home schooling year 11 son

[barbsbarbs]

I have just made the scary decision to honeschool my son for five gcses from next week, He has failed badly at school, always in trouble and bunks off all the itme. Thsi way I know he will get some education. Any ideas? Also does anyone have any links etc to find out the gcse curriculum.

I'm not illinformed, I make the decisions.

Private schools offer iGCSEs becasue they are businesses, and iGCSEs are thousands of pounds a year cheaper to run.

No one can insist anyone takes them as the equivalent. We don't. most people don't. ofsted don't. The government don't.

They are banned from being used in performance tables.

but they are better than nothing, if the school won't let the OP's son do the required practicals.

Which are required for the GCSE qualifications. Which is why they are called required.

Thankfully universities are better informed than Copperbeech and accept IGCSE exams as grade for grade equivalent to GCSE.

What types of circumstances copper?

GCSEs cannot become 'invalid'. A GCSE is a GCSE; a qualification the same as an A level, an NVQ or a degree. If you get a B in GCSE maths, it doesn't become invalid because you then take GCSE English the following year!

I'm assuming you mean some colleges won't take students for A levels due to GCSEs being split over several years? That may limit the choice of college but many do take students who have split GCSEs.

Like everything there are pros and cons, so if you've got your sights set on a particular college that requires GCSEs to be taken all at once then obviously you need to do that but if you wish to persue a different avenue then there are many advantages to doing GCSEs over a couple of years.
One of the reasons I said for the OPs DS to really think what he wants to do.

LOTS of different options out there, it's not the best route for everyone to sit 9/10 GCSEs in one year.

You're giving some incorrect advice there, Copperbeech. The local private schools only (mostly) offer IGCSE here.

Thankfully universities are better informed than Copperbeech and accept IGCSE exams as grade for grade equivalent to GCSE.

for what? For a foundation degree?

You're giving some incorrect advice there, Copperbeech. The local private schools only (mostly) offer IGCSE here.

yes, iGCSEs are often offered by private schools, because they are cheap.

The notion that private school kids with their iGCSEs aren't getting university places You're hilarious copper!

GCSEs cannot become 'invalid'. A GCSE is a GCSE;

People really need to understand that YES, splitting them up CAN invalidate them.

A home educated student could take one GCSE every 6 months for 6 years and say they have 12 A. This is NOT the same as a year 11 student taking 12 GCSEs in one sitting and getting 12 A. The year 11 student taker would have the choice of any A levels they want, but the home educated student would be disqualified from many level 3 courses because of the way they had sat their GCSEs.

We had a 16 year old home edded student want to take English A level a couple of years ago, with A* in both English lang and English lit, turned down because they had been taken as separate stand alone exams at ages 12 and 13, or something like that. I will always remember her because of the mother having tears pouring down her face. We were her last resort, and typically take in students with lower achievement that other schools turn away. I think the student was offered a level 2 course, but turned it down, I don't know what happened to her. It was not nice to see.

Anyway, we always have home edded students apply to sixth form at the beginning of every year. We have taken a few onto A level this year, and some onto BTEC levels 2. If they do well in BTEClevel 2, they can go on to BTEC level 3, and then apply to university, but they cannot realistically move from BTEC level 2 to A levels.

The notion that private school kids with their iGCSEs aren't getting university places grin You're hilarious copper! universities look at level 3 results. not level 2, as long as you have something in maths and English. Unless you are going for a foundation degree

Your 23.34 post asserted that universities only take students with iGCSEs onto Foundation Degrees. That is clearly bollocks. (FDs also require L3 qualms btw.)

I do agree however that GCSEs/iGCSEs shouldn't be take one or two a year. For L3 and university taking eight + in one go is advised.

I doubt OPs kid is really looking at A levels and uni though, at least not right now, so most of what you've said copper is as usual pointless.

Your 23.34 post asserted that universities only take students with iGCSEs onto Foundation Degrees. That is clearly bollocks.

Thats not what I said at all, I asked whether you were referring to applying to foundation degrees, as there are no other circumstances in which universities are interested in what you did at level 2. They look at level 3.

The issue is getting the right GCSEs to get onto the level 3 course of your choice.

By private school pupils have no problem switching to state sixth forms for A level with their oh-so-inferior IGCSE's. In my city the best sixth form actively tries to recruit them, in fact.

The point about spreading Igcses out over too many years is correct though of course. Someone I know on FB who Home eds had her 12/13 year old in to do art and English GCSEs recently, which seems utterly pointless. A few a year early or a year late? Fine. But at least 6 together would be my advice, to get into sixth form.

