Summer tutoring draws growing demand in Vorarlberg

Demand for tutoring remains high in Vorarlberg during the summer, ORF reports. An increasing number of primary school pupils are seeking help during the holidays, and tutoring providers say it is no longer mainly about improving failing grades.

Many children use the sessions to review material from the previous school year and prepare for the next one. Elisabeth Baldauf-Geier, founder of the Smile Academy tutoring provider in the Oberland region, said parents were increasingly booking tutoring as a preventive measure. Angela Schmidt of the Lernquadrat tutoring centre confirmed that its intensive courses often cover and reinforce the entire curriculum so children can perform better in tests in the coming school year.

Baldauf-Geier said inquiries for primary school pupils had increased in recent years. Parents were often looking to prepare their children for fourth grade so they could move on to a grammar school. When a school change is approaching, English is also an important focus for many families. Summer tutoring is intended to prepare children for the transition and make the start at the new school easier.

The Smile Academy offers a summer school in small groups every morning, with bookings available by the week. It is particularly popular with parents during the second half of the summer holidays. Individual lessons are usually booked when children have to sit supplementary exams. Lernquadrat has had a similar experience, with many parents booking courses or extending their children’s enrolment for additional weeks in August.

Most pupils receive tutoring in mathematics, followed by English and German. French, Latin and Spanish are also regularly requested, Baldauf-Geier said.

Both providers said they had seen school requirements and pressure increase in recent years. Schmidt said children were under considerable stress during the school year, while smaller groups during the holidays allowed them to learn more calmly and enjoy the process. Baldauf-Geier added that summer tutoring also eased the burden on parents.