Private tutors, NZ curriculum

Every lesson built for your child. Not a class, not a script.

Private 1-on-1 tutoring in maths, statistics, sciences and English, online across New Zealand. Each lesson is planned around what your child is doing at school, with PDF notes and homework after every session.

  • No contract
  • No card fees
  • Pay lesson by lesson
  • 5.0 ★★★★★72 Google reviews
  • 10,000+private lessons taught
  • Years 6 to 13plus university
  • NZ curriculumNCEA, Cambridge and IB
A lesson plan for one student
Year 10 Maths, Tuesday 4 pmExample
  1. 1Review last week's homework examplesTwo questions on expanding brackets to check again
  2. 2Factorising quadratics, the topic in class this weekExplained and modelled first, then worked through together
  3. 3Close a gap: negative numbers in bracketsPicked up in last week's lesson
  4. 4Five minutes a day until next lessonHomework examples and PDF notes sent tonight
Written by the tutor before the lessonNotes sent to parents
Sent after every lesson
Lesson notes, Year 10 MathsPDF, 3 pages

Factorising quadratics

Find two numbers that multiply to give the last number and add to give the middle one.

x² + 5x + 6 = (x + 2)(x + 3)

x² − x − 12 = (x − 4)(x + 3)

Watch out: with a minus in the middle, the bigger number is negative.

  • Sent 5:12 pmto the student and parents
  • Homework4 questions, 5 minutes a day
Progress with weekly lessons
Average rise in school test marks (%)Across our students

How much higher students' school test marks are, on average, than before they started with us. Confidence usually comes first, within the first few weeks.

Marcel, founder of Cell Tuition
Marcel Registered and experienced maths teacher Works with every tutor on the team so each student reaches personal excellence.

What parents and students say

★★★★★
Both my sons attend classes with Marcel after a series of group session classes with other maths providers. Their maths grades have jumped from pass to E8 grade over 1-2 semesters. Maths was initially their weakest subject, but is now their strongest subject in school.
Terry L.Parent, Google review
★★★★★
My daughter is getting higher marks in her tests and actually seems to understand Math better. She has had another tutor before but these guys have hit the nail on the head.
Jules K.Parent, Google review
★★★★★
After six months of consistent lessons, we saw a strong improvement. By the end of the year, he had regained his above-average grades and, more importantly, developed greater confidence in his understanding of general maths concepts.
Ngamora Z.Parent, about Humam
★★★★★
Was able to help me a lot in preparation for my NCEA Level 3 Statistics external. Marcel was very easy to understand and I learnt extremely quick under his guidance and definitely helped me become more confident in exams.
John R.Student, Year 13
★★★★★
Their approach to teaching really sets them apart from the other tuitions out there. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for tutoring that are not money grabs and actually helps you improve.
Mary M.Google review
★★★★★
My son had tutorials for Level 2 physics and calculus with Humam over several months. He was caring, took the time to explain in great detail and was encouraging. We found the service to be affordable.
Poh Y.Parent, Google review

See the difference for yourself

One free lesson, no contract, and PDF notes afterwards.

Led by a registered maths teacher

Marcel, founder of Cell Tuition
Founder and VIP tutor

Marcel

Registered secondary teacher with a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Auckland, a focus on mathematics education, and the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary). Marcel teaches maths in an Auckland secondary school, has published research on how maths is taught in New Zealand classrooms, and trains and supports every tutor on the team, whatever the subject.

  • 10+ years tutoring
  • 300+ students
  • NCEA to Scholarship
  • University maths and stats
About VIP tutoring with Marcel

The tutors

One student, one tutor, one plan

Most tutoring matches your child with whoever is free and teaches a set programme. Here, the lesson is written for your child, every week.

Planned around your child's week at school

Lessons follow the NZ curriculum and the topic your child is doing in class this week, so the work shows up at school the next day. Gaps from earlier years are fixed as the tutor finds them.

Taught 1-on-1, explained first, then practised together

No other students. The tutor explains and models the idea, then works through problems with your child, catching mistakes as they happen. This is explicit teaching, the approach the research supports and the NZ curriculum refresh promotes.

PDF notes and homework after every lesson

Your child stays engaged in the lesson instead of copying working. The tutor's notes arrive as a PDF the same day to review later, with homework examples that take five minutes a day.

Online tutoring works

Three randomised trials, the strongest kind of evidence in education, and what they found.

Spain · randomised trial +0.26 SD

higher maths test scores for secondary students after a fully online tutoring programme taught by qualified maths teachers, and +0.48 SD in end-of-year grades.

Gortazar, Hupkau and Roldan
Italy · randomised trial +0.23 SD

in maths for students tutored online three hours a week by university tutors. The gains were still there after schools reopened.

Carlana and La Ferrara
Review of 96 trials 87%

of tutoring programmes improved student results. The typical gain was about half a year of extra schooling.

Nickow, Oreopoulos and Quan, 2020
What SD means

SD is a standard deviation, the usual measure of how big an effect is in education research. The results above sit in the large range.

  • Microsoft TeamsFace to face, with the tutor's working shown live
  • Shared whiteboardYour child writes on the same board as the tutor
  • PDF notes afterwardsEverything from the board, sent the same day
  • Anywhere in New ZealandIn-person lessons with some tutors in parts of Auckland

Three steps, and the first one is free

1

Book a free first lesson

Tell us the year level and subject. It takes 30 seconds, and we call or text you to set a time.

2

Meet the tutor

A full free lesson. Your child meets their tutor, we see where the gaps are, and you decide whether to carry on.

3

Weekly lessons, notes after each one

Same tutor, same time each week, planned around school. PDF notes and homework after every lesson.

How much tutoring works best?

Years 6 to 10: one 60-minute lesson a week per subject. From Year 11: 90 minutes a week per subject, or two shorter lessons, because NCEA topics are bigger and the internals come fast.

Frequently asked questions

What does a lesson include?

Every lesson is one student with one tutor, planned for that student around their school topics, with PDF notes sent the same day and homework examples for the week. The first lesson is free, there is no contract, and there are no extra fees for paying by card. Prices are on the pricing page.

Are lessons really one-on-one?

Yes. Every lesson is one student with one tutor, and the tutor plans each lesson for that student.

Are lessons online or in person?

Most lessons are online on Microsoft Teams with a shared whiteboard, and we tutor students anywhere in New Zealand. In-person lessons are available with some tutors in parts of Auckland, mostly the North Shore, and may cost a little more.

Which year levels and subjects do you tutor?

We tutor Years 6 to 13 and university students. Our specialty is mathematics and statistics, including calculus, NCEA Scholarship and university courses. We also tutor physics, chemistry, biology, and English and literacy, and sometimes other subjects such as economics, depending on which tutors are available.

Do you follow the New Zealand curriculum and NCEA?

Yes. Lessons follow the New Zealand Curriculum, including the new curriculum phases, and the NCEA Achievement Standards, and they usually cover the same topic the student is doing at school that week. Students at Cambridge or IB schools are taught to their own syllabus, and we prepare students for the Literacy and Numeracy co-requisites.

How soon will we see results?

Many students feel more confident within a few lessons, and some see it in their next test. The biggest changes come with regular weekly lessons over a year: students who stay with us for twelve months commonly move from Achieved to Excellence, or from Not Achieved to Merit. Tutoring supports what happens at school, it does not replace it.

What if we need to move a lesson?

Lessons are weekly, and a lesson can be moved to another day with 48 hours' notice at no cost. A lesson moved or missed with less than 48 hours' notice is charged, because the tutor has prepared it and kept the time free. There is no contract, so you can stop at any time, and lessons run in the school holidays too.