Richmond Tutoring provides 1-to-1 online KS3 computer science tutoring for students in Years 7, 8 and 9 across the UK. Lessons follow your child’s own school computing course and cover programming, algorithms, binary and how computers and networks work — the foundations GCSE Computer Science goes on to build on. Every lesson is taught by a computer science specialist. Tell us what your child finds hardest and the first 45-minute lesson is free.
Richmond Tutoring offers 1-to-1 online KS3 computer science tutoring for Years 7–9 across the UK, following your child’s own school computing course — programming and theory together.
Every child starts somewhere different. We build the tutoring around their gaps, their school and their pace.
KS3 computing mixes programming with theory, and most children are much stronger at one than the other. We find the gaps first — whether it is writing code, algorithms, binary or how computers work — then build lessons around what your child is learning at school and where they need more support.
At this age, computing moves from using technology to understanding it. We use short programs, diagrams and worked examples to make ideas such as loops, binary, logic gates and networks easy to picture — so your child sees why something works rather than copying code they do not follow.
Your child should be able to use what they have learnt in the next computing lesson and test. We practise programming from a blank screen, tracing code, the theory vocabulary and explaining ideas clearly — building the skills that improve KS3 work and give them a stronger start at GCSE.
Every child has a different experience of KS3 computing. These are some of the concerns we hear from parents most often.
He loved computing at primary school and now he is lost.
Primary computing is mostly block-based and playful. At secondary school the code becomes typed, the errors become real and the theory arrives. We rebuild whatever is shaky and make the move to Python feel manageable.
She can follow the code in class but cannot write her own.
Following a worked example and writing a program from a blank screen are different skills. We practise the second one: breaking a problem down, planning it, then building and testing it one piece at a time.
Binary and logic gates make no sense to him.
Binary, hexadecimal, Boolean logic and how data is stored are where many students switch off. We teach them with worked examples and short programs that show the idea working, so it stops feeling abstract.
She panics when her program will not run.
Most beginners read an error message as a verdict on them. We teach them to read it as a clue, to test small pieces as they go, and to fix problems calmly — the habit that separates confident programmers from anxious ones.
The report says he is behind, but I do not know what they are learning.
KS3 computing has no national exam, and schools teach it in very different amounts and orders. We find out what your child is covering and how they are assessed, work on exactly that, and tell you what we see.
She is thinking about GCSE Computer Science.
Most students choose their GCSE options in Year 9. Tutoring builds the programming and theory GCSE Computer Science starts from, and gives an honest feel for the subject before committing to two years of it.
Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 are three different jobs. What a tutor works on changes with each one.
Year 7 is where computing turns from using computers to understanding them.
Year 7 computing tutoring settles the basics everything later rests on: what an algorithm is, sequence, selection and repetition, and moving from block-based code such as Scratch into typed code, which is where many students first get stuck.
We also start the theory early — binary, how a computer is put together, staying safe online — because it is examined for the next five years.
Year 8 is where programming either clicks or quietly stops.
Programs get longer, errors get harder to find, and a child who copied code successfully in Year 7 can be lost the first time they have to write it from a blank screen.
A Year 8 computing tutor builds real Python confidence — variables, loops, lists and functions — alongside the theory that starts to matter: binary arithmetic, Boolean logic and how data is stored.
Year 9 is the bridge, and it is when GCSE options are chosen.
Expectations rise: longer programs, searching and sorting algorithms, and theory questions that look a lot like GCSE ones. It is also the year most students decide whether to take GCSE Computer Science.
Year 9 computing tutoring closes what is left of KS3 before it becomes a GCSE gap, and gives a student an honest feel for the subject before they choose it.
9s and A*sacross our GCSE and A-Level students
KS3 has no national computing exam, so we measure progress against your child’s own school assessments and the programs they can write on their own — where they started with us, against where they are now.
Key Stage 3 is the first three years of secondary school in England — Years 7, 8 and 9, typically ages 11 to 14. Computing is taught to every pupil, and computer science is at its heart.
In England, KS3 computing follows the national curriculum rather than an exam-board specification. It is statutory in maintained schools; academies and free schools set their own curriculum, and most follow it closely. Schools decide how much time it gets and the order topics come in, so it varies more between schools than almost any other subject.
