under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Will you show me your DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate?”

A good answer: A straight yes. A science tutor who works with children online with a shared whiteboard, or at home expects to be asked.

“Which of the three sciences are you strongest in?”

A good answer: An honest answer. Combined science needs all three; a physics graduate teaching biology should say so.

“Do you cover the required practicals?”

A good answer: Yes — the method, the results and the exam questions on each practical in your child's specification.

“Combined or separate sciences: does it change your plan?”

A good answer: Yes. Separate sciences cover more content; the science tutor should plan from the right specification.

“How do you teach the maths in science?”

A good answer: Units, rearranging equations and graphs taught directly, because many marks are lost there.

“Can you move my child from foundation to higher tier?”

A good answer: An honest view after a first session and a mock, not a promise.

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

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

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and any extra for evenings in exam season
  • The minimum booking — usually one hour — and whether an early finish is charged in full
  • What the student brings (the specification, a calculator, practical write-ups) and what the science tutor brings
  • The work agreed before the first hour: combined or separate sciences, the board, the weakest topics
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • No criminal record certificate for regular science lessons with your child, or "it isn't needed for science"
  • Promised grades: no honest science tutor guarantees a move from foundation to higher tier
  • They have not heard of the required practicals on your child's course
  • A block of weekly lessons demanded up front, with no written refund terms
LOW
£25
TYPICAL
£35
HIGH
£55

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

Science tutors charge by the hour; separate sciences and A level cost more than combined science. Science 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

Science 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. Diagnostic across the three sciencesA short test in biology, chemistry and physics shows where the gaps are.
  2. Plan by paperThe science tutor maps topics to the papers your child sits.
  3. Teach and applyEach topic ends with exam questions, including calculations.
  4. PracticalsEach required practical walked through: method, variables, results and evaluation.
  5. Exam run-inTimed papers and the six-mark questions practised under time.

Combined science
A double GCSE covering biology, chemistry and physics in less depth than three separate GCSEs.
Separate (triple) science
Three separate GCSEs in biology, chemistry and physics.
Required practicals
The experiments a specification lists, examined in the written papers.
Higher and foundation tier
The two entry levels; foundation caps the grade available.
Extended response
A longer written answer, often worth six marks.
National 5 sciences
Scotland's SQA courses in biology, chemistry and physics.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkHold on to the topic list per science and the invoices; together with the agreed terms they settle most disagreements.
Test the progressAt half term, sit a timed section of a past paper with practical-based questions and compare it with the first session.
Know what is promisedA move from foundation to higher tier is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed science lessons, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewReview the science tutor once the block ends; if it went wrong, the make-it-right step gives them the chance to fix it first.

STEP 1Write to the science tutor firstSay what went wrong — for example a block spent on one science while the others slipped — and what you want: science lessons made up, repeated or refunded. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you can ask a science 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 science tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers science 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 science 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. Bring the topic list per science and the invoices to the claim.

Hiring a science tutor: questions people ask

There is no blanket legal duty, but a science tutor teaching your child more than three days in any 30 is in regulated activity in England and Wales, which a barred person must not do. Ask for the enhanced DBS check — PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

Not one of the four UK nations keeps a register of people who teach science. Ask which sciences they teach best, at which level, and for references.

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

Not from a science tutor teaching as a sole trader or partner: science is taught in schools, so that tuition is exempt. A tuition company or its employed tutors are standard-rated and add VAT once over £90,000.

For combined science, one strong science tutor is usually enough. For separate sciences at the top grades, or A level, a specialist in each often works better.

Online works for most theory and exam practice; practicals are taught through the method and results rather than at the kitchen table.

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

Science tutors near you

Science tutors in LondonScience tutors in ManchesterScience tutors in BirminghamScience tutors in GlasgowScience tutors in BelfastAll science 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