Home schooling GCSEs

[WhiteDust]

AIBU to think that there is no way GCSE preparation for every subject can all be done independently at home?

Do the DC have tutors?
Where do they sit the exams?
Do home schooled children even sit exams?
How do home school parents prepare their DC for GCSEs?

As you can see, I don't know how it works. I only know how much work the teachers at DC's school put in to getting them through these exams!

I think most have tutors. There ate independent centres well have exam halls or I think sometimes you can pay to be included at a local school just for the exam season.

They often use online schools.

They definitely can do GCSEs. I know one who is doing them right now. Only a total of 6 and one was sat early (got an 8), but enough for the next stage without the stress/anxiety that doing 10 gives.

Yes it's fine.

A lot of schools wont take external students for many reasons, primarily they don't know what they are getting eg they dot know your child, they dont know how volatile he or she might be, their stress reactors, it all becomes an administrative nightmare.

Not every subject can be done at home, they aren't all 100% linear. eg

• Science ISAs
• English Speaking and Listening
• Oral MFL tests
• subjects with coursework elements - who would be marking and moderating it?

HE forums would have the information.

I know not one school in out LA would touch HE pupils.

My son has always been home ed. He’s doing three GCSEs a year early at the moment. We’ve used an online course for one of them and I had to arrange the exam centre myself. The other two he’s doing through a local college. He’s studying for ones next year through Wolsey Hall - an online college. I know people who have done some just using the syllabus and books. I think it would have been do-able for some subjects but I wasn’t feeling quite confident enough.

We chose to home ed our Dd using an online school and she is now sitting iGCSEs at an exam centre. Many sit them in stages (so perhaps one or two exams per year). You have to pay to sit as well as find somewhere to sit them which is a bit of a downside.

It can be tricky to do all subjects but not impossible. There are various ways to get an education - tutors, home ed groups, online and parents themselves.

We home ed ( not through choice) my dc took 3 exams last year and is doing 5 now.
We used an online provider for two foreign languages the rest we do ourselves.
Our exam centre is about an hour away, it has cost about £1300 in exam fees obviously that doesn't include text books etc.

Thanks for the replies! It's interesting to read how it's done. I knew that schools don't take external candidates.
So, parents pay for on-line tuition? Also for exam entries?

I remember one year a student left our school at the start of Year 10 and his parents requested not only his books/ info. re. exam boards he would have studied for (quite legitimately) but they also requested long / short term and schemes of work and lesson plans for each subject. The school declined the latter!

I did wonder where the parents got the work from. Now I know! Online!
Thanks all!

I was home schooled through Wolesy Hall from year 7 through to GCSE. Science components are done as papers(you get an experiment and evaluate it), I didn't do any MFL so I can't speak for that. We had to organise an exam centre ourselves, and I ended up not sitting one of my 8 because my mum didn't book it. I was very lucky, I passed 6 with good grades, but it was very hard work and I do wonder if I'd have done better in a school. That said, I think home schooling did partially make me who I am today so I don't know that I'd change it, but I'm interested in doing more and seeing how far I get in home schooling.

We did the whole lot, no real tutors (will explain more in a mo). Both DDs got 10 GCSEs, almost exclusively As and A*s (before 9-1). Half of those were in subjects I'd never done at school. You can learn almost anything nowadays with a mixture of textbooks, google and YouTube!

My elder daughter had no formal outside tuition but my mum did poetry and literature with her as that's her strength, and she and my brother taught the girls Latin between them. DD1 took the exams at a private school near to us - they used us as part of their charitable benefit and so were extremely lovely and accommodating and charged only the exam fees (most places charge sometimes hefty admin on top).

Younger daughter did go to a local home ed centre one morning a week where a lovely couple who were ex science teachers taught her Chemistry and Physics in a group set up similar to school. We did most of the syllabus, but it was a lovely and fun top up. She sat her exams at this tuition centre. They set up so they could offer exams to home ed pupils.

The exams were expensive. It cost me over £1000 for the entry fees for DD2's GCSEs alone. This doesn't count travelling costs and textbook costs. Some counties pay for 5 GCSEs for home ed students but most don't. This can be a huge barrier to home ed families taking many.

DD1 is now a dance and singing teacher (having done a performing arts degree) and DD2 is doing a masters in Physics. They have both very much followed their dreams - so it is all possible! Any more questions, I'm quite happy to answer.

I didn't do any MFL so I can't speak for that.

This is my one regret for my DDs. It was impossible to do at home due to the speaking part and do although they did Latin, they don't speak a MFL. I wish this was more accessible.

Music It's lovely to hear such a success story! I have a DC doing exams at the moment.
The school is great. Having said that, SO much work has been done independently, at home.
I teach myself and the top grades in my subject are always achieved by students who do a huge amount at home as well.
It's interesting!

The private centre near us does language speaking, but provision is variable across the country. Music is another one I think that people can find hard to do. State schools don't let you sit them because of league tables, but many private schools do. They were generally IGCSEs as they are without the coursework element, though I guess that will change now with the new exams.

