What is Humanities Tuition?
Humanities tuition is a service offered by certain tuition agencies in Singapore. It is aimed at students preparing for their GCE ‘O’ Levels, GCE ‘A’ Levels and the International Baccalaureate certification.
While the usual math and science tuition courses remain ever popular, more humanities-focused tuition agencies have sprung up in the recent years, as evidenced by this Straits Times report that focuses on the importance of a humanities education.
Humanities Education in Singapore
At secondary school (specifically upper secondary levels), ‘Combined Humanities’ is a compulsory subject for GCE ‘O’ Levels. This subject involves a combination of the government mandated ‘Social Studies’ text and a choice of a humanities elective: History, Geography or Literature. The 3 electives can also be taken as a separate subject in ‘Pure’ form, which is greater in depth and breadth than as part of a combined elective.
A student in secondary school can therefore opt for Combined Humanities in Social Studies and History and take Pure Literature – that will make up a hefty 2 subjects of a bare minimum of 5 subjects required to gain the GCE ‘O’ Level certificate.
Regardless of a student’s other subjects, therefore, taking a humanities elective is unavoidable in secondary school.
At the pre-university level, humanities subjects include History, Literature, Geography and China Studies in English. While Economics is technically considered a ‘humanities’ at pre-university, in university faculties it is grouped as a social science, and therefore excluded from this list.
For the Top Economics Tuition Agencies in Singapore, please refer to this article.
Tuition Centre |
Humanities.com.sg |
| About | HUMANITIES.COM.SG was found by a team of ex-MOE Head of Departments, Senior Teachers and Humanities Teachers. Taping on their wealth of teaching experiences and pedagogies from various government school, the tutors at HUMANITES.COM.SG have a proven track record of helping their students achieve Distinction in Humanities subjects at the their national examinations.
For many years, the well-qualified tutors at HUMANITIES.COM.SG have been consistently working with Singapore Asia Publishers (SAP) to publish the model answers for the Humanities Ten-Year Series (TYS) answers. This is in collaboration with the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) to make N and O Level Humanities Examination questions and answers accessible to secondary schools students. Owing to the popularity of the Humanities TYS model-answers, many government schools are using the assessment books published by SAP and HUMANITIES.COM.SG. HUMANITIES.COM.SG also published its own Humanities guidebooks and Assessment books with CPD Singapore Education Services Pte Ltd. The popular titles include ‘O Level Guide Social Studies: Structure-Response Questions (SRQs) and Model Answers, ‘Ace Your O-Level History: Key Points for Revision’ and ‘O Level Social Studies – Structured-Response Questions (SRQs) Comprehensive Revision Notes’. In order to make Humanities Education more engaging and meaningful, HUMANITIES.COM.SG has embarked on a Learning Journey to the Islands around mainland Singapore. In partnership with a private cruise company, the centre brings students on excursion trips such as Saint John’s Island and Lazarus Island. These guided tour by Humanities tutors are meant to help students appreciate more about the rich History and Geography of the islands in the backdrop of Singapore socio-economic development of Singapore. |
| Pricing | From $320 to $600
(Humanities courses include: weekly classes, intensive classes, learning journeys) |
| Website | http://www.humanities.com.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/BukitTimahShoppingCentre/ https://www.instagram.com/_humanities.com.sg_/ |
| Address | Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, 170, Upper Bukit Timah Road, #03-62 Singapore 588179 |
| Telephone | (65) 8236 7728 / (65) 8811 9911 |
| Operating Hours | Refer to schedule |
Tuition Centre |
Humanities Club |
| About | Located at a conservation shophouse along Joo Chiat Place, Singapore’s first Heritage Town, Humanities Club is a Humanities Centre that provides quality, top-notch humanities education to secondary school students.
