Toussaint intensive course or 2–3 targeted sessions: how do you fill a learning gap?

To fill a learning gap during the Toussaint break, an intensive course is not always necessary. Two or three targeted private tutoring sessions may be enough if the difficulty is specific, the prerequisites are broadly in place and the student practises between sessions. An intensive course becomes more relevant when several linked topics have to be rebuilt, with time to explain, practise and check. The choice is made after a diagnosis, not just by counting hours. Here is how to decide without overloading the break or leaving a difficulty untouched when school starts again.

1. Before booking, identify the gap to be addressed

“He’s weak at maths” does not describe a revision goal. “He can add fractions with the same denominator, but gets them wrong as soon as they differ” gives a far more usable starting point. Likewise, a poor mark in French may come from difficulty understanding an instruction, justifying an answer or organising a written piece: the teaching responses will not be the same.

Ask the student to redo two or three representative exercises, without help and without looking at the correction. Watch where the reasoning stops, not just the number of wrong answers. An occasional slip of attention is not treated like a method that was never understood; a lack of basic knowledge can make revising a more advanced chapter pointless.

• What they can do alone: exercises or steps done correctly, without a hint.
• What is blocking: a concept, a prerequisite, reading the question or a way of working.
• What is expected when school restarts: a typical exercise, an announced test or a skill needed for the rest of the curriculum.
• What you want to observe: a specific task the student will have to succeed at independently.

A notebook, the last marked paper and a few exercises are often enough to start this conversation. A tutor can refine the diagnosis from the first session. To build a starting point before any catch-up work, you can also read our content on Toussaint revision.

This approach matches the recommendations of the Education Endowment Foundation on one-to-one tuition: support is particularly useful when it targets an identified difficulty and stays linked to what is being learned in class. That does not mean private support will automatically produce a result for every student.

2. When should you choose 2–3 targeted sessions, an intensive course or neither?

By “targeted sessions”, we mean here two or three one-to-one meetings with a limited goal and independent work between them. By “intensive course”, we mean several sessions close together devoted to a broader catch-up. These are ways of organising the work, not regulated categories or universal packages. What an intensive course actually involves varies: one-to-one or group, number of hours, pace and follow-up.

Situation observed	Option to favour	What to check before committing
A single method is blocking, the basics are solid.	2–3 targeted sessions, or even just one if the difficulty clears quickly.	Can the student redo a different exercise without being guided?
Several prerequisites are shaky and build on one another.	A structured intensive course or a programme over several sessions, possibly continued after the break.	Are the order of topics and the practice time planned?
A test is coming, with two recurring mistakes already identified.	2–3 targeted sessions on the priority points.	Does the plan leave time to practise between sessions?
The student can do it in front of the tutor, but forgets alone.	Spaced sessions and independent checks rather than piling up hours.	Does what was learned hold a few days after the correction?
Significant tiredness, resistance to work or a need that is still unclear.	A brief diagnosis, a conversation with the student and a lighter pace before choosing.	Is the problem really a lack of lessons?

An intensive course should not be used to “redo the whole term” if the difficulties have not been prioritised. Conversely, three sessions risk being too few when the student lacks the basics needed to understand the targeted chapter. In that case, you need to narrow the goal, extend the length of the tutoring or consider follow-up after school restarts.

The Education Endowment Foundation’s work on summer programmes suggests that extra teaching time can be useful, especially when it is structured and focused on learning. But these studies cover varied schemes, mainly in the summer, with a limited level of evidence: they do not show that a private Toussaint intensive course would systematically be better than three one-to-one sessions.

3. Compare the options on five criteria, not just on price

The number of hours advertised does not reveal how much useful learning there will be. Before accepting an offer, ask the tutor or the course organiser five concrete questions.

1. Diagnosis: are the first minutes used to understand the cause of the mistake, or is the programme the same for everyone?
2. Adaptation: will the student be able to stop on their sticking point? In a group, how much one-to-one time is actually possible?
3. Practice: is each explanation followed by exercises done by the student, then corrected with them?
4. Spacing: are unaided attempts planned between sessions and after the break?
5. Measuring the result: is a task comparable to the starting one planned, to check what has changed?

The total price matters, of course, but compare equivalent services. Three one-to-one sessions of 60 minutes are not interchangeable with six hours of group course. Ask what the advertised hours include exactly, the group size, the exercises provided and any follow-up. Work out the budget before booking and do not assume that a larger volume is automatically a better investment.

The quality of the feedback on exercises is decisive: according to the EEF’s summary on feedback, useful feedback says precisely how to improve and lets the student change their work. A correction that is simply handed over, with no new attempt, says little about the independence gained.

4. Example: a quatrième student who is stuck on fractions

Imagine a quatrième student (the third year of collège, around age 13–14) who knows the rule for multiplying fractions, but regularly makes mistakes adding fractions with different denominators. Their last test also shows errors when they have to use these calculations in a problem. The exercises done alone show that they can identify a common denominator with a hint, but do not think of doing so spontaneously.

