Leiden University and RSM's business degree admit IB students only with the full Diploma, and there is no Diploma without a passing grade in Theory of Knowledge. Our TOK tutors work with students across the Netherlands on both assessed tasks, the DP1 exhibition and the DP2 essay, questioning each claim until it holds instead of supplying ideas. One-to-one online lessons in Central European Time, from €63 an hour.
TOK is learned by arguing, so lessons feel more like a debate than a lecture. The tutors below are mostly IB specialists, several of them TOK teachers or DP coordinators, alongside an IB graduate who took the course recently; each one pushes back on a claim until your child can defend it.
IB TOK TutorDP coordinatorIB workshop leader
I currently serve as the Head and Coordinator of the IB Diploma and Career-related Programmes at Beaconhouse Newlands Islamabad and contribute to the IB community as an IBEN Workshop Leader, IBEN Evaluation Leader, and IB Examiner for English Language and Literature and Theory of Knowledge.
IB TOK TutorHead of Languages20+ years' teaching
I am an experienced IB examiner in Literature, Language & Literature, and Literature & Performance, with over two decades of teaching experience across the Diploma Programme, including Theory of Knowledge (Essay). I currently teach IB English Language & Literature (HL/SL), Literature & Performance, and Theory of Knowledge at an all-scholarship K–12 international school, where students are deeply engaged, academically ambitious, and highly motivated.
IB TOK TutorDP coordinator10+ years' IB teaching
I am Laura and I am an English A and TOK teacher. I am also my school's IB Coordinator as well as an IB examiner, so have a lot of experience in the world of IB! I have worked in schools in the UK, Europe, South American and North America. I have over a decade's experience teaching English A (Language and Literature, Literature, and Literature and Performance courses) and have taught and tutored many students who have achieved the highest grades at SL and HL. In my tutoring, I have a wealth of resources to break down the skills required for exams and IAs and to build confidence in analysing and evaluating effective examples for both exam papers; making sure the foundations are strong to develop individual analysis is something I do in all lessons I teach. I have years of experience working with students with accommodations and have a range of resources to help those who need more explicit examples and chunking of tasks. Being an examiner, I also have many years of past questions and papers to help with final preparations as well. I am happy to support at any stage of the IB process and give you confidence boosts in your own work when needed! Outside of tutoring, I do a lot of reading, exercising and walking my dog. I am also trying to keep up my own language learning of Portuguese and Italian.
IB TOK Tutor44/45 IB graduateLSE
I’m Caterina, an IB graduate with 44 points, now studying International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I achieved 7s in Higher Level History, Global Politics and English Language & Literature, and Standard Level Spanish B. I have been tutoring IB students for over three years. I teach History, Global Politics, English Language & Literature and Spanish B, as well as Italian ab initio and Italian B, as Italian is my mother tongue. I am also a research assistant at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), where I conduct policy research on Europe and the Americas. My teaching approach is exam-focused and practical. I incorporate past papers, clear strategies for command terms and mark schemes, and provide structured feedback. I also support IAs, the Extended Essay and TOK essays and presentations. I provide timed practice to build confidence and precision. Sessions are interactive and supportive, so students feel comfortable asking questions and shaping how we work together. Together, we will build a study plan tailored to your goals and learning style. Outside of tutoring, I enjoy theatre and film, and having lived in six countries, I try to offer a global perspective in our sessions.
IB TOK Tutor17+ years' teaching
I’m James, an experienced IB Global Politics and Theory of Knowledge teacher with over 17 years of international experience. I’ve taught at leading IB schools in Wales, Japan, Jordan, and Austria, where I also served as a TOK Coordinator and led initiatives to strengthen interdisciplinary learning across the IB Diploma Programme. I hold degrees in education and the social sciences, and I currently examine for both IB Global Politics and TOK. My experience as an examiner gives me a deep understanding of what IB assessment criteria truly value—helping students not only achieve higher marks but also think critically and write with academic precision. My tutoring approach is highly structured yet engaging. I help students master essay planning, argument development, and conceptual understanding, ensuring they can apply political theory and TOK frameworks confidently under exam conditions. I see tutoring as both academic guidance and mentorship, helping students find their voice as independent thinkers. Beyond the classroom, I’m passionate about global education, culture, and travel—interests that continually shape how I teach Global Politics and TOK through real-world perspectives.
IB TOK Tutor15+ years' teachingKing's College London
I currently lead the IB DP Biology and Theory of Knowledge programmes at Ambassador International Academy in Dubai and hold IB certifications at Level 3 for both teaching and coordination. I hold a Ph.D. in Medicine and M.Phil. in Pharmaceutics and Nanotechnology from King’s College London, along with a B.Sc. in Biology, B.Pharm., and PGCE.
TOK adds few points, but it can cost the whole Diploma: a grade E in TOK, or in the Extended Essay, is a failing condition, and a student without the Diploma holds only results for individual courses. Some Dutch universities won't admit you on those. Leiden's admission requirements state that "Individual IB certificates are not accepted", and RSM says of its International Business Administration that "Only the full IB Diploma is accepted."
