How do you home ed 10 GCSEs?!

[Blinkingbatshit]

Dd having miserable time at school - wants to home ed. If she stayed at current school she’d be doing 10GCSEs and i’d anticipate predicted grades to be straight 8s with poss the odd glitch of a 9 or 7. I do not have the brains to teach her and she’s not self starting enough to diy. What are the options? Do online schools cater for those doing this many exams? Her dream is to be a vet - she has the brains for the results but definitely needs the results to keep that option open. Just looking for experiences from others who’ve been there etc….Tia

What year is she? I don't have experience of this myself, but have overheard plenty of conversations about the topic, so maybe I can point you in the right direction. Self-study, local tutor-led study groups for home ed kids, online schools, and tutors are all options. Typically people do a mixture of approaches and providers for the different subjects.

Is it realistic to aim to be a vet if she isn't a self-starter? The home ed kids I know who are pursuing a highly academic path and aiming to get onto a competitive uni course are very motivated and organised. Would she consider a different career working with animals which doesn't require such high academic results?

Thanks for the response - maybe I’m being unfair….she stays on top of her homework and gets top/very high marks in most tests…she does this with a teacher expecting her to hand it in but if left to her own devices will be out with the animals all day everyday - she’s already ‘employed’ as help on a couple of local farms during the holidays & weekends😆… She’d need someone to guide her in what to study and how - for example she’d need chemistry…it’s not really possible to do the practicals at home.. I’m totally lost!

Here's a brilliant site with info about doing GCSEs for home educators: he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki It has links to some Facebook groups you can join to chat about it.

A common home ed approach is to spread exams over several sessions, making it easier to focus on each subject and get better results. I've heard that there may be a small risk that on a highly competitive uni course, this could be viewed negatively, because the young person hasn't proved that they can take on a high workload. I would imagine that's more relevant with A levels than GCSEs. However, it could be worth talking to the admissions people at some universities to ask whether that would be a problem when applying for their veterinary programme.

Most home educated children take fewer GCSEs. Even for the most competitive courses, you are unlikely to need more than 9.

What year is she in? Most home educated children take them over multiple sittings so if she is year 10 or below you have time. This is fine for most courses (n.b. courses that say "in one sitting" almost always mean no retakes).

My son is home educated and has all grades 9s with one 8 so far (6 taken 3 more to go). It is possible but she will need to be self-disciplined. I wouldn't recommend online schools. We started with an online school and realised they are pretty low quality and she would be unlikely to get top grades if she relies solely on an online school.

We used a combination of distance learning courses with my input alongside, self-study and we used a tutor for subjects that I don't enjoy.

You don't need to do the practicals for GCSE level science. You can do IGCSE science instead which is equivalent but there is no practical sign off. My daughter is in school and she says that doing the practicals in school is pretty unhelpful anyway as most of the time they are rushed, go wrong and hard to understand. She watches them on youtube after she's done them on school to see how they should work in practice.

Are you on facebook? There is a Home education exams and alternative group that you would find useful.

Thank you @Saracen - I’ll take a look👍

Look into further colleges - the rules may have changed so will need to research but I was able to do my GCSES (English, maths, additional science and science) as a night school.

You personally don’t need to tutor in all the GCSES but you can easily access what topics are in each course and can do the organising yourself.

Could probably pay a local 6th former (presuming that you don’t have unlimited funds) to tutor in the other subjects - if they have to do prepping etc it will also look good on their UCAS applications.

Is she due to take her exams this year or 2023? Id say, if this year, then just stick with perhaps English and Maths with 1 other subject she enjoys, then next year go to an FE college to do more. The ethos at a college may well be better suited to her.

Doing some subjects at college could well be an option. If you pursue that, I suggest having a backup plan and being ready to jump ship at an early stage if it isn't at the right level.

A significant proportion of college students will be re-taking GCSEs because they find academics difficult, so it isn't always a good fit for a higher achiever. Some academically ambitious kids I know have found college okay, though they may have to do more independent work than they'd like. Others have found the low level at which the course is pitched is a real problem, or even that they can't be entered for exams at the level they need.

