Can you take GCSE if your homeschooled?

Question

well i just moved to the UAE...and only got a few months to study the subjects for GCSE...and thinking of going homeschool since i dont have much time to study...so just wondering if you are allowed to take GCSE when you're homeschooled...and what subjects do they offer in the UAE...and whats the minimum subject do you have to take??please answer!!thnx!!

Answer 1

yes but i think you have to pay for it i'm not 100% sure

Answer 2

Yes, you do International GCSEs and enter in an exam centre there.  The advantage of IGCSEs is that they're entirely exam-based.  Do as many as you like.

Answer 3

Yes, you can.

Check out the following for info:

http://www.oxfordhomeschooling.co.uk

http://www.briteschool.co.uk

http://www.homestudy.org.uk/mercers_coll...

They're just three of your options. I'm not from the UK (I'm 15 and am a lifelong homeschooler though, lol!) but I'm sure they're not the only people who provide homeschoolers with the means to do their GCSEs. In fact I know they're not but I can't think of any other names at the moment, lol! If you tried google...

Alternatively you could simply decide what subjects you want to study then you just get copies of the relevant syllabii from the exam boards, teach yourself and then enter yourself for the exams as an independent candidate. Are there any English private schools in the UAE? Do they offer either the GCSE or IGCSE? If so, you might be able to sit your exams with them as an independent candidate.

The minimum number of GCSEs you 'have to take' is one. Actually it's zero - GCSEs are not compulsory - but if you want to take any at all, you can do just one GCSE or you can do as many as you can manage and you can persuade your dad to pay for!

I think most people who choose to do GCSEs whilst living overseas, as well as many homeschoolers living in the UK, opt to do the IGCSE though (IGCSE = International GCSE) simply because it doesn't have the same requirement for course work. If you choose to take any GCSEs which involve course work then you/your parents will have to find someone authorised by the exam board to oversee your course work. I imagine that finding such a person *may* be a problem for you, prolly your greatest problem, whilst living outside the UK.

Alternatively you could just eschew the GCSE qualification altogether and go straight on to studying for your A Levels - you'd then have another 2 years rather than just a few months to organise yourself, organise your learning, train your parents, organise an exam centre, maybe return to live in the UK etc etc.

PS As a home schooler, you do not have to follow any requirements of the UK's National Curriculum (unless you choose to of course) so you'd be free to take any number of GCSEs, in any subjects, in any combination, over any number of years.

Answer 4

Yep you can do GCSEs when you're homeschooled. If you're that panicked and don't have much time, some people actually do A levels at home...

Answer 5

Hi there.  The main difficulty with doing exams on your own or via a live cyberschool like ourselves or via distance learning is where to SIT the exams: you need to find a place that will let you sit the exams you want.  Maybe the British Council in your part of the world will allow you to, or, probably cheaper, an expatriate school may allow you to sit as an external candidate.

However, you need to have your place sorted well in advance of the exams - if you want to sit exams this year (2008), for example, you need to find an Exams Centre for your board NOW !

Ideally, you want a place sorted by about December the year before you sit the April-June exams ...

However, not to worry too much as there are several expat schools teaching IGCSEs in Dubai: ask whether they are giving Edexcel or Cambridge exams, as these are the two IGCSE awarding bodies.