Initial decision: two targeted sessions, with a third conditional. There seems to be no need to go back over several chapters, since the sticking point can be located. The first session rebuilds the meaning of equivalent fractions and checks the method. Between sessions, the student does a few varied exercises without a model immediately in front of them. The second session corrects the mistakes that persist and transfers the method to small problems.

At the end, the tutor gives a new exercise, with no hint. If the student does it and explains their reasoning, only a check a few days later is planned, without mechanically booking more sessions. If they are still stuck, a third appointment can be devoted to the difficulty identified. If the diagnosis finally reveals weaknesses in division, negative numbers and the order of operations, the scope changes: a structured intensive course or longer follow-up becomes more coherent.

This scenario is neither a real testimonial nor a guarantee of progress in three sessions. It illustrates a decision rule: buy teaching time only when you know what it is meant to let you work on.

5. How should you organise things during the Toussaint 2026 break?

In mainland France, including Corsica, the Toussaint 2026 holidays begin after classes on Saturday 17 October, with school restarting on Monday 2 November. The start date is the Friday after class for students who have no school on Saturday. The calendars of some overseas territories are different: check the one for your académie (regional school authority).

As of 23 October 2026, the holidays have already begun. It is therefore more useful to build a realistic programme over the days available than to try to cram all the work into the end of the period. Here is an adaptable example for two sessions and an optional third:

When	Work suggested	What should come out of it
23–24 October	Go back over a marked paper and try three exercises without help.	A specific goal and the starting mistakes.
26 October	First session: confirmed diagnosis, explanation, guided then independent practice.	A method understood and a few exercises to redo.
27–28 October	Two short slots of personal practice, with a break between them.	A record of the difficulties that remain.
29 October	Second session: correction, slightly different cases, an exercise with no hint.	A comparison with the starting level.
30 October – 1 November	Brief revision; a third session only if a sticking point justifies it and a slot suits.	A decision on what to do after school restarts.

The dates and length of the sessions in this table are examples of how to organise things, not a mandatory calendar. For a primary school student, independent work slots may be shorter; for a lycée student, a complex problem may need more time. Set aside times with no revision: tiredness and family activities are among the constraints to respect.

If you choose an intensive course, keep the same logic: diagnosis at the start, topics covered in an order that makes sense, personal exercises and a final check. A packed timetable with no time to go back over mistakes gives an impression of intensity, not necessarily of mastery. To tell this one-off choice apart from long-term tutoring, our article on weekly sessions and intensive courses sets out the differences in organisation.

6. After the session: how do you check that the gap is really closing?

The real question is not “Did the student understand during the session?”, but “Can they redo, alone and later, an exercise they did not know?” A smooth correction straight after the explanation is a first sign, not sufficient proof. Plan a small check before school restarts, then another when the chapter is used again in class.

• Independence: does the student choose the method without the adult naming the first step?
• Transfer: do they succeed at a question different from those seen together?
• Explanation: can they justify their calculations or choices in their own words?
• Stability: does the same mistake come back after a few days?

Progress may be partial: finally understanding why a method works is already different from applying a rule at random, even if speed has yet to be built. If the final test goes badly, do not automatically conclude that the hours need doubling. Look at whether the obstacle is understanding, retrieval from memory or application in a new context.

The work summarised by the EEF on homework and personal work stresses that the quality of tasks, their link with learning and the feedback received matter more than simply piling up work. A few chosen exercises, corrected and revisited, are better than a long list of pages done mechanically.

7. Organising this continuity with NOEO, without turning the break into a marathon

On NOEO, a family can browse the tutors available by subject and level, then talk to a tutor to define a specific gap. Searching, messaging and access to the platform are free, with no family subscription: only the sessions you book are charged, at the final price shown before you confirm.

The session takes place online in NOEO Live. Before the session, the student and the tutor can prepare the goal and the useful documents. Afterwards, the tutor sends a session report, which can set out strengths, areas for progress and the work to prepare. This follow-up helps build the second session from the difficulties actually met in the first.

To work between sessions, the student can, on their own initiative and when a session is eligible, create a Learn pack with a revision sheet, flashcards and a quiz. It is not created automatically after the session and does not replace the exercises sent by the tutor. Noé, the AI study assistant, can also help the student think things through when it is switched on and the applicable permissions allow it; it does not take the place of the tutor.

The aim is to link a few useful sessions rather than multiply appointments with no goal. You can read about how NOEO works before, during and after the session to understand this organisation.

8. Mistakes to avoid before making a decision

• Confusing a gap with a bad mark: a failed assessment does not prove that a whole chapter has to be redone.
• Booking an intensive course before the diagnosis: a very broad programme can spend hours on topics already mastered.
• Removing all personal work: without an independent attempt, the tutor does not know what the student can reproduce.
• Setting a final volume: starting with two sessions, then reassessing, can be more rational than committing to many hours straight away.
• Measuring only the next mark: tests differ; also watch the approaches and the recurring mistakes.
• Filling the whole break: rest and personal activities count towards whether the programme is feasible.

The most useful decision is therefore one you can revise. Define a gap, do a first check, choose the smallest reasonable format to deal with it and widen it only if the exercises show it is necessary. The aim of the break is not to “catch up on all the delay” in a few days, but to let the student go back to class with an obstacle better understood and a suitable work plan.