My eldest DC had to kick up a fuss to be entered for higher tier maths, for example. The college didn't want to do the bit of extra admin to enter some students for a different exam. Most of their classmates needed foundation tier. DC and a few others from the class set up their own study group to cover the higher-tier topics, as those weren't covered in class. The tutor was very experienced and helpful, however, and offered to mark any higher-tier work which they produced.

If you're very lucky, you might be near a college such as New College Swindon which does dedicated home ed 14-16 GCSE courses.

Thank you all for really helpful responses - New College Swindon is too far really but not beyond the realms - will look into it. Thank you so much again - it’s great to have options!!

If she wants to be a vet then she needs to do chemistry at a-level and unfortunately practicals are assessed in the form of CPACs (alongside 3 papers at A2), which would not be possible in a home education setting. In addition- from pandemic experience, learning from home is not likely to result in the A\A* result she would need to apply for vet med; (not likely but not improbable). Good luck but maybe if she continues to refuse to go to school- she could instead apply for a foundation course at uni and go through to do vet med that way? I’m not sure if there is a course specifically for vet but they are available for medicine.

Ah thank you @Basilthymerosemary - she’s not refusing yet, I’m just getting all the info together so I can see if it’s a viable option. My plan would be to get the GCSEs done via home Ed and then go to sixth form for a levels👍

@Basilthymerosemary

If she wants to be a vet then she needs to do chemistry at a-level and unfortunately practicals are assessed in the form of CPACs (alongside 3 papers at A2), which would not be possible in a home education setting. In addition- from pandemic experience, learning from home is not likely to result in the A\A* result she would need to apply for vet med; (not likely but not improbable). Good luck but maybe if she continues to refuse to go to school- she could instead apply for a foundation course at uni and go through to do vet med that way? I’m not sure if there is a course specifically for vet but they are available for medicine.

A level sciences can be sat as a home educated student but you have to do the CPACs as a private candidate and they are expensive.

However, a lot of children who are home educated for GCSEs go onto some kind of college/sixth form for A levels because the issues that occur with younger years of school largely go away by that point.

You also cannot compare pandemic home learning to proper, planned, intentional home education.

I would also disagree that it's harder to get the top grades through home education than in school. I have one home educated and one schooled child and it has been way easier for the home educated one to get top grades.

I'm not saying that home education is the solution in all cases but the OP shouldn't rule it out on the basis that her daughter won't be able to achieve her potential.

There are lots of on line courses aimed at home Ed for GCSE or often IGCSE. Online or video lessons and marked assignments/homework. If she’s motivated it should work. You can just get the books and work through the syllabus but I like the reassurance of having the syllabus covered in on line lessons. Check out resources like Absolute Maths, Southwest Science, Humanatees, Homemade Education, Learntec, Dreaming Spires and English Elephant.

I did say unlikely not improbable…there are always exceptions. I am talking about A-level chemistry only- and that is from my experience as a teacher who specialises in chemistry and physics. Is your child who is achieving the top grades doing chemistry? If so I’m so very impressed that they are able to get the top grades in the subject- (genuine phrase even though it may not sound it). Exams boards will be reverting to pre 2019 grades within the next couple of years and to achieve an A you will need on average 89%. Even this year with grade inflation you will need 80% to achieve an A (from guidance given about boundaries). If you compare that to psychology (popular option) an A* is 55%. So comparatively very different depending on what subjects. Hence why my original post was stating that achieving top grades at ALevel in a home Ed setting would be unlikely but not improbable; it would be challenging to learn content and apply knowledge unless you have tutors throughout the 2yrs too.

But not impossible **

My point is moot anyhow was OP has said they will be going back into sixth form. Good luck OP!!! massive respect to home Ed. I couldn’t do it with my kids before I threw them out the door 🤣😂

Many home educators split the exams over two or more exam sessions. That makes doing 10 GCSE subjects much easier. The practice of taking all subjects at once is for the administrative convenience of schools, not the good of the children.

