What separates a good A-level law tutor from an average one
Three things. First, examiner literacy — a tutor who can read your child’s essay and say “this paragraph would score 4 of 5 on AO1, 1 of 5 on AO2, and you’ve ignored AO3 entirely” is doing something a generalist can’t. Second, case law fluency. Your tutor should be able to talk you through R v Adomako, R v Nedrick, Caparo v Dickman and Hill v CC West Yorkshire without reaching for a textbook, and explain why one is better authority than another in a specific scenario. Third, time discipline — they should make your child write to the clock, because A-level law exam stress is at least 30% timing.
The subject also rewards a certain sort of personality match. Law students tend to be analytical and a bit competitive. A tutor who explains by storytelling — “imagine the defendant turns up at the bar…” — usually beats a tutor who recites the rule. If the trial lesson feels dry, the next 30 weeks will feel drier. Pick someone whose enthusiasm survives a Tuesday at 7pm.
What the syllabus actually contains
Quick orientation by board.
- AQA Paper 1 — the English legal system (courts, lay people, legal personnel, funding), the nature of law, and substantive criminal law (non-fatal offences, homicide, defences). Most-asked: voluntary manslaughter (loss of control, diminished responsibility) and intoxication.
- AQA Paper 2 — tort: negligence (duty, breach, causation, Caparo, Donoghue, Wagon Mound), occupiers’ liability, vicarious liability, nuisance, Rylands v Fletcher. Heavy case-law paper.
- AQA Paper 3 — choose one: contract law (offer, acceptance, consideration, ICLR, breach, remedies), human rights, or law of property.
- OCR — broader nature-of-law content plus options.
Your tutor needs to ask, in the first session: which paper does Q9 in May, who marks your essays at school, and what was your last grade. If they don’t, they’re winging it.
Pitfalls and a real case
The two big traps. First, treating law like history — narrating cases instead of applying them. A 15-mark AQA tort question rewards application 6/15. Narration costs marks even when it’s accurate. Second, getting case names wrong. Donoghue v Stevenson not “Donaghue”, R v Cunningham not Cunningham v R, Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co in full. Examiners notice. Some are kind, some aren’t.
Real example: a Year 13 from a south-west London grammar, AQA, predicted C in February. Tutor diagnosed: knew the law, wrote slowly, started essays with two paragraphs of background before applying. Six sessions, all focused on opening sentences and 25-minute timed essays. June: B. Rate £55/hour, total £330. The student got a place at Nottingham law.
Pricing, fees, and the practical bit
A typical A-level law tutoring contract — Year 12 January through Year 13 May — is around 50-60 sessions. At £55/hour that’s £2,750-£3,300. Front-loaded weekly with a 6-session March intensive of £55-£70/hour just before exams. That’s a meaningful sum, and it’s why parents shop around carefully.
TheTutorLink takes 5% per lesson — no subscriptions, no signing fees. Free trial lesson with any tutor on the platform: half an hour, no charge, your child can ask the tutor a question on murder and recklessness and see if the answer makes sense. If it doesn’t, message us and we’ll line up two more profiles. Most A-level law families pick a tutor on the second or third trial. Search “A-level law” on the platform, filter by exam board (AQA / OCR), and read the intros — the strong tutors are the ones who name papers, name cases, and tell you what their previous students went on to study.