Humanities teachers at Humanities Club specialize in Social Studies, Geography, History and Literature. The teachers are highly qualified, dedicated, experienced, empathetic and nurturing teachers with a wealth of teaching experience. Having taught in various independent and mission schools, the teachers believe in educating students to learn in a relational, systematic and holistic manner which will help them to gain subject mastery, excel not just in school but in their grown-up lives as well. Enrichment activities at Humanities Club include Learning Journeys to various cultural, historical and geographical sites in Singapore. Students will be able to see the relevance of the places that they study in their academic subjects as Social Studies, Geography and History come alive. Experiential enrichment activities conducted by our expert tutors help our students enjoy learning. Students can learn about Social Studies by participating in about various Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Social Service Organizations such as the SPCA, Red Cross and Humans First. Students will be able to see the relevance of the places that they study in their subjects such as the War Museum and the Singapore River. History comes alive and students find it more interesting. Other interesting learning journeys include visits to Chek Java and Sungei Buloh under the subject of Geography. In addition, visits to historically and culturally rich sites such as the Bukit Brown Cemetery help students learn about unexplored, hidden gems at different corners of Singapore. Humanities Club also partners with consultants and subject matter experts in parenting, communication and life-skills talks conduct talks and workshops for parents and teenagers to help them build strong bonds and acquire the crucial skills-set needed for the 21st century. Master Trainers in Personality Profiling tests such as DISC, MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) and Big Five are available to conduct personalized and personality profiling tests for parents and students to help them understand themselves and each other better, building deep, enriching relationships. |
| Pricing | From $320 to $600
(Humanities courses include: weekly classes, intensive classes, learning journeys) |
| Website | https://humanitiesclub.sg/
https://www.instagram.com/humanities_club_sg/ |
| Address | 53A Joo Chiat Place Singapore 427777 |
| Telephone | (65) 8811 9911 |
| Operating Hours | Refer to https://www.humanitiesclub.sg |
Tuition Centre |
Humanities Hub |
| About | We are pioneers in the tuition industry for setting up a centre that is dedicated to teaching ONLY Humanities and Language subjects. Since 2012, we have been a one-stop tuition centre for students who take Economics, Geography, History and General Paper at Junior College levels and English, Social Studies, History, and Geography (both Pure and Elective in Combined Humanities), at Upper Secondary levels. We are registered with the Ministry of Education under their Private School Act and in accordance with statutory requirements and regulations. We are centrally located at The Adelphi, next to City Hall MRT Station in the civic district, directly behind National Gallery; and our spacious and interactive premises are designed to be conducive to learning. |
| Pricing | From $300-$360 / 4 lessons (secondary) and $360-$480 / 4 lessons (junior college) with an annual materials fee of $50 |
| Website | https://www.humanitieshub.com/ |
| Address | 1 Coleman Street, The Adelphi, (next to City Hall MRT Station) , #05-04A, Singapore 179803 |
| Telephone | (65) 6264 2236 / (65) 9661 9760 |
| Operating Hours | Open on Selected Weekdays from 3-9pm (Please refer to our latest class schedule)
Sat-Sun: 10am-6.30pm |
Tuition Centre |
LitHumanities |
| About | A committed diligent professional who has helped countless students from different streams and levels in more than one and a half decade of tutoring, Mdm Yu is a former NIE-trained teacher and tutor specialising in Humanities, and English Language. In other words, she is a qualified English Language tutor, Literature tutor, Geography, History and Social Studies tutor.