Many universities (apparently including cambridge) look at the best 8 GCSEs so doing 10 is not strictly necessary. One of the cambridge colleges had a statement on their website saying it was normal for candidates with IGCSEs to offer slightly fewer subjects as the courses were somewhat broader. This is pertinent to home educators since several subjects (science, comp sci, geog, eng lang) are almost always taken as IGCSE rather than GCSE due to the practical/speaking/fieldwork requirements of the GCSE).

Some people find online schools useful. Others go it alone. There is also the possibility of doing a mix of self-study for the subjects you're confident in, and online or local tutors for the subjects where you need help. No single solution will fit all circumstances.

It's true that domestic Science A levels have a practical component and that university offers are often conditional on this being passed. There are two options for home educators. You can either arrange to do the practicals as a course with a recognised provider or exam centre - there are several, but of course they charge a fee. Or you can do international A levels - pearson/edexcel have now said international A levels are available to candidates from online schools.

My youngest has done 6 so far, 4 more in summer - so will have 10 in total, and then off to 6th form.
It's more than majority do and more than needs. Probably ended up doing a couple of extras because of filling time during Covid. We were aiming for 8, I think for most things that is enough.
I am guessing yr 10? Go to the site Saracen linked, best read on laptop/pc. There is a new page - New to HE - linked from menu bar. It's written for those starting home educating during (or in run up to) exam years.
Things to consider.
You need to arrange and pay for exams. This unfortunately is easier said than done. The last few years have been difficult - Covid/exam cancellations have lead to many schools closing their doors to private candidates, at the same time the number deregistering at this age has sky rocketed. Whole counties no longer have an centre at all. We're increasingly reliant on private exam centres which have bumped up the average price of exams - my non-scientific estimate would be that the average price has gone up by about £50 per subject in last few years. Add to that people travelling further and often having to stay overnight. I don't say this to put you off but I think lots of people have never considered the reality of this and are caught out by how difficult/expensive it can be.
If you can keep a good relationship with the school, a good option is to ask if they will allow her to sit exams there. Some are willing to make exceptions for people they know even if they don't normally accept private candidates.
Another advantage of sitting at the school is it is the most likely way of sticking with the current subjects/exam specifications she is doing. Some options sat in schools can be difficult to access as a private candidate, you need to be prepared to change spec. It isn't a problem, there is overlap of content and plenty of time. But you need to make sure you research and educate yourself on this. The best source of advice is the HE Exams Wiki and experienced HEers on support groups. The advice is sometimes confusing due to many people having atypical experiences over last few years but plug through and you'll get there.
You will almost definitely need to switch to International GCSE s (IGCSEs) for sciences, geography, and usually best to for Eng Language). Some subjects like art, music and PE are incredibly difficult/expensive to arrange. The positive side is you have complete freedom to choose subjects. Don't feel you have to stick to what she was doing in school. A subject start to finish in less than a year is pretty normal in home ed circles. Take time to look at your options. Having to make decisions over which exam specifications to study can be overwhelming but there is advice and the most important thing is can you arrange the exams, as long as you get that bit sorted everything else is minor.
There is a huge spectrum of options between leaving your daughter to DIY and online schools. I recommend decide per subject. Last few years has seen explosion of tutors, online schools and educational services enter the market. Some may prove to be really good. Not all have experience of issues around sitting exams as a private candidate. Do your own research and pause, check terms, look for reviews (Inc how far back they go) before signing up to anything.

You're looking at a HUGE investment in time and resources, not to mention emotional pressure and stress on you both.

Is it worth investing some of that into investigating what's at the source of her troubles at school, and doing what you can to fix it so she can stay in school and receive the support, knowledge and expertise of qualified subject teachers for the next 14 months (assuming y10)? With holidays etc you're looking at max 260 school days before exams start in 2023.