Nuffic, which publishes the official Dutch comparisons of foreign qualifications, rates course results as vwo modular certificates for the subjects passed, not as a vwo diploma; our guide to the IB in the Netherlands sets out how the full Diploma compares.
The core points themselves count for less here than the pass: two of the three Dutch points thresholds we found leave TOK out, as our Extended Essay page details. For a Dutch applicant, TOK lessons aim at a secure pass first and a stronger grade second.
| Full Diploma | Course results only | |
|---|---|---|
| Nuffic | Compared to “a VWO diploma” | VWO modular certificates (vwo-deelcertificaten) for the subjects passed |
| Leiden University | “Required for general admission” | “Individual IB certificates are not accepted” |
| RSM, International Business Administration | “Only the full IB Diploma is accepted” | “IB certificates … are not accepted” |
Our guide on what happens if the Diploma is missed covers course certificates and retakes.
Theory of Knowledge is graded A to E on an exhibition, which counts for one third and is assessed by your teachers with IB moderation, and an externally marked essay, which counts for two thirds.
The exhibition, usually completed in DP1, ties three objects of your choice to one of 35 IB prompts within a 950-word limit. The essay answers one of the six titles the IB prescribes per session, in at most 1,600 words, and schools commonly set its deadline somewhere from October to January of DP2: close to the 15 January deadline for selective Dutch programmes, which our IA page plans around.
Choosing the essay title and the exhibition objects, and writing every line of both, is the student's job alone under the IB's academic integrity policy.
Lessons build the thinking instead: turning a loose claim into a precise knowledge question, finding the strongest counterclaim, replacing an invented example with a real one that can be checked. The formal guidance comes from your TOK teacher, who gives written feedback on a single essay draft and logs three planning conversations; lessons make sure you bring real ideas to each of them.
Failed the IB Diploma? This solutions-oriented guide explains Course Certificates, November retake sessions, and alternative university pathways (Foundation years). Find out what to do next.
Read the guide: IB Diploma: What to Do If You FailUnderstand the IB grading system. Learn how raw marks become a final 1-7 score, discover the hidden diploma failing conditions, and see projected grade boundaries for your subjects.
Read the guide: IB Grade Boundaries: A Complete GuideUnderstand the New IB TOK Syllabus changes for 2020. Learn how the Exhibition and Essay work, plus mandatory Ethics, Themes, and Areas of Knowledge.
Read the guide: Complete Guide to the New IB TOK Syllabus“Javeria has helped me majorly in navigating my way through the IB Diploma. She provided assistance and tips on writing my TOK Essay, which helped me achieve a very good result. Moreover, she significantly helped me feel confident ahead of the IB English Lang&Lit exams.”
“Without Louis help I know for sure that I would have failed my TOK essay, and his help during the lessons and after (through email) has been a great support system throughout my journey in TOK. He helped me with grammar and digging deeper into the ideas I had, fully allowing me to decide on my own what I wanted to say but helping me to communicate that more effectively.”
“I have completed various past papers for Math AA HL and Mr Akintoye and I went through almost all of them and graded them from an examiner perspective. I already had a strong foundation in Math AA HL with an average grade of 6. However my time with Mr Akintoye might have single handedly pushed my grade up to a 7.”
See what other students and parents report in the Lanterna testimonials.
At Leiden itself, an E is the risk: an E in TOK is a failing condition, so the Diploma isn't awarded, and Leiden doesn't accept individual IB certificates; RSM's International Business Administration likewise takes only the full Diploma. At Leiden University College The Hague a weaker grade matters too, because its 35-point threshold includes the bonus points from TOK and the Extended Essay. TOK lessons aim first at staying well clear of an E and then at the clearest argument your child can make. Nobody can promise the grade itself.
When the TOK class introduces the 35 exhibition prompts, usually early in DP1. Since the exhibition carries one third of the TOK mark and is normally done before DP2's applications begin, two or three lessons on picking objects that genuinely connect to one prompt, and justifying each link briefly, can secure that third early.
One to one on Lanterna's online platform, scheduled in Central European Time. Students at schools in Amsterdam, The Hague or Rotterdam book evenings or weekends around their timetable, and can stay with one tutor across both TOK tasks. There is no travel, and lessons can move when a mock or a selection test lands.
No, those choices have to be your child's. What a tutor can do is help test the options: drafting a one-line claim and its best counter-argument for each shortlisted title, or asking how each possible object links to the prompt, so your child can judge which option leads somewhere before committing.
Lessons cost from €63 an hour. Students often book short blocks rather than a weekly slot: some around the DP1 exhibition, more while the DP2 essay takes shape, sometimes paired with Extended Essay lessons because TOK and the EE are graded together on the core matrix. See the tiers and prices for the options.
Prefer a different time? Every open time is listed below, week by week.
None of these work? Email us the times that suit you and we'll find one.
Our team replies within one working day, on Central European Time.
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