Should I consider home education?

[Samantha02]

Hi,
My name is Sam, I am 16 years old and I live in southeast London. I have always gone to state schools the same as my older siblings and have done fairly well there. I have always got relatively good grades, liked all my teachers and classmates, and came out of year 11 with 12 good GCSEs. However, I have often felt that school somehow isn’t right for me.

I have never had any trouble with bullying and have good friends, and I like learning but I don’t like the rigid structure of a school day or the way in which we learn. At school it feels like we are only being taught to be able to sit exams and not because something is interesting. I also sometimes find it hard to learn in a class becasue I am a socially anxious person and feel I can’t ask questions and end up looking things up/ teaching myself some things. I find that I often learn better outside a classroom and not just by copying up notes.

I recently discovered that home education is legal in England which got me thinking about whether I would benefit from it so I did some research and found that most people had quite positive experiences with homeschooling. That led me here as I was hoping I might get some advice on whether to talk to my parents about being homeschooled or just stay in school. Both my brother and sister went to school and did GCSEs and A levels and are now studying medicine at London universities but I don’t know what I want to study at university (possibly music or archeology) or if university is right for me and was wondering if homeschooling would hinder my chances of going to university if I decide to.

I am currently studying the IB at school which I don’t hate but I don’t want to focus on advanced maths and english. I am a very creative person and find the inflexible school day and curriculum stressful, and that, despite loving creative writing and reading, I really don’t like sitting in a class analysing texts and being assessed on how well I can guess the examiner’s opinion and use quotes. I would like to be able to learn about things I am really interested in or pursue a curious thought without the anxiety of school and exams.

My school is considered to be very good and I like the teachers there. I like a lot of what we do in my music, ancient history and Latin classes and I really enjoy being in the school orchestras but I could do these outside school as well.
So I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on whether it would be worth considering asking my parents about homeschooling for the last two years of my education or whether the way of learning and anxiety of school are just something I need to learn to get on with.
Thanks,
Sam

Amazing post Sam, very articulate. I don’t have any experience but didn’t want to leave without saying well done and I hope someone with A-level home Ed experience comes along. You might also want to post in the home Ed board in this topic. Good luck whatever you decide.

I don't have any home schooling knowledge, past what I do with my children at home, but I suspect it will be easier to get the best grades you can get in a school environment, which will then give you the opportunity to choose the uni/course you really want to do. Treat it as a means to an end.

It does sound though that you'd be better doing a levels rather than IB. You could just do A levels in music, ancient history and Latin. It may not be too late to swap to A levels this academic year.

Would you intend to self-study or distance-learn A levels? I think, at this point, if you left 16-18 education with no additional qualifications, it would make it difficult to apply to university.

If you knew what you wanted to study at university, you could look at the entry requirements and work backwards to see what you needed. Music, for example, might place more emphasis on playing at a high grade and playing experience in ensembles.

You do sound very motivated to self-study so you could study A levels, either completely self-study or via a distance learning college. (Google distance learning A levels if you want to look into this.) Distance learning will come at a cost, which may be a factor, depending on how well-off your parents are and whether they are willing and able to pay. Remember, you will also lose some of the advantages of school - group learning and the ability to discuss and debate - and facilities such as science labs.

Another thing to bear in mind is your family will lose child benefit if you started home education at this stage which might be important if your parent's income is low.

Good luck.

There could be difficulties applying for university if you are home ed for sixth form as you need references and grade predictions for UCAS which is the university application system. I know a few home-ed families who have transferred from home-ed to school/college for sixth form for this reason.
Distance learning for A levels can work if you haven't done an A level in a subject that you need or have to resit but taking 3 A levels in this way can be awkward. You need to find an exam centre that takes external candidates (some don't) and then there are difficulties if the subjects chosen have other assessments as well as final exams.
History would be OK as no coursework, But am unsure about the coursework/practical elements for music. For languages there are orals and for Sciences practical work has to be signed off. So home ed for A levels may make which subjects to choose more difficult.
I think what does happen during sixth form is some students are beginning to want to study more independently and that's good because being able to self-study is what's needed at degree level.