Coursework again! I am in the UK.?

Question

I have just started teaching my daughter at home (she would be in Year 8 if she was at school) and there are two or three GCSEs that we feel she can take early. I am totally confused about coursework.

I know that the coursework has to be monitored by someone else. Does that mean that my daughter would have to sit at the person's house whilst she does the work? Also who actually marks it? Is the exam board or the centre through which she does exam?

Where possible, we will opt for no coursework but for many subjects it is compulsory.

Answer 1

She's only in year 8! Unless she's a mega-genius, there's no way you can know this yet.

I really recommend you don't rush her into this even if she is bright enough to pass. Unless she is guaranteed to get a top grade, there is absolutely no advantage to doing GCSEs this young, and lots of potential disadvantages if she doesn't end up with A or A*.

I know that where teachers mark coursework, they have to send a certain percentage of it off to an external marker via the exam board. Since you'd be the teacher and only have one candidate, I'm pretty sure that would mean that your daughter's work would go to the board. Unless she would be sitting her exams at a school, and you could come with some agreement with the teachers there to mark hers too?

Answer 2

As far as I am aware, if you want to take qualifications outside of a school and through a centre, you must register a private candidate. If you feel she has the ability to take the GCSEs now, then you surely must know the exam boards she will be taking. Call up the board and ask for a booklet containing a list of all centres which offer that board. Some centres have the facilities for coursework marking and some do not.  You have to call and ask; it varies from centre to centre. I am fairly certain that your daughter can do the coursework wherever she wants without any supervision. You must, however, have a teacher or tutor mark it before it is sent off to the board for further inspection.

I would strongly advise against about taking these GCSEs early. It is likely she will not be properly prepared for them. Even if she shows an aptitude for these subjects, then this suggests that other areas need tightening. The effect of taking these GCSEs will mean an inordinate amount of work will go into these subjects, whilst her weaker areas will be neglected and deteriorate further.

I believe that your decision to home school your child may be a good one for now. But I recommend that you try to find a school where she will be happy, instead of schooling her at home.

Answer 3

I wish you the best with your home tuition but I feel you ought to have gone rather more deeply into it before this.

Enter  "Elective Home Education" into a search engine and you will be able to access just about any information you need.

Answer 4

Many GCSEs are offered on different syllabuses by different boards, just opt for the ones without coursework. You do not need to worry about GCSE work until the start of year 10.

If you are struggling with subjects consider a home tutor for an hour a week for the subjects you struggle with. You can work alongside and he/she will give you as much guidance as you need.

Answer 5

hi, i'm from the UK as well, and i took my GCSE's in June and July with the rest of the year 11's in my school. year 8, it would be better if you can tell us what subjects she is taking, i mean if it is something like maths or english lit. then she might be better waiting an extra year or so, because these subjects need at least a year of revision to go over EVERYTHING, especially since they have taken away the Intermediate tier and if she is taking the higher tier then she might struggle, if she is taking the foundation tier, then it shouldn't be too bad. I would suggest that before you enter her, you get some practise papers, make her sit them as a real exam in exam conditions and then mark it and see which grades she gets. If she is getting a C or below, then wait an extra year, because then she could get better.

As for coursework...because she is being homeschooled she may have to be at a private tutors house to do it under strict supervision, although some subjects such as english may allow her to do it at home. Usually the school marks the coursework and sends the grade off to the examiner, the examiner then chooses a sample which will be sent in to make sure the teacher has been marking fairly and correctly. However, since she is being homeschooled, although i am not 100% on this, i assume either a tutor will mark it ans send the grade off, or it will need to be marked by the examiner.

EDIT:

i think you should push her if you want to, you know what is best for her. by expecting an A you are putting too much pressure on her though, i know that from experience, just be happy with whatever she gets as long as she tries her best.

Answer 6

I suggest you get in contact with your local Education Otherwise group. (web site http://www.education-otherwise.org/) They should be able to put you in contact with someone who can talk you through all the ins and outs of GCSEs

Here is a link to their page on GCSEs which seems to be a good starting point: http://www.education-otherwise.org/Links...

Good luck!

Answer 7

I'm not in England but I did hear that often  homeschoolers in the UK opt to do the iGCSE (international GCSE) as apparently there is no coursework involved. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=IS...

Alternatively they skip GCSE's entirely and go straight to A Levels.