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In need of help and advice - DS wants to HE / self-study A-Levels (not in UK)

17 replies

applepiesandwich · 27/03/2025 15:58

We don't live in the UK, but DS has dual nationality (British/German).
DS(18) has started the Abitur (a-level equivalent) course here at local school, but is really struggling with the fact you have to do all the subjects (and pass them all well) in order to get the qualification. He is passionate about his particular subjects, and happily spend hours doing extra reading/work just for the fun of it. But he's frustrated that were we in the UK he'd have been able to choose only those subjects and really get to grips with them. He doesn't think he can achieve excellent grades across all 12 subjects, which would mean he can't go on to study.
He's now come up with the idea of dropping out and HE/self-studying to get A-Levels. He's already done quite a lot of research - looked up the course requirements and curriculums, looked into online resources, contacted the exam centre in the UK, the university (here in Germany) that he wants to (eventually) study at, and the accrediting institution here who approve foreign qualifications.

He says he doesn't want to sign up to an online school. I had thought that that would be the right way to go, but having looked into it a bit I'm not entirely convinced. I do, however, think he'd need help and input at some point so perhaps (online) tutoring would be a good way to go - how would we go about finding someone? Is this whole idea completely mad? I really need some advice, experiences and tips here! Thank you!

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Octavia64 · 27/03/2025 16:06

The only people I have known self study a levels successfully did it with maths, further maths and physics and they were basically a maths genius.

otherwise it is generally not a successful route.

in general a teacher is needed.

Thisissuss · 27/03/2025 16:09

You can look up online tutors. They are in demand however as many people use them alongside regular schools. I assume he is fluent in English and could have an English speaking tutor?

Acc0untant · 27/03/2025 16:11

Which subjects?

Arri93 · 27/03/2025 16:16

I’m doing my A-levels online as a 31 year old mum of 3. If your child is not a highly motivated self-starter it will not work.

Biology, chemistry and physics are the subjects I’m doing and you have to pay for the practicals of the exam otherwise it doesn’t mean zip. After a 10% off because my sister referred me AND 20% off because I started late October, it still costs me £225 a month. Best of luck to matter what he decides. :)

applepiesandwich · 27/03/2025 17:25

Maths, Physics and German. He can't do Maths/Physics/Chemistry (which would be his preferred combination) as the university wouldn't accept that as a comparable qualification to the Abitur. He's very motivated (well, at the moment), but I don't know how that would go over a sustained time.
Are there any A-Level homeschoolers out there? How do people do it?

@Arri93 are you doing it with an online school?

Yes, he's totally fluent in English, it's his preferred language (we speak it at home).

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Acc0untant · 27/03/2025 20:15

Has he looked at the practical elements of physics? Where he can do them, how frequent they are, the cost etc.

I didn't do German A Level but if it's similar to the GCSE there was also an oral and listening tests, so same questions as above to think about.

Saracen · 27/03/2025 22:11

My information is all second-hand, based on spending loads of time in the home ed community over the years, but I may be able to point you in the right direction for some things. The go-to resource for newbies learning about doing exams while being home educated is the Home Ed Exams wiki: https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/A-levels Don't be put off by the clunky interface. From there you will find links to some good Facebook groups. (Facebook is currently the main way home ed parents communicate.)

HE kids who are doing A-levels nearly always do them at college or sixth form, because they need a good deal more support with learning the material than with (I)GCSEs. It follows that most home ed discussions about exams are all about GCSEs. Be sure to chuck the phrase "A-levels" in at the beginning of every conversation in order to make sure you're getting the right advice.

I only know a few kids who've done A-levels entirely under their own steam, and they were exceptionally bright. You'll probably need tutors. People sometimes get burned by working with tutors whose only experience lies in supporting for young people who are being educated at college, in which case the tutoring is supplementary. It's a different kettle of fish where the tutor is the young person's only source of teaching, information, and help. For example, tutors who don't work with HE kids may not understand the marking scheme inside and out, may not be familiar with the specific syllabus you're following, and may not have connections with exam centres. Make sure you ask all the right questions when engaging a tutor!

By the way, if your son wants a second opinion on whether he's on track for the results he wants, you can use a service such as https://www.markmypapers.com/ to mark his mocks. They use professionals who work marking papers for the exam boards, so they know what they're doing. There are other such companies too, but this was the one we used for my child's GCSE. I was really happy with the service. I think we paid about £30.

You can do science A-levels without the practical endorsement, but probably those won't be accepted if you want to read a science subject at uni, which I guess your son does?

