Learning at home with MyTutor

Logging in to MyTutor is really simple. Here’s how you do it:

- Open your Google Chrome or Safari internet browser
- Go to mytutor.co.uk/schools/login
- Enter your username and password (the school will share this with you)
- Run the setup test to make sure all your tech is working
- Explore your account to see your upcoming lessons

Important note: You can’t launch your lessons from a mobile phone - so please make sure you’re using a tablet or laptop.

- Check your software is up to date: Having out of date software on your device can impact the quality of your tutorials.
- Try a different browser: MyTutor lessons work on Google Chrome, Safari (Mac & iPad only) and Firefox. If you find one of these isn’t working for you, try another and see if that helps.
- Switch to incognito mode on your browser: Private browsing mode clears your browser of anything that might be blocking your connection. Do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows, Linux, or Chrome computers or pressing ⌘ + Shift + N on Mac.
- Refresh the page

You can access lesson recordings via the Previous Lessons tab in your account. When you click this tab, you should see a list of all your previous lessons. Click the blue ‘Watch recording’ button to view.

Note: It can sometimes take 24-48 hours for lesson recordings to appear in your account

All our tutors have achieved outstanding grades in the subjects they teach (A/A* at A-Level, 6/7 in International Baccalaureate or equivalent), and study at top UK universities.

We work closely with schools and teachers to make sure our tutorial sessions are properly matched up with the curriculum. We’ve asked your school to let us know your child’s current and target grades, exam board and level, and any specific areas they’re struggling with. Our tutors use this information to plan their lessons.

If you feel that your tutor isn’t covering the right curriculum content, please share your feedback with the school directly, so we can sort this out for you.

You’ll have regular lessons with the same tutor each week. But on rare occasions, if your normal tutor gets held up or has a sudden change of plans, we may need to match you up with a cover tutor just for that lesson.

If your tutor isn’t there right away when you launch the Lesson Space, don’t worry: just keep the Lesson Space open and sit tight for a few minutes, and a cover tutor will be with you ASAP.

Unfortunately, predicted grades can only be submitted by what UCAS consider to be an “experienced tutor”, and grades tend to be ignored if UCAS believe them to be submitted by somebody who isn’t qualified.

Because of this, even though many of our tutors are very experienced, we’re advising them not to provide predicted grades for school pupils. However, our tutors do leave feedback for pupils at the end of every lesson, and school teachers can draw on these to help support their grade predictions.

We recommend using Google Chrome as your browser, but we also support Safari and Firefox. If you’re using an iPad, please launch your lessons using Safari.

If you’re having any problems, try logging into MyTutor using an Incognito or Private browsing window, as this tends to help the connection in the lesson space.

Lastly, please don’t use Microsoft Edge (Edge 18) or Internet Explorer, as unfortunately these don’t work with MyTutor.

The operating system is the software that your computer runs on.

For Windows computers, Windows 10 is the best version for running MyTutor, but we recommend you check your software regularly to ensure it’s up to date. To check this, go to Settings > Update & Security.

For Mac computers, macOS 11 Big Sur is the best version for running MyTutor, but we recommend you check your software regularly to ensure it’s up to date. To check this, go to System Preferences > Software Update

You don’t need a lot of hardware for your MyTutor lessons, but for the best possible experience, we recommend:

- Using a wired (USB) microphone headset, for high-quality audio.

- Avoiding Apple earphones and Bluetooth devices (like AirPods), as these may create echoes or mean you can’t hear your tutor properly.

- Using any webcam you’ve got handy! Normally your device will already have a default camera built in. Your tutor should always have their webcam switched on too, so you can see them.

MyTutor lessons run online, and sessions will go more smoothly if you have a strong internet connection.

- If you’re using WiFi, we recommend being as close to the router as possible and minimising physical obstacles.

- Network congestion (for example, if someone is streaming Netflix in another room) can sometimes be a problem, so it’s best if as few other devices as possible are using the network while your lessons are happening.

- We don’t recommend using your phone as a WiFi hotspot, but if this is your only option, we suggest tethering your phone with a USB cable and working from a spot with the most reliable phone signal.

Lastly, if you can set up a wired connection from your internet router to your laptop or device, using an ethernet cable, this is usually the best option for keeping up a strong internet connection.