Nonetheless, if OP is still reading, clearly her son won't be doing them early as he's year 11 already. IGCSE's through independent learning or online school or tutors or home ed groups are definitely an option for your son.

Thats not what I said at all, I asked whether you were referring to applying to foundation degrees, as there are no other circumstances in which universities are interested in what you did at level 2. They look at level 3.

No you didn't. And universities don't care what you did at L2 ESPECIALLY for FDs so not sure what circumstances you think iGCSEs instead of GXSEs would ever ever be an issue.

I doubt OPs kid is really looking at A levels and uni though, at least not right now, so most of what you've said copper is as usual pointless.

Its not pointless at all, you can see for yourself how ill informed and ignorant some posters are, people need to understand how these things work before they blow their child's chances out of the water with well intentioned bumbling around not knowing what they are doing.

Nobody enjoys sitting in enrollment smashing a child's hopes and dreams into oblivion, but there are home edded students we do this to every year, because their parents have not understood entry requirements, age limits, etc.

All I did was ask if you were referring to foundation degrees?

so not sure what circumstances you think iGCSEs instead of GXSEs would ever ever be an issue.

well, it was in an issue in enrollment yesterday

Copperbeech , just to be clear, you do understand that GCSE and IGCSE exams are intellectually equivalent?

Lots of students take a few of each, and the choice comes down to small differences in the syllabus (in the past, calculus was a draw for the IGCSE maths papers) and the lack of internal assessment in most cases.

Some GCSE courses are becoming more accessible to home educators now that coursework is on the way out.

They are not some kind of sub-GCSE level exam.

Some university courses do look at GCSE/IGCSE grades, but obviously offers are made on A-Level grades or equivalent.

yes, iGCSEs are often offered by private schools, because they are cheap.
Yes, you've already come out with that. Some of the top performing private schools in the country, Copperbeech. Very limiting indeed.

I think it's quite unhelpful to be giving incorrect information out like this.

Hello OP.

I home ed 3 younger children. My eldest 2 are about to go into year 9 and year 12 at school. I am obviously pro home ed.

I just wanted to say that all the arguments for and against home ed could go on all night. The fact is that not all children who go to school receive an education. So the fact you are withdrawing him is not the biggest issue.

The bit that stands out in your posts is that your ds is unhappy. I think you are doing the right thing prioritising his mental health. Without that, he will not have a bright future at all. So for that reason alone, I think you are doing the right thing.

My eldest has done very well at school. School suits him and he will be staying on for A levels. School does not suit everyone and I hate this idea that without school you have no prospects.

My DH left school at the end of year 9, 20 years ago. He had undiagnosed dyslexia, anxiety and a pretty rough home life. He was labeled as a difficult, angry lazy young man. He spent a year hanging about, smoking weed and playing computer games.

When he was almost 16 he started an apprenticeship. From that day, he has worked 6 days a week, every week for the past 20 years. He is now a happily married father of 5 earning almost 50k a year.

True, he is not an educated man. He couldn't tell you about Shakespeare or Pythagoras. He has no interest in cell structure or logic gates. He just about manages to write sweet things in my birthday cards. But he is a happy, hard working successful man.

I think you should take your son out of the system that is clearly failing him. Let him take a breather and work out what it is that he wants from his life. Encourage him to look at vocational courses. Encourage him to read and learn something just for the sake of learning. Let him discover the joy of learning again. When he finds it I bet there will be no stopping him.

Of course, if he has his heart set on being a doctor or a vet, then he will probably be disappointed, but if he has other ideas there are all sorts of ways of getting there. Why don't you go and talk to some colleges that offer courses for 14-16 year olds and see if anything appeals to him.

Good luck to you and your son.

iGCSEs are very cheap to run, that is the whole point of them.

just to be clear, you do understand that GCSE and IGCSE exams are intellectually equivalent?,

no, iGCSEs are easier to get a C in. They are considered harder to get an A in, in some subjects, not so sure about that !

As I said, yes, it can make a difference. We have not been accepting iGCSE science takers onto any level 3 applied science courses this year, because in the last few years they haven't been able to cope, and have had to drop down to level 2. Instead of wasting time, we have been putting them straight onto level 2 this year, meaning they will take 3 years in the sixth form not 2.

iGCSEs are easier to pass ( at C level), that is why they have been banned from league tables.

Do you mean combined Science?

There is no way a student with an A in the CIE chem, biology, or physics papers would struggle to that degree.

They are a fantastic preparation for A-Level.

no, I mean applied science

they are not such great preparation for A level. They are really not!

They are better than nothing for the OPs son, though