If your son decides not to do German A-level after all, he should check how the universities want him to demonstrate his proficiency in German, since he won't have done the Abitur there. My German son-in-law did something roughly similar to what your son has in mind, and proving his German language skills to the universities was an expensive last-minute hassle! (My SIL was applying to uni from abroad, however, and I imagine it will be more straightforward for your son to sit the relevant exam locally.)

Will he have his A-level results in time to apply for autumn term, or is there some other plan?

I'm not familiar with the law on compulsory schooling in Germany. Will your son have finished compulsory education age by the time he begins his A-level studies? If not, will his studies meet the legal requirements?

A-levels

Most home-educated students go to college or sixth-form school to study for A-levels, or other qualifications such as Btecs. However, some students do continue to study from home at 16+. A(Advanced) Levels are an academic qualification typically taken...

https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/A-levels

applepiesandwich · 28/03/2025 15:03

Thank you for that information, really useful.
My understanding so far is that he absolutely would need some help because of the marking scheme, so looking for a tutor who could provide that would be a priority.
He's finding out from the uni regarding the practical element of the science exams ie is it a requirement or not. There's so much to have to consider! But he's just turned 18 so there is no more formal schooling requirement here, at least that isn't going to be a problem....

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OneBrightBiscuit · 31/03/2025 06:10

If you do edexcel international A levels there is no physics practical (it's assessed by written papers). For the domestic boards, there are some providers in the UK who will do all the practicals in one week and sign them off.
Maths and physics are doable online/independently. I'd recommend edexcel (international) rather than the other boards. For maths I'd look at getting a subscription to "integral". Uplearn is another one I've seen recommended but didn't use ourselves. Seneca is a reasonable revision tool but not enough on its own. There are 4 maths courses on EdX developed by imperial college which go over the key parts of the maths course.
I can't advise on German as we didn't do that one
I would still recommend getting a tutor for at least a couple of hours per week per subject. Most kids don't have the independence or study skills to negotiate a curriculum and study independently to that level.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 31/03/2025 06:20

Would a German A level be accepted? English schools have to differentiate between a GCSE in English and a GCSE equivalent in English as a second language for funding.

HarrietJonesFlydaleNorth · 31/03/2025 06:44

Perhaps it’s different in your state but I thought for the Abi you were only graded on your chosen (5?) subjects? Here in BW it’s three written and two oral exam subjects.
I know you still have to study the rest of them but I thought the grades don’t count towards the Abi score?

sashh · 31/03/2025 10:04

OP I thought home education was illegal in Germany. I think that is where you should start.

Other than A Levels would the uni accept OU course passes? The OU do allow under 18s to study and some UK unis will accept them.

sashh · 31/03/2025 10:05

Sorry I have just seen your update about him being 18, that will teach me to RTFT.

fairlygoodmother · 31/03/2025 10:29

Are there any schools near you offering International Baccalaureate? Just wondering if those might be a possibility because it seems like a reasonable compromise and more manageable than self studying A levels.

Six subjects instead of 12 and he could do Maths, Physics, and Chemistry at higher level. German, English and one other (humanity type) at standard level.

applepiesandwich · 31/03/2025 12:53

Thank you everyone for all the replies.
That's a good point about the German A-Level, I will discuss that with him.
The only option to do the IB near us is in combination with the Abitur, plus I think that at 18 he'd be too old to even apply there (it's an international school). He needs to pass all of them in order to get the Abi, even if only some count towards the final grade.
@OneBrightBiscuit that is very useful info, thank you.

Honestly I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I want to be supportive, but I'm not sure what the right thing to do here is. The easiest thing would be to just stay and do the Abitur- but that's assuming he has the motivation to do that. But then, if he can't motivate himself to do that, is there any chance at all he'll be able to do A-Levels on his own? Aarrggghhh!

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HarrietJonesFlydaleNorth · 03/04/2025 16:14

Ah ok, but passing all the subjects is not the same as getting excellent grades in all the subjects. (I’m in Germany but my kids aren’t at that stage yet!) Do they get a Zeugnis at the end of this year? Has he had any grades yet? I would probably encourage him to persevere with the Abi, but does he have a plan b if he can’t get the grades he wants for his course? Maybe think about other options? It sounds very tricky for you, I don’t envy you navigating this!

applepiesandwich · 03/04/2025 20:27

His mid-year grades were very good in the subjects he likes, and passes in the subjects he doesn't...but he says that he doesn't have the interest or motivation to keep that up for another 2 years. It's a LOT of subjects and a lot of work. So I do sort of see his logic, he'd rather concentrate all that work and effort on subjects he's actually interested in.
Other options would be not doing Abi or A-Levels, and forgetting about going to Uni. He'd then have to do an Ausbildung (has no idea what in though), or get a job.
As I said before, AAARRRGGGHHHH!

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