Choosing tuition
IP Maths tuition: should it focus on methods or content?
Reviewed by Theon Teo, Founder · Last checked · How we check facts
Short answer
For most Integrated Programme students, IP Maths tuition should put methods first: how to read an unfamiliar question, choose an approach and set out a full solution. Content help still matters when a child has fallen behind the school's fast pace, so a good IP tutor checks which problem it is from recent tests before planning lessons.
Why IP Maths is different
The Integrated Programme is a six-year course. MOE says IP students do not need to take the O-Level in Secondary 4, and the final qualification varies by school: the A-Level, the IB Diploma or the NUS High School Diploma. Each IP school's programme is its own, so Years 1 to 4 follow the school's scheme of work rather than one national syllabus.
Without a national exam at Sec 4, school tests set the pace. IP schools often cover topics earlier than mainstream schools and ask questions that combine several topics, which is where children who only practised familiar question types start to lose marks.
Methods or content: how to tell what your child needs
| What you see | Likely gap | What lessons should do |
|---|---|---|
| Full marks on routine questions, low marks on the last questions | Method | Practise unfamiliar and multi-step questions, and explain each choice of approach |
| Blank answers on a whole topic | Content | Reteach that topic from the school's notes, then move on to its harder questions |
| Right ideas, marks lost for working | Presentation | Write full solutions to the school's marking standard |
| Good homework, poor tests | Exam skill | Timed practice and checking habits |
What method-focused lessons look like
- Starting from a hard question the child got wrong, not from a worksheet of easy ones.
- Asking the child to say what the question is really asking before writing anything.
- Comparing two ways to solve the same problem and why one is shorter.
- Proof and reasoning questions written out in full, because IP papers often reward the argument as much as the answer.
When content help comes first
If a child has missed a block of lessons, joined an IP school from abroad, or is clearly lost in a topic like functions or trigonometry, reteaching comes first. Method practice on a topic the child does not understand only adds frustration. Once the gap is closed, lessons should move back to harder questions quickly.
In Years 5 and 6 the target is the school's final qualification, so tuition should follow that syllabus directly. For A-Level schools that is H2 Mathematics.
What to ask an IP Maths tutor
- Which IP schools have you taught, and do you work from the school's own notes?
- How would you plan the first four lessons from my child's last test?
- How do you practise questions my child has never seen before?
Common questions
Is IP Maths harder than mainstream Maths?
It is usually faster and less predictable, because each IP school sets its own scheme and tests in Years 1 to 4. The core topics overlap, but IP tests often combine topics in one question.
Do IP students sit the SEC or O-Level?
No. MOE says IP students do not need to take the O-Level in Secondary 4. They take their school's final qualification at the end of Year 6, such as the A-Level, the IB Diploma or the NUS High School Diploma.
How much does IP Maths tuition cost in 2027?
IP Years 1 and 2 use our Sec 1 to 2 rates and Years 3 and 4 the Sec 3 to 4 rates. For Years 3 and 4 that is about S$35 to S$45 an hour with a part-time tutor, S$45 to S$65 with a full-time tutor and S$65 to S$95 with an ex-MOE teacher.
Want a tutor shortlist?
Tell us the level and subject. We send 3 to 12 tutor profiles with their rates within 16 hours, and you choose. No contract and no minimum number of lessons.