Taking GCSEs outside of school

[Minustendegrees]

Hello

The options at my son’s school are quite limited and he’d like to take options that he’d enjoy outiside of school. Has anyone’s child done this? What are the pros and cons? Did you use an online school?

I’d be grateful for any advice.

You could join the Home Education UK Exams & Alternatives group on facebook

Thank you! This is very helpful.

You’ll probably have to enter as a private candidate and pay

You would have to pay, my son did a resit and it cost £48 7 years ago so no idea what it is now.

Yes, don’t mind paying the exam fee. I was interested in the logistics of learning outside of school. Eg how was homework managed, was the teaching from online schools good, we’re there any challenges?

I know a few people who did the Astronomy gcse in year 9. Through Greenwich Observatory somehow.

OP tutors will be used to working with DC who are not in school (HE or for other reasons) an guiding them through the work for an exam. Teaching from tutors and schools online will vary of corse, depending on the person.

You will need to find somewhere to sit the exams - your child's school may be an option but there are also exam centres for C who are HE or not in school an thus have no access to a school exam centre.

Homework will work the way it does with any teacher or tutor - a good tutor will set and mark HW as part of the service they offer.

What subjects does your DC want to take?

Note that he will still have to take a 'full set' of GCSEs in school. They won't let him off one option because he is doing one at home.
This means that come exam time her will have an even higher revision and exam load.

(Nothing to stop him learning for fun outside of school without the GCSE pressure.)

That’s interesting. I was holi my he could drop 2 school options to take HE ones. I’ll ask school about this.

A lot of schools will insist they are in lessons all day but if yours has already told you that's not the case, then brilliant.

They may be happy for him to leave early/come in late on days he has study periods first or last thing.

I'm mainly here to find out more though. How much tutor time per GCSE for example?

Most schools will say a flat-out no to dropping any options within school, unless there's a really particular reason. That's partly because of the supervision issue - students need to be in a lesson all the time; making alternative arrangements is difficult. They also need students to do at least 8 subjects in school to count for the Attainment8/Progress8 measures. If they're only offering a limited range of GCSEs, I'm guessing they're not getting them to do 10 or more?

Are you saying that you don’t feel that the school offers enough GCSE options?

Has the school told you he can drop 2 of their options for home ed ones? If so that would be VERY unusual.

My daughter was allowed to drop one option at A level but she was over 16, on a very specific course at a very unusual (private) college) and the GCSE teacher was still acting as a subject mentor for her.

At GCSE they simply won't have anywhere for your child to go during those lessons, they have to be supervised.

Wow @Minustendegrees I am really surprised that school have said it is OK with him dropping two in-school GCSE options. What will he do in that time? They cannot have him unsupervised in the library, even if you know he would work well.

@Piony about amount of time for GCSE – I have tutored (I am not advertising here btw!!) a DC through GCSE with about an hour of 1-1 time a week over a two-year period. This time also allows for a decent amount of independent work from the student btw – I would typically allocate HW that would take up to an hour on a weekly basis.

DC will usually do 2-3 hours a week on a GCSE subject but tailored learning on an individual basis and 1-1 time means you can cover the work in less time IME. That’s not a criticism of teachers – I used to teach full time in school – but simply an acknowledgement of the fact that an hour’s lesson in a school, with 29 other DC, does not equal an hour’s learning – it’s impossible.

At A level it’s different and I think A level needs closer to the school allocated time.

@clary sorry for the typo. It should have read that “I was hoping he could drop 2 options.” School have not confirmed anything. I need to ask, but the consensus here seems to be he wouldn’t be allowed to. Thank you for your advice and insights - very helpful.

@clary thank you, that is all super helpful.

I have a school meeting later today and so will update.

@Piony are you thinking of doing the same?

@Minustendegrees no, very different situation. Child struggling to attend school.