No online schools for Scottish curriculum?

[Bewildermum]

We've been looking for an alternative to state school for my 14 yo DD, who is in S3 at a big, crowded secondary in East Lothian. She has anxiety and OCD, and has been really struggling to attend. We've finally (probably belatedly) decided enough is enough and we're looking for an alternative. I've been looking into online schools, but there seem to be none at all that teach the Scottish curriculum - am I right about this, or have I missed something?

Any families in Scotland who've removed kids of her age from mainstream school in Scotland?

My Online School recommends that she'd need to start year 10 at the end of the summer to join their GCSE course - we'll keep this in mind but it's a shame there's not a Scottish alternative.

Have you asked the school? I'm sure there is but can't remember what it's called. I'll try and find it later.

Tbh with our child who failed some subjects at school and was working they found it impossible to sit Scottish qualifications as an external candidate. (There was a lot of coursework.)
Something I'd done years ago quite easily via college in England.
The whole system seemed rigid and about being present in a school or college for required hours per week.

No, you cannot sit Scottish qualifications unless in school or college.

I would suggest doing GCSEs or IGCSEs with the online school and sitting the exam as a private candidate at a private school that offers English qualifications.

From there, she might be able to re-enter the school system for Highers either at school or college.

Thanks Hetty and Stargirl, that explains a lot then . So Stargirl, it looks like your suggestion might be the way to go, with her not joining Y10 till Sept, so she gets the full IGCSE course. I wonder if she'd be unusual being a year older than others, or if there is already more of a mix of ages in online school?

It may not be a bad thing to give her more time to sit those exams over a longer time period - and this past year in S3 has been so stressful, I'm not sure how much quality learning she's been able to absorb anyway.

@Bewildermum just to reassure you, DD has been educated out of year at an online school for 7 years, it’s incredibly common and has never been an issue for her

Best move we ever made, currently in year 13 aged 19

I wouldn't let.the lack of specifically Scottish qualifications put you off.
Good luck.

Have you tried asking your local college (if there is one) or Edinburgh College?
I think distance learning with them might be an option for some subjects.

It was Edinburgh college we tried for highers.

The national 5 and highers have coursework / classroom assessed elements.

Thanks for your replies everyone, they've been really helpful. TomNook, that's great, I'm so glad it worked out for you. I'm going to have a quick chat with My Online School tomorrow and will look into Net School and others as well (also looking at Basil Paterson Middle School as a non-home-ed option).

I looked at Basil Paterson website.
I see they offer SQA mathematics for external candidates so that's worth knowing when certification is required.That was one we weren't looking for.