GCSE support

[manchestermom5]

Hello everyone,
I need guidance on where to find resources and tuitions to support a 14-year-old. How does everyone apply for GCSEs if the child is not registered with a school? I am asking on behalf of my friend who has taken her child out of school for several reasons. Sending her kid to school is not an option anymore and enrolling the kid in an online schooling is too expensive.

[ciakace]

they will need to pay if not doing it via a school, As for registering for GCSEs independently, they can contact local exam centers or organizations that administer the exams for guidance on the registration process for private candidates.
just had a look at cloudlearn.co.uk
& its £260 each exam.
as for learning resources, bbc bitesize GSCE sector is great, as is YouTube videos explaining

[Whereisthesun99]

Your friend will have to find an exam centre that excepts private candidates plus pay for all GCSE exams they wish to take, please note a lot of GCSEs can not be taken if home educated e.g. geography, art, pe due to coursework, practical elements of the courses etc Some have IGCSE equivalent but not all.

[Saracen]

The process for arranging GCSEs (or often you may need or want IGCSEs instead) can be complex. Fortunately there is plenty of support and advice available from other parents who have done this or are doing it.

First, I would suggest that your friend read the information on this wiki, which is the go-to beginners' guide for the subject of sitting exams while home educating. On there can be found links to some national support groups she can join. https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki

Second, she'll want to be in touch with other home educators local to her. They can help her identify suitable exam centres within travelling distance. Also if appropriate, her daughter might like to learn the material by participating in local tutor-led study groups, where a tutor prepares a group of home educated young people to sit an exam. (A mix-and-match approach is popular, where kids may do one or two subjects via a study group while preparing others independently - so even if going the whole hog with tutoring all subjects would be too expensive, a more targeted approach involving a bit of tutoring might work well.) Another local option to explore is whether your friend's child could attend a 14-16 programme part-time at a college for one or more GCSE subjects; that has the benefit of being completely free in terms of tuition, exam fees, and centre fees. Finally, the mum and/or teen might enjoy getting together with other home educating families in person to socialise or learn more about how people home educate in practice.

Most local home ed groups are to be found on Facebook. She can type into the Facebook search bar "home education" followed by the name of her town or county or nearest big town. Let us know if she has trouble finding one, and we should be able to point her in the right direction.

[Saracen]

If it's any reassurance, bear in mind that home educated kids usually sit fewer exams than schoolchildren, typically just enough to get onto the next stage of education or employment. Five or six is often enough for that, including maths and English. Also, a popular approach is to spread exams out over several years, allowing the young person to focus better by doing just a few subjects before sitting the exams and then moving onto the next ones.

[rhino12345]

Looking at your username, if you're friend's near Manchester Manchester Grammar are usually very good at letting homeschooled kids come and sit exams in their hall. My cousin's son was homeschooled and he did his exams at MGS