IB Maths Tutor
IB Mathematics tuition for AA and AI students at SL and HL
IB Mathematics has a feature no other maths qualification we teach shares: 20% of the final grade is coursework, submitted months before the exams. The Mathematical Exploration is a 12 to 20 page investigation on a topic the student chooses, marked against five criteria. It is the one part of the grade a student fully controls, and it is routinely the part left latest and planned least.
AA or AI, SL or HL: four different courses
Analysis and Approaches (AA) is the algebraic route — proof, calculus, abstraction. Applications and Interpretation (AI) is the modelling route — statistics, technology, real-world contexts. They are different courses, not different difficulties. SL covers the core in around 150 teaching hours and is assessed by two papers. HL adds roughly 90 hours of deeper content and a third paper, an hour of extended problem solving. The papers differ by route. On AA, Paper 1 is non-calculator; Paper 2 allows a graphic display calculator. On AI, technology is permitted throughout. An AA student who has revised entirely with a GDC is unprepared for Paper 1. The Exploration is worth 20% in all four routes, on the same criteria, at the same length — SL and HL alike.
Where IB Maths students actually lose marks
Choosing AA or AI badly. A student who prefers modelling and data placed into AA HL for perceived prestige is in for two hard years. Universities care that the requirement is met, not that the harder route was chosen unnecessarily. The AA Paper 1 calculator ban. Algebraic and calculus fluency without technology is a distinct skill and needs its own practice. Treating the Exploration as an essay. It is assessed on mathematics, communication, personal engagement and reflection. Marks are lost on presentation and reflection as often as on the maths. Leaving the Exploration late. It runs alongside every other IB deadline. A student who starts it in the same term as their extended essay does neither well. HL Paper 3. Extended investigative problems that reward stamina and structured working, and look unlike anything else in the course. IB workload as a whole. Six subjects, TOK, CAS and the extended essay. Maths problems are often timetable problems.
How our IB tuition works
We teach all four routes — AA SL, AA HL, AI SL and AI HL — in small interactive online groups, with bespoke one-to-one tuition at a bespoke price. One-to-one is often the right choice for Exploration support, which is by nature individual. Our tutors hold QTS and/or a PGCE with over ten years' experience in international and UK schools, including IB World Schools — so guidance on the Exploration comes from people who understand how it is marked and moderated. Most students see a grade or more of improvement within around 60 days.
IB maths tuition FAQs
Do you teach both AA and AI? Yes, at both Standard and Higher Level. Can you help with the Internal Assessment? Yes — choosing a viable topic, pitching the mathematics correctly and meeting the assessment criteria. We support the student's own work; we do not write it. Which route should my child choose? It depends on the degree they are aiming for and how they think. Competitive STEM courses often require AA HL. Students drawn to data, modelling and applications are frequently better served by AI, and forcing AA rarely ends well. Do you support HL students? Yes, including Paper 3, which needs preparation of its own. Do you teach students in international schools outside the UK? Yes. We work with IB students across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE, as well as in the UK.
Free revision resources
Our revision engines and tools cover the algebra, calculus, trigonometry and statistics shared with the IB syllabus, and are free to everyone.