online curriculums question

[BeNimble]

please can anyone tell me a bit more about internet curriculums...
such as if you can pick and choose how much to do and if they are strictly timetabled? and the costs? and if kids generally enjoy them?!
tia christine

[AMumInScotland]

I've got experience of an online school which is not quite the same - but that is just exactly like a bricks & mortar school with a weekly timetable, homework, and set holiday and term dates.

There are also "correspondence courses" leading to exams, some of which have support from tutors - I think with those you would be expected to cover them in a particular order so the tutor knows what stage you've reached.

But the impression I get from some of the online curriculums is that they send you the material for a term and it's up to you what you do with it and in what order.

[BeNimble]

would you tell me about the online school.... similar questions... subject options / costs / enjoyment!
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[AMumInScotland]

The one I have experience of is Interhigh - they go from Year 7 to 11. There's no choice of subjects, they all do Maths, English, French, Geography, History and Science, and they are generally expected to do all the subjects. They have classes Monday to Friday mornings, and have set homework. DS is in Year 10 so he's working towards international GCSEs in those subjects. He's happy with it - though he only started HE this year, so he's never experienced autonomous education. I think it would be a shock after a more free-range option, but he has settled very well to it after being used to school. It costs £2100 per year.

There are also a couple of others which I know of - BritESchool which also has some primary classes, and First College which looks less mainstream. All of them work towards iGCSE exams, because you can do those without having to get coursework marked, it just has an exam at the end of the course (which you have to arrange yourself).

[AMumInScotland]

There are pros and cons - you have qualified subject teachers, are working towards recognised qualifications, and get feedback about how well they are doing, so if qualifications are something you consider important then that's a big advantage. Also, they are learning with a peer group, so they can discuss things, learn from other people's questions, and work together.

On the other hand, you have all the disadvantages of a school timetable - set holiday dates, set timetable during the day/week, no subject choice (the schools are all too small to offer a choice of subjects), so you don't get the freedom usually associated with home ed.