If you can’t hear your tutor in the lesson space, here are a few quick fixes we recommend:

Try using headphones
We recommend using headphones in the lesson space to improve the sound quality. Make sure you’re using wired headphones (preferably with a USB connection), as bluetooth headphones tend to cause issues and aren’t supported in the lesson space.

Check your speakers
It might sound silly, but check to see if your speakers are turned on and the volume is turned up. You can then check the sound in another site, ie. YouTube.

Switch to incognito mode on your browser
Private browsing mode clears your browser of anything that might be blocking your connection. Do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows, Linux, or Chrome computers or pressing ⌘ + Shift + N on Mac.

Check your software is up to date
Having out of date software on your device can impact the quality of your tutorials.

Try a different browser
MyTutor lessons work on Google Chrome, Safari (Mac & iPad only) and Firefox. If you find one of these isn’t working for you, try another and see if that helps.

Check your browser settings
Go to Settings and check volume controls are enabled. For Windows: Settings > Volume Controls. For Mac: System Preferences > Sound

If your microphone isn’t working and your tutor can’t hear you in the lesson space, here are a few quick fixes we recommend:

Switch to incognito mode on your browser
Private browsing mode clears your browser of anything that might be blocking your connection. Do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows, Linux, or Chrome computers or pressing ⌘ + Shift + N on Mac.

Check your software is up to date
Having out of date software on your device can impact the quality of your tutorials.

Try a different browser
MyTutor lessons work on Google Chrome, Safari (Mac & iPad only) and Firefox. If you find one of these isn’t working for you, try another and see if that helps.

Check your browser settings
Go to Settings and check that volume controls are enabled. For Windows: Settings > Volume Controls. For Mac: System Preferences > Sound. Sometimes, your microphone can be turned off in your browser settings. Click the padlock in the address bar > Site settings, and make sure your microphone is set to ’allow’.

Check your device settings
For Windows, go to: Settings > Privacy. On the left panel, find the entry for ‘microphone’, and select it. Then scroll through the page on the right, and make sure both the ‘Allow apps to access your microphone’ and ‘Allow desktop apps to access your microphone’ switches are both set to ‘on’.

For Mac, go to: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Microphone, then make sure it's allowed.

Try using headphones
We recommend using headphones in the lesson space to improve the sound quality. Make sure you’re using wired headphones (preferably with a USB connection), as bluetooth headphones tend to cause issues and aren’t supported in the lesson space.

If your webcam isn’t working and your tutor can’t see you in the lesson space, here are a few quick fixes we recommend:

Switch to incognito mode on your browser
Private browsing mode clears your browser of anything that might be blocking your connection. Do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows, Linux, or Chrome computers or pressing ⌘ + Shift + N on Mac.

Check your software is up to date
Having out of date software on your device can impact the quality of your tutorials.

Try a different browser
MyTutor lessons work on Google Chrome, Safari (Mac & iPad only) and Firefox. If you find one of these isn’t working for you, try another and see if that helps.

Check your device settings
To enable webcam for Windows, go to: Settings > Privacy > Camera, then make sure ‘Allow Apps to Access’ and ‘Allow desktop apps to access’ are both turned on.

For Mac, go to: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Camera, then select the checkbox next to your browser to allow access to camera.

Block third-party security software
There may be third-party security software on your machine which is blocking your webcam. Check for any software or firewalls which automatically block your webcam within the browser.

Remove physical blocks
Some laptops have built-in physical switches to the webcam that need to be switched off to work.

In most cases, yes, we’ll add a replacement lesson to the end of your programme, with the same tutor.

If you’re not happy with the tutor that your child has been assigned, please share your feedback with the school directly, so we can sort this out for you.

If you need to reschedule a lesson, we just ask that you let your school know with as much notice as possible - ideally at least 3 days in advance.

Third party filtering software varies a lot, and can affect every computer differently. To be on the safe side, we suggest you add the MyTutor domain (mytutor.co.uk) to your safe addresses list.

If your school has provided your device, your school administrator should have already taken care of this. If not, please get in touch with them directly.

My child is using a school device
School devices should be up to date with all the right software to run MyTutor, but issues can still sometimes crop up. If you think your school device isn’t set up correctly, please get in touch with your school administrator directly.

My child is using my work device
Your work device may have its own security settings, so it may block the MyTutor site from working. We recommend that you use a device that doesn’t have any extra firewall restrictions to allow lessons to run smoothly.