Yes, we couldn't do music GCSEs either for the same reason. The girls took piano and singing grades so it didn't really matter, but there are definitely some barriers. And yes, we had a mixture of IGCSEs and GCSEs. Some had coursework we couldn't access, though the home ed centre I talked about did set up assessments for some coursework and for the speaking and listening part of English language.
WhiteDust I taught in schools for many years and now tutor maths and teach piano, so I've kept up with the current system. I don't know all the new GCSEs as DD2 did hers under the last of the old system, but the new maths is very hard indeed. We put our young people under a lot of pressure and I can imagine that even in a school setting lots needs to be done at home.

It is possible, although challenging, to do MFL at home.
My DD1 couldn't do both the languages she wanted for AS level at 6th form, so did one through a home learning company. She sat both the exam paper and the oral test at an independent school near us which accepts external candidates. She got feedback on several formative assessments from a tutor as part of the package, including Skype calls, and I worked on the written materials with her. She came out with an A grade and overall I'd recommend the company (although obviously it helped that I was able to work with her - thanks to a very rusty A Level in the same subject from 30 years previously). It's a very lonely way of working however and the lack of daily/ immediate feedback is an issue.

God I wish I could afford to homeschool my kids.

I am a teacher but I hate the education system at the minute and I find large parts of it so damaging to children.

So sick of having artistic, funny, talented, brilliant pupils in my class tell me they are thick because they can’t solve a quadratic equation - which really will they ever need to do after they leave school?

My sons currently find so much joy in learning new things and I’m terrified as they grow up they’ll love their love for learning due to the pressures, regulations involved in school curriculums.

No idea about the HE system by the way - just went off on a tangent!

I got 10 GCSE's using CGP revision books and the internet. I did my exams in the local secondary school and it's quite pricey when you're doing a lot of them. My parents didn't really have to do much to be honest, I was a very independent learner. I downloaded as many past papers as I could find and did them all. Yes, I'm a massive nerd. I had so much anxiety surrounding school that homeschooling was probably the best thing my parents ever did. I don't think I would have done half as well otherwise.

It is perfectly possible to home educate GCSEs. My eldest has say 4 this year to top up those he did in school as didn't get the grades. My youngest is studying for 2 to sit in what would be yr9 and will do at least 6 more over the following few years.
The exam centre we use offers mfls, music and art and has done drama which are difficult for many home educators but all these have alternatives available which can be done to access the next step e.g. Arts Awards, music grades.

Some GCSEs are difficult to do as a private candidate as they have some practical element (English Language, sciences) so for these home educators tend to do International GCSEs like many private schools. These are equivalent to GCSE and traditionally regarded as harder as all exam based. Reform of GCSEs has changed that a bit but made many more standard GCSEs available to sit privately.

As to how to do them. Find an exam centre prepared to take private candidates (home educators are good a supporting each other) some state schools do, private schools, commercial centres, we even have a centre run by home edders for home edders. Find out what exam boards you can sit. Decide subjects/exam boards.
As to how to study - it is perfectly possible to study from the exam syllabus, textbook and other online/revision resources, lot of work doing the research but the info is out there. There are places that will mark exam papers for you professionally with feedback which helps. Some people use tutors or group learning (often parents sharing expertise), some use distance learning courses (online or post). Most use a combination of methods depending on subject.
Home educators aren't tied to the need to fit things into the school timetable or English Bacc so have more freedom over subject choice. Most I know do Maths, English Lang and at least one science as these are seen as the core door openers but after that choice is much freer. Between them mine have done/are currently doing Economics, business, history, sociology, psychology and computer science (besides maths, English lang, physics and chemistry) plus have art award with other subjects like Classical civilisation, Citizenship, English Lit, Religious Studies up for consideration if time allows (they are just what we have whittled the list down to). We also do other subjects like philosophy where there is no GCSE but he's interested.

I know a school that does take external candidates but it all has to be arranged very far in advance and parents are interviewed first. Costs about £100 per gcse.

My 12 year old is currently working towards 2 GCSEs from home so it’s def doable. One is also a science subject.

I've just read back and it sounds like I've contradicted myself! So to clarify...
My DC has worked so hard at home (aiming for high grades) and has done a LOT of work independently BUT, the school has given the guidance & tuition I could not have provided.
Hats off to anyone who has done it all themselves or with the help of their parents!

I’ve tutored English Lang and lit to a homeschooled child. Her mum found a private school that would take her as an external candidate. It was 100% exam based and was a good experience.

I wonder about this too. A reasonably (but not even particularly) bright student could probably do some GCSE's very early at home by just learning from textbooks or online lectures but it wouldn't be a very good education as they wouldn't have any depth, or tangential learning or feedback to stretch them beyond learning for the exam. There is also an important element of learning whereby peers learn from each other. That said many school environments are less than perfect and all kind of issues can mean that certain students just can't cope in a classroom so it could well be the best option.

A reasonably (but not even particularly) bright student could probably do some GCSE's very early at home by just learning from textbooks or online lectures but it wouldn't be a very good education as they wouldn't have any depth, or tangential learning or feedback to stretch them beyond learning for the exam

Exactly the opposite for many home educated students, they're not constrained by the classroom or the text book and can take learning of into any direction they want. Lots of shared activities and workshops and trips to do things we'd never have done when DD was at school. Doesn't suit everyone but for kids who are motivated it's great.