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Home ed

Find advice from other parents on our Homeschool forum. You may also find our round up of the best online learning resources useful.

Has your DC been home-ed for their GCSEs - how did you go about it?

10 replies

UndertheCedartree · 30/05/2020 15:42

My DS is very academic but also creative. He wants to complete some GCSEs. Are there any that are hard to do within the home-ed community? How did you go about? I know there are lots of different ways you can do it and was looking for recomendation and experience of particular routes?

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Tinuviel · 30/05/2020 21:24

We used evening classes at the local sixth form for DS1 and DS2 for English, Maths, Science and Spanish. The rest they sat as private candidates at local private schools.

DD did 1 day a week at a local FE college to do English, Maths and Combined Science (course is specifically for HE kids) and sat French as a private candidate at a local state school.

I currently run a variety of language courses for HE kids (via Zoom at the moment but usually in real life); 2 kids will be starting French GCSE work in September.

Saracen · 30/05/2020 23:16

I'm not entirely sure what you are asking. Do you want to say a bit more about your son and where he may be heading? If he has any idea, of course - I know it is very normal for teens not to!

Is he already home ed? How old is he now?

Why does he want to do GCSEs? For instance, is it because he may want to go to college and thinks the GCSEs will be needed to get in? Or is it because he thinks GCSE study provides a framework for learning what he wants to learn? Or some other reason?

What types of subjects appeal to him?

UndertheCedartree · 31/05/2020 09:53

@saracan - my DS is 13. He wants to be a librarian or a teacher. He has always been home-ed. He wants a path to Uni so is thinking of doing GCSEs, then A levels at college. He particularly likes English and History and is a real bookworm. He is also into Art and goes to an Arts Award group.

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Branleuse · 31/05/2020 16:28

could he use one of the online schools and just sign up for a few subjects

qwerty1972 · 31/05/2020 19:08

My daughter has been home educated since she was 4 and now, at 15, has just completed her gcse level work. She did some igcses with an online school (synchronous lessons), she did a BTEC with an online college (asynchronous lessons) and she worked with me to complete the other 3 i/gcses.

She was going to have done 3 A Levels over the next two years, but the current situation re. Coronavirus makes things potentially more difficult for independent candidates so, instead of taking any risks re. cancelled exams/changed syllabi, she is starting a degree with the Open University in January (she'll be 16 by then).

Coronavirus willing, she will do an AS Level English Language in the Autumn.

So - in answer to your question, it is perfectly feasible for home educated children to do i/gcses (so long as no coursework is involved). I think it is probably easier to organise in England than in Scotland, but we did manage it up here!

Good luck!

UndertheCedartree · 01/06/2020 00:31

@qwerty1972 - thank you

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Saracen · 01/06/2020 13:07

Oh, I see! I was slightly confused by your question about GCSE subjects which are hard for HE kids to do. There are a few - drama and art among them - which are very very hard because there are controlled assessments. So people usually go for different subjects, or do those subjects but obtain a different qualification. The alternative qualifications may or may not be accepted by a college or uni as equivalents.

Otherwise though, your son has a broader choice than if he were at school. GCSE and IGCSE are completely equivalent, and then often there is a choice between several exam boards. You do have to identify an exam centre where he can sit them, which is a headache. Some charge far more than others, some only do certain exam boards, some will offer pretty much whatever you want if you shell out large sums of cash. Their policies on accepting private candidates can change from year to year. So that might dictate which exam board and subjects you choose. Some families are prepared to travel a long way and fork out for hotels to do the subjects they want or go to a good exam centre ("good" = reliable, accommodating, good communicators, comfortable environment - which may be essential for children with anxiety).

You may end up going to several different exam centres. Consider how much travelling you are willing and able to do in each exam season and check the published exam timetables before making a final decision. But if your son is like most HE kids, he'll probably spread the exams out over several years anyway, which gives flexibility.

Are you familiar with the HE exams wiki? he-exams.wikia.org/wiki/Subjects That is a good place to start. It has links to discussion groups.

You'll also want to be in touch with local HE parents, who can tell you about local exam centres, colleges, tutor groups etc.

Saracen · 01/06/2020 14:07

My eldest is interested in creative subjects. She's competent at academic subjects but not too interested in that style of learning. So she did practical hands-on work, self-taught. The original plan was to forgo GCSEs altogther and go straight into work.

Then at 18 she decided to go to uni after all and tried to go to college for a Level 3 art qualification. Both local colleges were impressed with her portfolio and initially said they'd have her onto that course despite lack of GCSEs, then both changed their minds and said she'd have to do Level 1, or Level 2 for no credit!! This was because government funding requirements dictate that college students aged 16-18 without high enough GCSE maths and English passes are required to do English and maths at college. This we knew, and she was prepared to do those alongside art. But the colleges, having no information to assure themselves that she was definitely capable of that, decided she must focus all her efforts on the English and maths to ensure she passed. They didn't want her "distracted" by art to the detriment of their English/maths pass statistics. That's my take on it anyway.

There was no way she was willing to add an extra two years onto her studies, so she gave college a miss and carried on with home ed, including some paid and voluntary work. She did English IGCSE by herself and maths at a college adult education class.

She's now off to uni this year to do animation. The universities all proved to be much more flexible than the colleges and she had good offers to choose from.

The moral I draw from this is that whereas in the past it has often been possible for home ed teens to get into college without the usual qualifications, if they can demonstrate competence, that is less true now and it would be wise to do English and maths GCSEs at least, and ideally meet all of the colleges' standard entry requirements. Talk to your local colleges to see what those are.

itsstillgood · 03/06/2020 23:41

We did GCSEs the same way as we did home ed up to that stage. Bought books and studied. Sat exams at a private exam centre.
For some subjects such as science, geography or English language it is usually more practical to do International GCSE to avoid the NEA aspects.
The Wiki Saracen linked is full of information and join the linked Facebook group.
I won't say it's easy to home ed through GCSEs but lots of us do it so definitely doable. Some use online schools, some private tutors, some course providers, some group tuition, some co-op type arrangements with other parents, some download the spec and buy a textbook and DIY. Most people mix and match approach depending on subject.

UndertheCedartree · 04/06/2020 19:26

@Saracen - thanks for all the info. I'm trying to gather information from as many different places as possible to get a good oversight.
@itsstillgood - thank you for that - very helpful

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