To home school DC for year 11

[Homeschoolyear11]

Does anyone have experience of home schooling and GCSE for year 11? DC. DC will finish year 10 this year and for various reasons we think homeschool them may be a better option to give them a chance to pass what they need for the next level.

Where will you enter them for exams?

Who will teach them?

What subjects?

What about any coursework or NEA requirements?

London

Online but they also have English, Maths and Science tutoring

English, Maths, Science

No idea regarding course work

Just started looking at this option so need to find online courses

Have you found somewhere who will accept them sitting the exams? Unlikely school will.

You need to look into NEA and coursework, likely any subjects with that can't be done.

I think at that point in their education it would need to be online school

Seems mad to only do Y11, considering the cost and hassle of exams.
What are they targeting for the next level?Whatever it is they will probably need at least 5 GCSEs including English and Maths.

It can cost hundreds of pounds per exam sat privately, and you need to use approved exam centres. Round our way a lot of the private schools who used to offer this no longer do and several parents I know of are struggling to find anywhere their DC can sit the papers.

Hi. My DS is in year 11 and has been homeschooled this year - it would not have been my first choice but it’s worked out really well given it was rather forced on us (long story).

We have used tutors, a mix of online and in person for 6 GCSEs. Horrendously expensive but worth it ultimately. Touch wood the exams are going well so far.

There are a few exam centres you can use (again not cheap) - whereabouts are you? St Pauls take external students if you are anywhere near Hammersmith. You need to contact them sooner rather than later to get in the system especially for access arrangements (I think by November of year 11).

Very happy to say more if you want to DM me.

DS now has offers (and is likely to get the grades needed) for two good local sixth forms - this time last year we were looking at a couple of grade 4s at the very most.

If you’re in a position where you need to then it should be do-able. Check out Tutors and Exams for a place to sit them. They have various centres. It does work out quite pricey depending on how many they are sitting. Some subjects they’ll need to do IGCSEs for to avoid the coursework/ practicals but the syllabus aren’t that different.
If you’re in London you can probably find home ed meet ups and sports groups that include teens if they want to get involved with something like that.
There are loads of good resources - we used SouthWest Science School and Absolute Maths.

Can you afford to pay exam fees ?

I think that before you make any decisions, you need to research exams centres and see if there are ones you can get to that have availability. Then you need to consider finances and the cost of tutors and any online content necessary.

There’s no point in making decisions without being very certain that the rest of the content of the courses will be covered, there is a plan for post 16 and the finances are in place.

Thank you.

will need to check how much will every costs and if we can find a center

Thank you. How much is it costing you if you don’t mind me asking?

They only need 4 GCSE passes with 4 including English and Maths for what they want to do next.

The exam entrance was (I think) £230 per subject. Then tutors depend a bit but roughly £50-60 an hour. His older sibling helped with maths and I can help with some subjects. It’s been intense and costly but better than the alternative.

It’s very very expensive.

my dc was ill for a lot of her education.

you are in London so should be able to find a private centre but we had to drive an hour away.

it was 500 pounds for my dd per subject but it depended on how many papers.

online school also not cheap

Consider whether they can stay on the school roll (not attending) and take their exams in school if that might at all be an option for them, perhaps in a small room by themselves. It's more common than you might think. Initially school will likely say absolutely not, but if you politely stick with it they may be persuadable. You might have a better chance if she nominally starts school in Sept, even if to anxious to actually attend. Organising exams externally is a PITA particularly for sciences - YP might need to switch to iGCSE.

5 GCSE passes would be a safer bet than 4 just in case they change their mind - it would open a lot more options with post 16 colleges.

Sciences can be sat singly at either foundation or higher level, it doesn't have to be all 3 separate sciences or combined science.

DS couldn't manage online school so mostly had an hour a week personal tutor per subject, no other lessons. Pick the subjects carefully and it's doable with a good tutor.

Please be aware exams can start from £200 per subject, and extra centres can be limited to numbers they take and not all off access arrangements if this is needed. They may need to study different syllabus as some gcses are not available to home educating young people due to course work and practical elements including if already stated during year 10 so will need to take igcses instead. You will need start booking exam places from September this year. Local to me 1 private school offer around 30 private candidate spaces which go the day they open bookings. They are the only exam centre in the county

Tell your current school that your child will be working within a reduced timetable and online working from home. Tell them when your child will be attending and ask if they can 'dial in' to live lessons. I presented this to my child's school in year 11 on the basis of protecting their mental health and prevention of a mental health crisis. My DS got 7 GCSE's all 8's and 9's instead of breaking down and burning out.

One of my colleagues was looking around for their dc to do an exam in an additional subject, and was quoted £600 by the (only) place which got back to them about it.

PP who suggest keeping your dc on roll but remote learning in some form may be offering the best advice. I lt does depend though- is the dc likely to be expelled for behaviour, or is it a mental health issue? If any type of health or educational need the school/LA have a responsibility to meet that need if they can (or prove that they can’t ), but the minute you off roll them you are taking that responsibility onto yourself.

My child sat 4 GCSEs in what would be y10, and 3 more this year (she would be y11 in school). We haven’t used tutors, except for maths. She has 7s and 8s from last year.

Finding an exam centre is your first step. The home Ed exams wiki is very helpful. The £2 tuition hub can also be useful (we haven’t used them for gcse but use them for a younger dc, they are MUCH cheaper than online schools).

Exam entry has cost me around £2,000 overall. It’s a killer.

iGCSE don’t have a coursework requirement. Maths, you may be able to continue with the exam board he’s already studied. Most maths don’t have coursework. I don’t recommend maths iGCSE (we have done it. It’s closer to A level and known for being hard). When choosing an exam centre, you’ll need to make sure they are registered for the board you want to study.

AllGCSEs are not created equal even though they should be. Do look. At the specifications for different boards you have access to.

Also, don’t forget he doesn’t have to sit exams at the end of what would be y11. He could take longer to do it and stagger them to spread the cost. It won’t matter even a tiny bit if he goes into FE a year later.

What grades is he predicted so far?
It's very possible but it's quite a short timescale. It is likely you can't do the same exam board or exam for science and will have to choose IGCSE and a slightly different syllabus so there may be more gaps to plug.

My instinct would be to see if you can work with school but on the other hand it's lovely to see how people have turned their children's experience around in a very short time so that they may excel.

A single 2 paper exam costs exam board fee (around £60) plus exam center fee +100-250 in our area. I don't know what dual science would be..

A plus might be if he excels in one of the sciences. You can mix and match a lot more - He could sit all 3 as separate subjects, or choose his best two, sit them at different levels and one grade wouldn't affect the other. He has a lot more flexibility.

You've had some great advice on here and some great pointers to get you started on your decision. Best of luck.

Also please don't forget to check back with his future college what they will accept..