GCSEs:
Despite what some people believe, it is absolutely possible for your home educated child to achieve GCSEs (or at least the equivalent IGCSEs). The only barrier is finances, as you do have to pay for your exam fees yourself as a private candidate, and this can be quite pricey.
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What is the difference between GCSEs and IGCSEs?
GCSEs are regulated by Ofqual in the UK, and they are purely UK based qualifications. They are not available to be taken in other countries, and similarly they are not recognised by other countries.
IGCSEs are not regulated by Ofqual, and they are internationally recognised (with the I standing for International). This means they can also be taken abroad.
In terms of being recognised in the UK, there is no difference. Colleges and universities will accept IGCSEs in lieu of GCSEs perfectly readily.
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Why do many home educated children sit IGCSEs instead of GCSEs?
There's a good reason for that. Many GCSEs require practical elements such as scientific experiments, speaking (oral) examinations, or coursework to be completed as part of the exam, and this makes up part of the grade.
Without access to the proper equipment / teacher support etc. to be able to complete these additional elements, many subjects are simply too awkward to be achieved in GCSE format by home educated students.
By contrast, IGCSEs are purely exam based, so there's no fuss.
Some subjects are ONLY available in GCSE format, such as GCSE Classical Civilisation or GCSE Astronomy for example (among others).
This can be fairly straightforward such as in the case of Class Civ as this is purely an exam based GCSE anyway.
Astronomy is more complicated as you have to complete some observational coursework which has to be signed off by a teacher or tutor, however there are ways to work around the problem. In this case, the Online Astronomical Society is willing to sign off the observations by private candidates for a fee. (They also offer a full course if you prefer, which includes the coursework sign off).
Other subjects have no coursework or extra practicals even if you choose GCSE, but you can opt for IGCSE if you prefer. In this case it's a matter of personal choice.
There are numerous exam boards offering GCSEs, such as OCR, AQA, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC, and CCEA.
By contrast, in the UK there are only 2 exam boards which offer IGCSEs. These are Cambridge (known as CAIE or CIE), and Pearson Edexcel.
Many IGCSE subjects are offered by both exam boards, with the subject content being just slightly different, and the exam formats being again differing in length or the number of exam papers may vary.
As an example, both Cambridge and Edexcel offer IGCSE English Literature. There are different sets of poetry and prose to study for each course, and the exams are slightly different. In this case, have a look through the specifications of each exam board, and see which one you like the sound of. It doesn't matter which one you choose.
Sometimes one exam board may offer two choices for the same subject. Edexcel offers IGCSE English Language A or IGCSE English Language B. Again, look through the criteria of each course and see which one sounds more appealing. You might decide to choose neither, and instead you may pick CIE English Language, which again is different.
As you can see there is a fair amount of choice for GCSE and IGCSE students. It's true though that a few subjects are definitely harder for a home educated student.
Art, Drama and P.E. can be complicated as they are all very physical, so many home ed students simply do not opt for those subjects. There are ways around it though if your child has their heart set on these subjects, but you would have to find an exam centre to accommodate the exams.
You can mix exam boards however you like, and you can mix IGCSEs and GCSEs to suit your child. There is nothing stopping your child sitting a mixture of GCSE and IGCSE subjects from various exam boards.
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Finding An Exam Centre
Tutors and Exams is one of the most accommodating for a wide range of subjects and exam boards, and they are the most likely to be able to assist if you've chosen a subject with practical elements:
www.tutorsandexams.uk
You can also sit exams at local exam centres (such as 3A Tutors Ltd in Bristol www.3at.org.uk ) or sometimes local schools, but many can be more hit and miss than Tutors and Exams, although many others are less pricey. Fees vary from one exam centre to the other. Google is your friend so do your research.
Make sure you check which exams your chosen exam centre will accommodate before you embark on choosing your courses, this is very important.
Also, check the entry deadlines for the exam entry. You will need to book your child into the exam centre several months in advance. If you miss the deadline for entry, this will cost you extra in late fees.
Exam fees are always separate to course fees. Even if your child studies with a tutor, or with an online school, you are still responsible for booking the exam at an exam centre, and paying the exam fees.
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Does my child have to take all their GCSEs / IGCSEs at the end of Year 11?
No. GCSEs or IGCSEs do not have to be taken at the age of 15 / 16 (Year 11 age). If you want to, there's nothing at all stopping your child from taking some early to spread them out.
Taking some subjects at 13-14 (Year 9), some at 14-15 (Year 10), and some at 15-16 (Year 11) is very common.
Alternatively taking half at 14-15 and the other half at 15-16 is also very popular.
In a mainstream school setting, children study GCSE material over the course of two years, but many home educated children prefer to condense this into 1 year, which makes it easier to spread out exams by concentrating only on the current subjects due to be taken that year.
For example :
Your child may opt to study 2 subjects in the equivalent of Year 9 and take the exams at the end of the year, then study another 4 subjects in Year 10 and take the exams at the end of that year, and another 4 subjects in Year 11 and take those exams at the end of that year
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How to decide how many GCSEs / IGCSEs to study.