Her Humanities tuition has benefited hundreds of students all over the island. Moreover she also receives numerous referrals for her English Language tuition from past students and parents every year. A nurturing and patient tutor, she is able to relate to students in the lower secondary, upper secondary, JC, IP and IB levels. She believes in giving more than her best to help students and takes great pride in their academic improvements and achievements. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | https://lithumanitiestuition.sg/ |
| Address | 360, #08-02 Orchard Rd, International Building, 238869 |
| Telephone | (65) 9876 1777 |
| Operating Hours | Contact them for more info |
Tuition Centre |
GeogCafe |
| About | The nation’s leading Geography Tuition, GeogCafe specializes in A Level Geography for both H2 and H1, O Level & N level Geography, IB and IP students. An Ex-RI, Hwa Chong and JJC Lecturer, Mr Eric Goh has tutored students from almost every Junior College in Singapore and is the author of GCE O Level Topical Geography Ten Years Series for the past 3 consecutive years. Geogcafe also prides itself that more than 70% of its 2018 students’ cohort achieved distinction in 2019 A level results. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | https://humanitiestuition.sg/ |
| Address | Novena branch: 177B Thomson Road Goldhill Centre Singapore 307625
Kembangan branch: 60 Lorong G Telok Kurau Singapore 426245 Toa Payoh branch: 186 Toa Payoh Central, #02-430 (Lobby H), Singapore 310186 |
| Telephone | (65) 9025 6500 |
| Operating Hours | View their schedule |
Tuition Centre |
Gummy Education |
| About |
At Gummy Humanities, we strive to provide the best enrichment and learning strategies for our students to better understand and appreciate the subject matter. From practicing essay questions to looking out for key words and understanding the marking rubric, we have a proven track record of students achieving great improvements in their grades in past O Level years. |
| Pricing | $280 / 4 sessions |
| Website | https://www.gummy.sg/humanities |
| Address |
Blk 150 Bishan Street 11, #01-145 (2nd Level) |
| Telephone |
(65) 9108 4116
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| Operating Hours |
Weekly timeslots Saturday: 9-11am; 11am-1pm; 1.30-3.30pm; 4.30-6.30pm Sunday: 5.30-7.30pm; 7.30-9.30pm |
Tuition Centre |
Inspire Education Centre |
| About | For something as varied and subjective as Source Based Questions for Social Studies, is it possible to score A grades? The answer is a resounding YES! It can be done. In fact, ALL our students in the Combined Humanities class scored As in 2015 and based on past record, 75% of our students achieve As, beating the National Average of 28% distinction for Combined Humanities. Students who closely follow our tried and tested methodologies and effective answering techniques can surely do so much better. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | https://inspire.com.sg/ |
| Address | 50 East Coast Road #02-144 Roxy Square Singapore 428769 |
| Telephone | (65) 6345 3147 |
| Operating Hours | Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm; Sat-Sun: 9am-3pm |
Tuition Centre |
JCHistoryTuition |
| About | As A Level History involves a close-up examination of historical issues, students are expected to utilize varied approaches to analyze the underlying factors that influence the developments. At JCHistoryTuition.com.sg, students will develop the skills to pick up the essential aspects of the central arguments that are used by historians and identify the supporting evidence that justify their propositions. Students are trained to think critically and write proficiently while under time constraints, so as to excel at the examinations. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | https://www.jchistorytuition.com.sg/ |
| Address | Bishan branch: Blk 283, Bishan Street 22 #01-185 (2nd Storey) Singapore 570283
Bedok branch: Blk 205, Bedok North Street 1 #01-365 (2nd Storey) Singapore 460205 |
| Telephone | (65) 9658 5789 |
| Operating Hours | Contact them for more info |
Tuition Centre |
Aspire Hub Education |
| About | Established in 2001, the Aspire Hub Education Group is presently in the forefront of the industry for delivering life-transforming learning programmes, courses and workshops to youths and adults. Our academic centres focuses primarily on assisting students achieve their academic goals. Our dedicated coaches are trained to provide high quality, focused sessions to help students gain confidence, improve self-esteem and ready to meet the academic challenges ahead. |
| Pricing | From $660-$1200 for 12 lessons with registration fee of $35 |
| Website | https://aspirehub.com/ |
| Address | 13 locations islandwide |
| Telephone | (65) 6377 7318 / 6377 7320 |
| Operating Hours | View their schedule |
Tuition Centre |
Learners’ Lodge |
| About | The JC History tuition programme of Learners’ Lodge aims to help students develop interest in studying the past and build a firm foundation in content. Students will also be able to understand and use History contextual knowledge effectively during exams and develop evaluation techniques necessary in answering sourced-based questions and essay writing. This programme will enhance their skill in determining answers for a wide variety of questions and express concepts and ideas better in essay writing. |
| Pricing | From $320 / 4 lessons |
| Website | https://www.learnerslodge.com.sg/class-schedule/jc-history-tuition/ |
| Address |
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| Telephone | (65) 9119 9655 |
| Operating Hours | View their schedule here |
Tuition Centre |
Eureka Edvantage |
| About | The Eureka Pedagogy is a learning methodology founded and developed by experienced practitioners with more than a decade of teaching experience.
