Taking GCSEs as a private candidate before starting A Levels in the UK ....

[Hecho]

Has anyone been through this with their teenager? My daughter will be starting A levels next September at a sixth form college in the UK. She needs to have passed GCSE Maths and English, which isn't accessible where we live. She could do what I think is called the short course versions in her first term there; but we'd rather she gets them out of the way before she makes the move so she can concentrate on her new college, rather than going straight into exams in the first term. I'm exploring her choices as a private candidate doing the exams next summer. Has anyone done this? Could you share your experiences? Thanks!

You could ask local colleges

ask the college if they accept you country's gcse equivalent.

I don't have experience of this, but I wonder if you'd find it helpful to look into how home educators manage this. I know that some do iGCSE rather than GCSEs, which should still be acceptable to most colleges (probably worth checking this in advance though!). IGCSEs are literally international GCSEs, which is why I wonder if they could be more accessible to you/your child.

Oh, I've possibly slightly misunderstood your question, because it looks as if you do have options for taking them, it's more that you're looking for others' experiences. Nevertheless, you may find that there's some overlap with what home ed candidates do.

Thanks all. There are no options available locally for an external candidate, and the UK college won't accept the Spanish equivalent of GCSEs. Busybanana that's a good idea, and in fact I've been talking to some tutors who work with homeschoolers and can help us manage the whole thing, looks like that will be the best route : )

@Hecho

Thanks all. There are no options available locally for an external candidate, and the UK college won't accept the Spanish equivalent of GCSEs. Busybanana that's a good idea, and in fact I've been talking to some tutors who work with homeschoolers and can help us manage the whole thing, looks like that will be the best route : )

That sounds promising - I hope you get it sorted!

Thanks!

My son did his IGCSE' s as a home schooled student and will be sitting the actual exams next month at a private college. You can buy the revision and workbooks from Amazon.
There is a lot of information online 're IGCSEs.

Thanks Moon, I've looked at revision guides and other learning resources, I'll get some ordered. Good luck to your son in his exams!

We are home educators.

She could come to the UK and sit them as a private candidate at one of Tutor and Exams centers. She will need to do IGCSEs which are offered by Cambridge and Edexcel. Have a look at the syllabuses online - choose the one with the best fit (paper length for example will differ). And then book the exams (soon).
There are other centers but we have used Tutors and Exams and have been very happy with them. They have several locations too.

Thanks very much! I'll check this out, it looks like it could work well for us. I'll be talking to some tutors next week so hopefully they can advise too.

Just be aware that I think it’s not 100% certain schools will be running gcses in 2022.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-59251962.amp

I don’t know how it works for private candidates, but it might be sensible to enquire about what happens in this scenario. Eg could the exam center accept some work for center assessed grades?

Good point! I've been trying to get some information on this, but can't find specifics. I guess they haven't decided yet. Hopefully the tutors will be prepared and able to advise on this. Thanks for the link : )

Last year private candidates could get grades in one of two ways.

Working with a tutor recognized by the exam centre or in the case of Tutors and Exams they ran assessments for students without tutors so anyone who wanted a grade could in theory get one.

Alternatively they could defer to November ans sit them now.

Ah, that's interesting. We're planning on her sitting the exams in June; my daughter will be moving from Spain to start 4 A levels, so we're trying to spread the load a bit. The college have offered to arrange the exams for her in November, but it seems like a lot for her to take on in her first half term.

OP my experience is old - but when I moved back to the UK to take A levels they just made me take the then O levels in my first term - without any classes or studying, assuming that my Math and English language skills were sufficient.

You may find she can simply do this?

Thanks JesusWept. Yes, the college do offer to run GCSEs in Nov with supporting classes, and I think in the end it's what she'll go for. I was hoping to reduce the pressure on her in a new country, new college, etc. but I can't take her out of school here for a few weeks at the end of the summer term to do the exams in the UK. Really nice of you to contribute, having a range of input helps to make these tricky decisions : )