Online Physics tutor vs in-person: which is better?

Online Physics tutoring is as effective as in-person for the vast majority of students. The subject is calculation and problem-solving based — exactly what digital whiteboards handle well.

Why online Physics tutoring works well:

• Shared digital whiteboards allow worked calculations, free-body diagrams, circuit diagrams and wave diagrams to be drawn in real time — the tutor can annotate on top of the student's work, which is actually harder to do sitting side by side
• Access to Physics specialists across the UK, including those who know specific A-Level option modules (Astrophysics, Medical Physics, Engineering Physics) that may have no local specialist tutor
• Typically cheaper than in-person, with more flexible scheduling

When in-person Physics tutoring may be preferable:

• Younger students who find video call concentration difficult
• Students with unreliable internet connections at home
• Cases where the student benefits significantly from being physically co-present with someone who can guide them through problems page by page

For GCSE and A-Level Physics, online tutoring is well-established and the quality of specialist tutors available online is consistently higher than restricting yourself to local availability. The calculation and reasoning skills Physics demands are perfectly suited to the online format.