It encompasses four disciplines: Eureka Writing Techniques™, Eureka Critical Thinking Strategies™, Formative Math™ and Cognitive Math™. These skills are specially designed to meet the needs of students of all learning abilities and levels and can be comprehensibly pitched at a level to effectively challenge students comfortably at their variant standards. We count among our former students graduates and graduands of top universities—such as Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford and Yale—and recipients of various prestigious awards and scholarships, including the President’s Scholarship. |
| Pricing | From $700 – $1100 for 10 lessons with $5 materials fee |
| Website | https://www.eurekaedvantage.com/ |
| Address | 10 Winstedt Rd, Blk A, #03-01 |
| Telephone | (65) 9119 2159 |
| Operating Hours | View their schedule here |
Tuition Centre |
Penciltutor |
| About | At Penciltutor, we go one step beyond offering just tuition. We understand that it is difficult for students to concentrate during tuition classes after a long and tiring day at school. This is why our lessons are packed with interactive e-learning through an iPad, exciting experiments and enriching videos. We also use teaching aids and models to liven up our everyday lessons. Our students do not come to Penciltutor for just tuition; instead they come here for an enchanting experience and this is why our students call Penciltutor their home.
We take a holistic approach to delivering quality education. |
| Pricing | From $120 for 4 lessons |
| Website | http://www.penciltutor.edu.sg/ |
| Address | Jurong branch: Block 762 #02-256D Jurong West Street 75 Gek Poh Shopping Centre Singapore (640762)
Yishun branch: Block 102 #02-135 Yishun Ave 5 Singapore (760102) |
| Telephone | (65) 9127 2788 |
| Operating Hours | Contact them for more info |
Tuition Centre |
Wordsmiths Learning Centre |
| About | Wordsmiths Learning Centre specialises in the teaching of:
Our comprehensive curriculum is closely aligned with the MOE syllabus and prepared by our team of specialist teachers to prepare students to sit for their examinations with confidence, While classes conducted are in a small group basis, one-to-one coaching is also available upon request. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | http://www.wordsmiths.com.sg/ |
| Address | 1 Marine Parade Central, #03-06, Parkway Centre, Singapore 449408 |
| Telephone | (65) 9071 3324 |
| Operating Hours | View their schedule here |
Tuition Centre |
Brain Matter |
| About | At Brain Matter, we believe that students are defined by their Purpose and Growth. To achieve this, our teachers are Values-Driven and Professional, building a Positive and Fun culture that inspires Meaningful Learning and Character Excellence.
Individuals can be defined by many expectations but we choose to define and relate to our students by their purpose and their capacity for growth. We recognise that every students who come to us are unique with their different strengths and aspirations. Despite their diverse backgrounds and different starting points in life, we embrace them and believe that all has the potential to become better. We seek to empower our students with life skills such as confidence, critical thinking skills through our lessons. These are essential skills to excel in the uncertain future job landscapes. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | https://brainmatter.com.sg/ |
| Address | Block 501 Bishan Street 11 #01-364 S570501 (Next to Bishan UOB)
Block 503 Bishan Street 11 #01-448 S570503 (Next to S11 Coffeeshop) |
| Telephone | (65) 9791 1234 |
| Operating Hours | Contact them for more info |
Tuition Centre |
Mind Centre for Learning |
| About | The owners of Mind Centre, David & Violet Lim, together with their teacher team, have helped hundreds of Primary, Secondary & JC students achieve A’s & multiple grade improvements in their examinations over the past 12 years.
