I have three children
We have done no formal education at all, simply living life and learning as they have gone along and followed their interests, until they were ready to do somerthing more formal.
One went to college post 16, did 2 GCSEs one day a week and then used that and an interview to get into FE college to do the A levels he wanted. He fitted in very well academically and socially according to the tutors and got very good results.
He's working now full time and saving to go to University, so he can come out with less debt.
Our middle child, chose not to do any qualifications. Instead she followed her own educational path and spent a couple of summers sailing around the country, she worked at a little local retail business part time, then a local business setting up WAP mobile phone internet services, she helped run workshops for women who were victims of domestic violence and helped launch a charity for young people with dyslexia. She used all of this life experience to get herself a job with a well known national organisation.
The youngest one has gone a different path again and chose to start her first Open University course aged 15, and achieved all of the outcomes and has now been accepted to do a National BTEC (equivelant to three A levels, I believe) on the back of the OU courses and her portfolio/CV. She has now to choose whether to go on to the college and then to a real life university or whether to carry on with the OU, to do her whole degree.
We know of plenty of others who have chosen to use the OU to gain qualifications, some doing their whole degree and some using their courses to prove an ability to study at the appropriate level to get into Uni.
We know one young man personally who is reading Law at Oxford, who has no GCSEs/A levels and went the OU route instead.
Another mumsnetter's son is at Manchester Uni and is their youngest ever person, to be doing a PhD there-in medical research-he did that after doing GCSES a few at a time by distance learning to start with.
We know of others who have returned to school to do GCSEs. It depends on what the youngster concerned wants.
Our children have loads of HE and formerly HE friends. Every one of them is gainfully employed, self employed, at University or college. Everyone of them I would consider successful.
Has your son met with many home ed teens?
I wonder if it would be worth going along to one of the camps this summer and meeting others and chatting to them, to see what they are all doing?
Would it be worth getting hold of some of the bumf from some of the distance learning courses-such as the NEC, Oxford Learning, Little Arthur School and having a browse through?
Have a look at the OU 10 point starter courses-I know of others who have started those at 13 and if he fancied something there, he could get started soon.
We were most impressed with the quality of the learning resources and the feedback and support from the OU tutors.
(Worth noting that £25 of Tesco vouchers will buy you £100 of NEC or OU courses)
Then there is the book Teenage Liberation Handbook : How to quit school and get a real life and education instead by Grace Llewellyn
"The Teenage Liberation Handbook will stir your emotions and lift your vision, whether you?re a teenager or a 42-year-old CEO. Although it?s written for teens, this book focuses on a theme all of us could stand to hear: learn what you love. Particularly helpful for those who prefer alternative education, such as online learners, these pages will make you re-examine your educational path until it?s something you truly want to tread.
Llewellyn sympathizes with teenagers who get a sub-par education, wasting hours of their time on worksheets, ?classroom management,? and other needless time-busters. Instead of such waste, she contends that teens should quit school and take charge of their own learning. Fortunately, this book isn?t just about lofty philosophical ideas. Llewellyn backs her claim with hundreds of pages of practical suggestions on how to claim responsibility for your educational life.
From finding mentors to using the library, this book?s chapters contains advice all of us should know, but don?t. Some of the gems include:
? ?School is Not for Learning?
? ?The Importance of the Vacation?
? ?Your Tailor-Made Intellectual Extravaganza?
? ?Using Cultural Resources?
Before you open the cover, be forewarned. You may be inspired to quit your desk job, haunt the library, and fulfill your dream as professional chess player. But, that?s okay. Make the most of it and enjoy your intellectual journey. I know I will."
An American book but well worth getting hold of for your son to read IMHO.
It is the book that finally showed me the freedoms that home education can bring.
HTH a little