Home Schooling - how easy? GCSE's out of school?

Question

My friend dropped out of school just before christmas for many reasons, mainly because of their friends had turned against them and were bullying them terribly. They are in the same year as me, (Year 11, last year of school). This means that they will not be able to do their GCSE's, I was wondering if anyone knew how easy/straight forward it is to start being home-schooled, (or perhaps if there is a way of teaching one's self or being taught online).and if theres a way of taking the GCSE exams outside of school. Also...if there are any legal requirements (other than 'it's illegal to skip school') because my friend is 16 so legally he can quit now.

Bit of a long-winded question but if anyone can help with any btis of it I'd be very appreciative.

Answer 1

It depends on how dedicated the person is, really. There are no legal requirements, it's just about what he/she wants to achieve. The very best way to get GCSEs and do well would probably be to do NEC distance learning courses in a few GCSEs. All the work will be provided with explanations and assignments to complete and a tutor to help over email/phone. These are very good for people who are motivated enough to study, only downside is they're a bit pricey. Here's the link for more info: http://www.nec.ac.uk/info/

Other than that, speaking to the school itself would be a good idea, to see if your friend can be entered for exams there.

Answer 2

I am homeschooled and it's not that hard. It's basically like doing homework all day. You have to have a certain number of hours per year, depending on where you live. It's an advaantage over public school because you get done w/ homeschooling faster and graduate earlier.

Answer 3

You need to contact the Education Department of your local council to tell them that you are being taught at home.  They will make sure you know which subjects you need to do, and will put you in touch with any other Home Teaching Families in your area.

The best way of doing your GCSE Exams is to conact the Exams Office of your local college and register with them as an external candidate for each exam you want to do.  They will probably charge you a fee for each exam, this is to cover the cost of getting the exam paper, and paying the person who will invigilate the exam (make sure no cheating goes on).

As soon as you celebrate your 16th Birthday you can LEGALLY walk out of school, and no one can force you to go back.

Answer 4

I think these links will help you as they have all the expert information on homeschooling.

http://www.heas.org.uk/

http://school.familyeducation.com/home-s...

http://life.familyeducation.com/parentin...

Answer 5

a) You don't have to do GCSE's it is not a legal requirement. I home educate my 2 children and neither will do them - they are doing a baccalaureate style curriculum

b) You don't have to inform your local education authority - it's up to the head teacher of your previous school to do that

c) The only legal requirement to being home educated is that you are actually given an education - there are no guidelines on what should be taught, when or how.

Answer 6

Try looking at the EDUCATION OTHERWISE website. They should have answers to your questions. Home educators get no financial help from the state regarding costs of GCSEs.

Answer 7

I am assuming you are in England.  If so, did your friend's parent or guardian write to the headteacher of his school to say that he would be home-educated from now on?  It is crucial that they have deregistered him properly, otherwise your friend could be got for truancy because he is still on the school's register.  It is up to the school to then tell the LEA that a pupil has been deregistered;  the parents do not have to contact the LEA or ask their permission.  Compulsory education age in this country ends at the end of June in the academic year you are 16.  You can't just 'quit' before then even if you are 16 the previous September.  If your friend hasn't already done so, suggest he takes a look at the Education Otherwise website which has lots of useful information (including the legal situation).  There's a range of good home-education support groups round the country, and plenty of e-mail lists.  Education Otherwise is just one place to start.

Apart from the suggestions other people have made, your friend could also just rest and recover for the rest of the academic year and maybe get on with educational things that really interest him (that school may not have done) and that are fun to learn and explore on his own.  Once you are away from the limitations of a school curriculum all sorts of things become possible.  Can your friend work out what he really wished he could have studied at school (but couldn't because it wasn't on the curriculum) and see if he can go into it in depth now...  website design... family history... start an allotment... get involved with a charity... draw cartoons... start a business... learn a foreign language that none of his friends speak... become expert at cooking puddings... restore a piece of scrap machinery... ?   It's all educational!