That is why we ask what your child is covering in class right now, and plan around it. Lessons support the schoolwork rather than running a separate syllabus alongside it.
There is no national end-of-KS3 computing exam. Schools use their own tests and projects to track progress, and in Year 9 most students decide whether to take GCSE Computer Science.
For students elsewhere in the UK, lessons follow their school’s curriculum and year group in the same way.
The KS3 computing curriculum covers:
Three steps, and you meet the tutor in a real lesson before deciding anything.
Fill in the form or send us a WhatsApp message. We arrange the free demo class and match your child with a specialist KS3 computer science tutor.
Take the free 45-minute lesson, and sit in if you want to. See how the lesson goes, ask us everything you want to ask, and only go ahead with KS3 computer science lessons if you are convinced.
Lessons begin, weekly. Your child starts learning the KS3 computer science they were stuck on, and that shows up in their class work and their school tests.
At Richmond Tutoring, the price for each 60-minute lesson of computer science for KS3 is as follows:
£36per hour
KS3 computing is the computing taught in the first three years of secondary school — Years 7, 8 and 9. In England it is part of the national curriculum for every pupil, and it covers programming, algorithms, how computers and networks work, how data is represented, and using technology safely.
It is the foundation of it. The national curriculum subject is called computing, and at KS3 it covers computer science — programming and how computers work — alongside information technology and digital literacy. GCSE Computer Science, which students can choose in Year 9, then goes much deeper into the computer science part.
No. There is no national KS3 computing exam and no exam board. Schools assess progress with their own tests and projects, and the order and amount of computing taught varies a lot from school to school, which is why we ask what your child is covering in class right now.
The national curriculum asks for at least two programming languages, at least one of them text-based. Most schools start with a block-based language such as Scratch and move to Python. We teach whichever your child uses at school, and Python is the one GCSE students most often go on to use.
£36 for a 60-minute 1-to-1 lesson, the same as every other subject and level we teach. There is no placement fee and no contract — you pay per lesson and can pause whenever you like. The first 45-minute lesson is free.
It suits students who enjoy solving problems and are willing to practise programming regularly, and it helps with maths and the sciences. It is a demanding GCSE, with the theory and programming both examined. After a few lessons we can give you an honest view of whether it is a good choice for your child. See GCSE computer science tutoring for what the course involves.
Yes — it is one of the easiest subjects to teach online. Student and tutor look at the same code, run it and trace it line by line together, and theory such as binary and logic works well on a shared whiteboard. Every lesson is recorded so revision is just watching it back.
Usually, yes — most Year 7 students do not need weekly lessons. It is worth it when a child is keen and wants to go further than school allows, or when the move to typed code has knocked their confidence. A short run of lessons is often enough, and we will say so after the free demo class.
Once a week suits most students, with a little programming practice in between. For one specific gap, a project, or an assessment coming up, a shorter focused run works just as well, and you can stop at any time.
Yes. Every lesson is online and 1-to-1, so KS3 computer science tutoring is available wherever you are in the UK — there is no travel and nothing depends on how far you live from us.
Most of the families we teach are in and around south-west London, and we also teach students across the rest of the UK. Places our students come from include Brentford, Turnham Green, Parsons Green, Surbiton, Hampton Wick, Osterley, Grove Park, Fulham, Kingston upon Thames, Hampton Hill, Hounslow West, Kew, Barons Court, Barnes, Hampton, Hounslow, Kew Bridge, Ravenscourt Park, East Sheen, Teddington, Isleworth, Gunnersbury, Hammersmith, North Sheen, Whitton, Heathfield, Chiswick, Ealing Common, Mortlake, Strawberry Hill, Fulwell, Ashford, Ealing, Petersham, St Margarets, North Twickenham, Sunbury, South Acton, Ham, Twickenham, West Twickenham, Feltham, Acton, West Kensington, Wimbledon, East Twickenham, Hanworth, Bedford Park, Brook Green, Tolworth, Richmond Hill, Syon, Stamford Brook, Shepherd’s Bush, Hampton Court, Richmond.
A real lesson, one to one, with a computer science specialist — free, before you decide anything. Tell us the year group and whether it is the coding or the theory that is going wrong, and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.