Armed with the knowledge of good learning techniques, many of our students have gone on to secure places in top University courses. |
| Pricing | Contact them for more info |
| Website | https://www.mindcentre.com.sg/ |
| Address | Bedok branch: 208 New Upper Changi Road, #02-691, S(460208)
Serangoon branch: Blk 265 Serangoon Central Drive, #04-267, S(550265) |
| Telephone | Bedok branch: (65) 9631 2823
Serangoon branch: (65) 8715 1708 |
| Operating Hours | Mon – Fri: 2 – 9pm; Sat: 9am – 7.30pm; Sun: 12.30pm – 7.30pm |
For other recommended tutors, you can click here.
Why Are the Humanities Important?
Humanities subjects often get a bad rep. Most seem to think they are difficult and useless. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of what learning humanities is supposed to accomplish. In fact, having a solid knowledge of the humanities is essential in doing well in other subjects, especially at higher levels of education.
Firstly, to study the humanities is to study the world around us. Be it history, geography or literature, every humanities subject is based in real-life events and circumstances. Being aware of how the world has progressed over the years enables one to understand how current events shape the world around us and the gravity that such situations hold in affecting our daily lives.
Furthermore, the humanities greatly help to improve analytical skills. Literature is all about reading between the lines, while history and geography call for one to examine the different interpretations and angles an event or social policy can take on. This skill is tested in the source-based sections of GCE ‘O’ Levels and ‘A’ Levels papers, where students are given a set of sources (4 to 5) and are expected to answer questions that compare and contrast the objectives of each source.
These sources are taken from real-life publications (e.g. newspapers, political cartoons, websites, etc), and discerning their content and purpose is crucial in fostering critical thinking. In fact, the lack of critical thinking skills is the reason some people are susceptible to ‘fake news’ or biased reporting. Humanities is precisely the area that can help students avoid such pitfalls as their exposure to mass media grows.
The skills provided by a humanities education is helpful not just in the arts subjects, but also in social sciences like economics, sociology, psychology – and more.
Benefits of Humanities Tuition
- More attention is given, tailored learning
It is difficult for teachers in school to give students their undivided attention, no matter how much they want to. At tuition agencies, students can benefit from greater attention as classes are much smaller, and for humanities subjects, this extra attention is crucial.
Every student has different areas they are weak in. For some, they might find historical facts hard to remember, especially when it comes to names and events like wars in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Others might struggle with putting together cohesive analyses for source-based questions, which compose a large percentage of the exam paper.
Tutors can distil these facts and figures into easily understandable sections so that students will not have to struggle to memorise entire chunks of text and can focus more on demonstrating their understanding of the subject.
- Online learning
Several agencies conduct online lectures for humanities subjects, which is useful given that these online courses are offered at rates cheaper than face-to-face sessions. Tutors also provide online assignments (like essay questions) that students have to complete and send over, before the tutor marks and provide feedback.
This mode of online learning is best suited for students who already have a firm grasp on the concepts of their subjects and simply want to fine-tune their essay writing skills.
How Do I Choose a Humanities Tuition Agency?
- Availability & Accessibility
The availability of Humanities tuition classes can vary. It is especially important to note down the frequency of classes offered at agencies that do not focus solely on the humanities as there is a lack of tutors specialising in the subject, and classes might be overcrowded or booked out early.
Always look through the lesson schedules before signing up, and make sure the tuition centre is easy to access to reduce travel time and costs.
- Becoming a better communicator
Communication is at the heart of everything we do, and humanities subjects encourage students to think about tone, inflection, and the consequences of how we say what we say, as well as why we can only use certain lingo in certain situations (e.g. code-switching). This allows them to be more conscientious when communicating with those around them and allows them to better get their point across – in real life or in their essays and work.
- Results/ Testimonials
Humanities is arguably one of the most difficult areas to “guarantee” results in, as certain skills have to be picked up over time. ‘Crash courses’ are therefore less useful for humanities subjects. It is important to look for a tuition agency that has a high success rate in tutoring students when it comes to humanities. These can often be found on the ‘testimonials’ section of agency websites.
Editor’s Note:
While every precaution has been made to ensure the accuracy and fairness of this listing, we acknowledge that they may be inaccuracies. Therefore, we urge you to contact the service provider above for the correct information and/or contact us with the correct information.
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