Home ed for gcse: how does dd sit exams?

[overthemill]

Dd has chronic illness and after a whole term out of school (yr10) I am thinking about home ed for when she is well enough. I have lurked on this thread and looked at lots of links but how do gcse exams happen? Where do students physically take the iGCSE exams? We are in rural area and no local schools do iGCSE as far as I can tell. Thanks

Hi over many public schools sit iGCSE and will allow outside candidadates to sit exams alongside their pupils.

Obviously, you would need to liase both with the school and the exam board.

Thanks for this. So I need to look at private school in nearest big town?

Hello over, it isn't something I have done, but many of my friends have. I understand that many HE parents say finding the exam centre is the hardest part of the whole process, and that should be your first step. Availability of an exam centre will dictate exactly which exam syllabus your daughter should be following in preparing for the exam and when she can sit each one. You might have to travel.

You'll also need to decide the best way for your daughter to prepare herself for the exam. Some people download the syllabus and work independently. Some use distance learning providers. Some use tutors or join local tutor-led study groups with other teens - contact your local HE groups to see if there are any study groups happening at the moment.

Here is a wiki I like: nwilts-he.org.uk/he_exams_wiki/index.php/Main_Page At the top of that page is a link to a very busy email list on which people discuss all the ins and outs of it.

There is no requirement to sit exams at all, of course, and not all HE children do. There are other qualifications, and some people go straight into work, to the Open University, or to college etc without prior qualifications - some colleges can be flexible about entry requirements, especially if you speak to the course tutor rather than the admissions tutor. If your daughter does want to do IGCSEs, she can sit them in any order she wants and at any time, subject to availability of an exam centre. A popular approach for HE kids is to concentrate on one or two or three at a time, sit the exam, and then move on to other subjects.

Good luck!

Whereabouts are you?

Thanks saracen loads of great information.
velvetbee Bedfordshire (Central beds lea)

North Hampshire a bit too far for you then. I'll ask around..

Thanks . She will want to take exams as ambition to be doctor

Sorry, posted too soon.
Our local home ed group has negotiated with the LA that Edexcel and AQA exams (and poss others) can be taken at a school in Basingstoke. CIE exams can be accessed via the Portsmouth group but are more expensive. There are also situations were individual tutors have arrangements with particular schools for their private students. Probably the same is available in your area. It's doable but you have to dig a bit.
I'll ask a couple of wiser HEers and come back to you.

If you have had more than 15 days out of school for medical reasons then the LEA should be putting some resources your way, such as access to online lessons, or a personal tutor to come and cover some core subjects. this will give you a chance to keep your toe in the door and access GCSEs theoretically through her school, even if she cannot attend full time. It also allows some flexibility around HE.

nettletea home tutoring is starting today but for 5 mins only! My query is for later when she is hopefully a bit better. There is no way she'll be back at school before Easter and will have missed 2 terms and all the friendship/ social stuff.

It may be worth keeping her on roll with her current school (an "educated elsewhere" code can be put in the register as long as things are documented) and then she could take the exams there. I used to tutor a girl for maths and science who was HE due to severe bullying and she remained on roll at her PRU and took exams there. She took maths, English, science and ICT and got into college for A levels with just those 4. I would suggest your daughter needs maths, English, 3 sciences and possibly a language and humanity to help support her ambitions.