The best plan of action is to work backwards. If your child knows which profession they want to be, then look at which qualifications they will need in higher education to achieve this goal.
For example :
If your child wants to be a psychologist.
-They need to study psychology at university to achieve this goal.
-In order to gain entry to their unversity of choice, they see that they need three good A levels with at least one relevant subject. They also need GCSEs in English Language and Maths.
-Your child decides to study Psychology (the chosen relevant subject), English, and English Literature for A levels.
At this point you would look at your chosen college's subject entry requirements.
You already know at this point that your child needs GCSEs in English Language and Maths in order to meet the university's criteria.
College may also expect a GCSE / IGCSE in English Literature in order to study A Level Literature, and they may expect a GCSE / IGCSE in a science subject in order to study A level Psychology.
So you know by now that your child must take GCSEs (or IGCSEs) in English Language, English Literature, Maths, and a science.
Your child may decide to choose Biology, so now you have decided on 4 subjects.
At this point, double check how MANY subjects your college requires for general entry. Most colleges require at least 5 GCSEs for general entry, but some may ask for more. In this scenario, GCSE Psychology seems a reasonable fifth subject, given that your child has an interest in Psychology.
Any additional GCSE subjects after you have met the college entry requirements, and individual subject requirements, are purely optional.
More GCSEs / IGCSEs look great on university applications, but you at least have an idea of the bare minimum needed. If finances are tight, you may want not want to add too many extra subjects.
If your child has no idea what they want to do in future, you may want to consider a wider range of GCSEs / IGCSEs will keep their options open.
In mainstream schools, students sit around 10 GCSE subjects because they keep things quite broad and open for future decision making.
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Does your child HAVE TO sit GCSEs or IGCSEs?
No. Functional Skills are a valid alternative to GCSEs / IGCSEs, and BTECs can be taken instead of A levels, and can even be another route into university.
Some students prefer the idea of continuing later with work based training rather than study.
Every child is different, and some children prefer less academic routes.
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How can your child learn GCSEs or IGCSEs at home?
Self study:
The cheapest way is for the child to simply self-study using textbooks (make sure you buy the correct textbook for your chosen course, appropriate for your chosen exam board and syllabus), supplemented with any free online resourcse you can find, such as study guides produced by other parents, YouTube videos, and using past exam papers. This requires a lot of discipline and motivation as there are no tutors or regular assignments, so drawing up a daily schedule and being very organised is recommended.
It takes about 120 hours to complete the study required for a GCSE / IGCSE subject, and then you want to add some revision hours on top of that closer to the exam period, so work out a good timetable which will split the study hours over the period of a year.
It's a good idea to check in on your child as they are studying through the day. Make sure the schedule is working for them and they aren't getting distracted. Every student studies differently. Some can study for hours at a time, whereas others might prefer 20 or 30 minute study sessions at a time, with short breaks in-between. Try to eliminate any distractions in the room they are studying in.
Online schools:
Some people want the complication of home education to be taken care of for them, so although this is the priciest option, it's also the most complete. Online schools are exactly what they say on the tin. Online live timetabled lessons, very much like in a real school, except your child doesn't have to leave the house.
Distance Learning Providers and Tutoring:
If an online school isn't quite right (or the cost is offputting), but you still feel as though your child needs a bit of external support, you might want to opt for a Distance Learning Provider or a live one-to-one tutor. DLPs offer your child a way of studying more independently in their own time without sticking to a rigid timetable from an online school, but they also offer full tutor support via email or private message, although there is no live instant help. All course material is provided so there's no need to purchase any additional textbooks (unless you want to).
College:
Despite being home educated, if your child is age 14-16 they can study GCSEs in college. Here is a helpful link which explains this further:
http://edyourself.org/articles/14-16collegeFAQ.php
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How do I find out which topics my child ought to be studying?
The syllabus for each subject is available on the website of the exam board. Every website varies a little, but to give you an idea...
- If your child wants to study IGCSE Biology from the exam board Edexcel, first you would type into Google: Edexcel IGCSE Biology
- Click on the first search result - this will take you to the Edexcel IGCSE Biology page.
- On this page you will see (over on the right in a green box) a link for : Specification and sample assessments
- If you click on this link, you will be taken to a new page which has a grey bar across the middle for: Specification.
- Click the small black arrow on the grey bar to drop down the menu to reveal a PDF for : Specification
This will download the file and you can look through it to find the specification for the subject (i.e. the specific topics child needs to study.) It should also tell you what to expect for the exam.
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Resources link:
Here is a good list of DLPs, tutors, and online schools:
https://www.tutorsandexams.uk/our-learning-partners/
This list are the official learning partners of the Tutors and Exams examination centres. Studying with one of these providers will reduce the exam fees if you book your exams with Tutors and Exams.
Whilst you can be sure that all the providers on this list are reputable, there are, of course, other course providers and tutors which are not partnered with Tutors and Exams which are equally reputable, for example Absorb Online Learning, Catherine Mooney, and many more.
