Two maths lessons a week suits most children: enough to keep up with school and still close older gaps. Three a week earns its place in the run-up to major exams, and one a week keeps a secure student steady but rarely helps a child who is already behind.
What is ClassArc?
ClassArc is live one-to-one online maths tutoring for school-age children. One teacher and one child, for 55 minutes. The same teacher every week. Classes run inside our own classroom software, not a video call: a shared worksheet you both write on, a shared whiteboard, and answers that sync live.
The short answer
Twice a week is the frequency we recommend most often, because it keeps pace with school while leaving room to repair what was missed. Three a week is worth it for the eight to ten weeks before mocks or final exams. Once a week is a maintenance setting for a child who is already secure.
Below: why two works, how the answer shifts by school stage in the UK and the UAE, the signs a child needs more or fewer lessons, and how to budget for each option.
Why two
With one lesson a week, a child has seven days to forget before the tutor sees them again, and the start of each lesson goes on recovering last week's method. With two, the gap shrinks to three or four days: short enough for a method to stick, long enough for homework in between.
The research points the same way. The Education Endowment Foundation's Toolkit found that short, regular sessions — about 30 minutes, three to five times a week, over a set period of up to ten weeks — appear to give the best impact. Those studies were mostly school-based programmes rather than 55-minute lessons at home, but the lesson carries over: regularity matters more than length.
days between lessons at twice a week, against seven at once a week
By stage
UAE families: find your child's curriculum in the second column. The usual frequency applies across all of them.
| Stage | UK years | UAE equivalents | Usual frequency | When to add a lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Reception–Year 6 | British FS2–Year 6; CBSE Class 1–5; IB PYP | 1–2 a week | Spring of Year 6 before SATs; after a change of curriculum |
| Lower secondary | Years 7–9 | British Years 7–9; CBSE Class 6–8; IB MYP 1–3 | 2 a week | When algebra starts to slip, often in Year 8 |
| Exams at 16 | Years 10–11 (GCSE) | International GCSE; CBSE Class 9–10; IB MYP 4–5 | 2 a week | 3 a week for 8–10 weeks before mocks and finals |
| Post-16 | Years 12–13 (A-Level) | IB Diploma; CBSE Class 11–12 | 2 a week | 3 a week before finals, and during the IB exploration |
Stage by stage
Younger children often manage well on one lesson a week, provided someone at home runs ten minutes of practice in between. Move to two if your child is catching up rather than keeping pace, usually because times tables, place value or fractions are not yet secure.
Two a week is the norm here, because negative numbers, algebra and proportion arrive in quick succession and each leans on the one before. A child who is slightly shaky in Year 7 can be well behind by Year 9.
Two a week for most of the course, rising to three for the last eight to ten weeks before mocks and finals. In the UAE, International GCSE candidates at British schools usually sit Pearson's regional papers in the June series, and CBSE now offers a second, optional Class 10 board exam for students who want to improve a score, so plan around your child's real dates.
Two a week is the least that keeps up: A-Level Maths covers pure maths, statistics and mechanics over two years, and IB students also write the exploration. Students taking Further Maths or IB Analysis and Approaches HL often need three a week for much of the final year.
Adjusting
Frequency should move with the evidence. These are the signals we watch for.
Cost
ClassArc plans are blocks of classes paid in advance — Starter (8), Regular (24) or Committed (48) — not monthly subscriptions, and nothing renews automatically. A monthly figure is only a budgeting aid, and it is easy to work out.
A month averages about 4.3 weeks (52 ÷ 12). So once a week is about 4.3 classes a month, twice a week about 8.6, and three times about 12.9. Multiply that by the per-class price of the block you choose. On the Committed block in the UK, a class costs £11 in the younger years and £14 in the GCSE and A-Level years; Starter and Regular cost a little more per class. Every figure is on UK pricing, and families in the UAE can apply the same formula to the dirham prices on UAE pricing.
Blocks also translate into time. At twice a week, 8 classes last about four weeks, 24 about twelve weeks (roughly a school term) and 48 about twenty-four weeks. At three a week, a Regular block of 24 lasts about eight weeks, which fits an exam run-up.
There is no joining fee. If you stop, unused classes are refunded with no notice period, and a class can be moved free up to five minutes before it starts. Our prices sit below typical local rates because our teachers live in India, where a good teaching salary costs less.
Finding the right number
Frequency is easier to judge after watching a child work. The free first class is a real 55-minute lesson with the teacher who would continue with your child, and it starts just above the current school unit and works back until the maths is solid.
Afterwards we suggest a weekly rhythm based on what we found — including one a week, or none, if that is what the evidence says.
If one a week will not get your child where you hope, we would rather say so on day one than in week twelve.
How we set frequencyRead next
Every block and per-class price in pounds, for the younger years and for GCSE and A-Level.
See UK pricesThe same blocks in dirhams, for British, IB and CBSE students across the Emirates.
See UAE pricesStage-by-stage academic signals, and the situations where tutoring is not the answer.
Read the signsCommon questions
First class
55 minutes. The real classroom. No card. We confirm details on email and WhatsApp within a day.
Last updated · May 2026
When you book a demo or sign up for classes, we collect your name, your child's name, email, WhatsApp number, time zone, and the grade you're inquiring about. That's it. We don't ask for or store any payment details on this website. We don't use trackers, cookies for advertising, or third-party analytics that profile you.
Only to schedule and run your classes, send you class reminders, share homework and progress, and answer your questions. We'll reach out by email or WhatsApp, depending on what you tell us works better for you.
Your teacher, and the small team supporting them at ClassArc. We never sell, rent, or share your information with anyone outside ClassArc. We use Web3Forms to receive form submissions, and standard email and WhatsApp for messaging, nothing else.
We treat any information about your child with extra care. We only collect what we need to teach them well, such as their grade and what they're working on. We never use a child's photo, name, or work in any marketing without the parent's explicit written permission.
You can ask us to show you what we have on file, correct anything inaccurate, or delete your data entirely, at any time. Just email hello@theclassarc.com and we'll handle it within a few days.
Email hello@theclassarc.com. A real person will reply.
Last updated · May 2026
ClassArc is a one-on-one online tutoring service. We provide live, scheduled classes between a teacher and a student, along with homework, feedback, and study support.
Each class is 55 minutes. You can reschedule or cancel a class up to 5 minutes before it starts. If you miss a class without notice, we usually credit it back to your balance and reschedule based on what works for the teacher and student.
The first demo class is free, no card required. After that, plans are billed in advance for the number of classes you choose (8, 24, or ~48). We'll send you a payment link directly once you've picked a plan.
If you want to stop classes at any point, we refund whatever class balance is left on your plan. No questions asked, no friction. Refunds are processed within 7 business days.
We expect students and parents to treat teachers with respect, and teachers to do the same. We reserve the right to end the relationship if classes become unsafe, abusive, or disruptive, with a full refund of any unused balance.
If we update these terms, we'll email you before the changes take effect, so you have time to review them.
For anything, email hello@theclassarc.com.