Or, if he does want to get his exams, he could just study one or two GCSE subjects this summer.  There is nothing to say that you have to take all of your GCSEs in one sitting.  Are there any he was doing that didn't need coursework?  Are there any he was particularly good at?  If he thinks he could go it alone, he needs to find out the exam board and reference numbers for the syllabuses he is doing.  All the exam boards have websites and he or his parents ought to be able to download or buy the syllabuses and some past papers.  They also may list recommended text books (or maybe the school would help with this).  He will have to register for the exams fairly soon - deadlines are looming - and find an exam centre where he can sit the papers.  Again, maybe the school would be willing to have him back just for that.

Another possiblity is that he waits until next year and does GCSEs through your local FE college in the day or as evening classes. It may not cost anything to do that. There are no rules that say you have to get all your GCSEs at 16.

There's also something called International GCSEs (or IGCSEs) which state schools aren't allowed to offer but a growing number of private schools do.  They are a bit tougher academically, I think, but just about all of the main subjects can be done without coursework or practicals.  The exam boards that offer IGCSEs are Edexcel and CIE.  Lots of home-edders in the UK opt for IGCSEs.  You still have to find an exam centre to take you as an external candidate though.  One of my children sat IGCSE English last summer and it was very straightforward.  We just used downloadable  Edexcel materials from their website (including a useful workbook) and did masses of practice papers.  I was able to help though.  I think it is easier if you have someone to work with you if at all possible.

Lastly, there is the option of doing no school-type exams at all and some home-educators follow this route.  If they want to go to college or university later they might do access courses through their college of FE or courses with the Open University where you need no paper qualifications at all to begin a degree.  These are not easy options - you still have to work really hard - but plenty of people manage to get where they want academically without following a traditional GCSE/A level route.  It may take a bit longer but may be more fun as well.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

What you do is find public exam centres via HEAS or EO locally which do international GCSEs, and enroll for those.  IGCSEs are completely exam-based, so there's no coursework requirement.  You can also do OU courses.

Most home educators in the UK are autonomous - that is, the children learn for themselves and their parents facilitate.  It's really straightforward and simple.

Schools are basically a childcare solution.  They have little real connection to education and generally impair it through busy work and targets.

Incidentally, EO are in serious trouble internally and you should probably avoid them.  However, the info on their website is probably reliable.

Answer 9

of course, i went through the same thing (i mean one of my friends dropping out of school as soon as they turned 16).

has he spoken to the head of year and quit properly? because if he hasn't, then he hasn't quit, he needs to because it is still skipping school and it is still illegal.

next, schools work differently. usually they might keep him enrolled in english, maths and science (so he still gets 5 GCSE's) and he'll only have to come in for those classes. others might make him leave school properly.

if your school is the latter, than he will be dropped from the GCSE course and will have to enroll again with the exam boards. unless the school gives him her coursework back (which is unlikely) he will have to pay a professional tutor to sit down and watch him redo it, then pay them to mark and moderate and then send it off (per piece of coursework).  chances are, so late on in the course, he may have to wait until next year to be able to do all the work plus the coursework etc. before she can sit the exams. he'll have to pay for the exams, these can cost anywhere between £30 - £120 per exam (yes, modular exams you have to pay per as well).

it's not that easy to pass because even if he pays for a tutor (around £40 an hour) he'll probably only see them once or twice a week, so he won't have the help she'd have from her teachers and he would need to do a lot more studying than usual just to pass. to take the exam, he would have to go to a venue (this would either be a school or college) and sit it there (depending on the place he goes (not that he gets a choice, it is up to the exam board) then he might have to pay for that).

my friend in the end, left school in Febuary and took her exams in June/July. she paid a private tutor £48 to teach her english, maths and science and he came twice a week. she then paid her fees per exam and then had to pay her venue (the school she ended up leaving) £80 to be able to do her exams there. in the end, here is what she got:

english: D

Maths: D

Biology: C

Chemestry: D

Physics: E

ICT: merit (BBBB)