This is one of the first questions parents ask in Primary 5 and 6. The right number depends on how many subjects need help and how far behind your child is, so this guide gives a starting point and shows when to change it.
How many hours of tuition a week is enough for PSLE?
For a pupil who is coping but wants to move up one or two AL bands in a subject, one lesson of 1.5 to 2 hours a week in that subject is usually enough. That is also the planning figure on our tuition rates page for P5 and P6.
Most of the gain comes from what happens between lessons. A good tutor sets short corrections and practice, and your child does them before the next lesson. Two hours of tuition with no practice in between rarely moves a grade.
A pupil who is well behind in a subject may need two lessons a week for one term to close the gap, then drop back to one. MOE's AL bands show what "behind" means in marks: AL5 is 65 to 74 marks, AL6 is 45 to 64, and AL7 is 20 to 44.
Suggested weekly hours by situation
These are starting points, not rules. Review them after each round of school tests.
| Your child's situation | Tuition in that subject each week | Total tuition each week |
|---|---|---|
| Coping, wants to move up one AL band | 1.5 hours, one lesson | 1.5 to 3 hours |
| Weak in one subject (AL5 to AL6 in school tests) | 2 hours, one or two lessons | 2 to 3 hours |
| Weak in two subjects | 1.5 to 2 hours each | 3 to 4 hours |
| Final term before the written papers | One extra lesson for the weakest subject | About 4 to 5 hours at most |
| Steady at AL1 to AL2 | Optional, 1 to 1.5 hours for harder questions | 0 to 1.5 hours |
Which subjects should get the hours?
Look at the last two school tests and see where the marks went. The PSLE papers reward different skills, so the hours should follow the gap.
- Mathematics. Two papers of 50 marks each. Paper 1 (1 hour 10 minutes) is taken without a calculator and Paper 2 (1 hour 20 minutes) with one. Marks for working matter, so a tutor who checks method line by line helps most here. Our guide to scoring AL1 in PSLE Maths covers the common gaps.
- Science. One paper of 1 hour 45 minutes. Booklet A is 30 multiple-choice questions for 60 marks, and Booklet B is 40 marks of structured, open-ended questions. Open-ended answers need precise words, which is easier to fix with feedback on your child's own answers.
- English. Writing is 25% of the grade, Language Use and Comprehension 45%, Listening 10% and Oral 20%. Composition and oral improve with regular feedback, so even one lesson a week can help.
- Mother Tongue. Since 2017 the oral has been taken in an e-Examination format, so practice with the format matters as well as the language.
If two subjects need help, it usually works better to give each one a full lesson than to squeeze both into one session.
How should the hours change across the P6 year?
The dates below are from SEAB's 2026 PSLE timetable. SEAB sets the 2027 dates.
