Home Education?

Question

Im living in the uk, my son who's 15 yrs old just started school today after being out of school for a year, he really doesnt like school due to previous bullying..but we have now moved to a nicer area, he didnt wanna go school which i enquired about home tutoring and was told from social worker i have to pay for his gcse papers when it comes to the time..does anyone know how much this is? just incase i do have to end up teaching him at home..

Answer 1

Yes, you will have to pay for his GCSE exams and the cost can vary from school to school. It is not the exams themselves which are expensive, but how much the school or college wants to charge on top. The total per exam can vary from about £25 to well over £100, so I would telephone your local schools and colleges to find out which one gives you the best deal. Also check which exam boards they use as they may not let you sit the exam unless you use the same one as they do for the same subjects that your son wants to do.



If (like me) you want to keep costs to a minimum then the following tips may be of use:



a) Spread out the GCSEs rather than do them all in one go. The exam boards offer winter as well as summer exams.



b) You don't need to spend a fortune on correspondence courses. Just buy books that are specifically written for GCSE subjects (try to get them second hand if you can). We only do one correspondence course and that is because for that particular subject, you cannot sit the exam as a private candidate.



c) Try to avoid coursework as it will cost you to have it monitored. At the moment OCR board are the best for offering coursework-free options in several subjects. However, this will become more difficult from 2011 as the QCA have brought in a "continuous assessment" element which promises, at the moment, to be an administrative nightmare for HE families. However, as your son is 15, it may not affect him.



d) For subjects where there is no coursework-free option, you could consider IGCSEs. Currently these are not available to state schools, but apart from (I think) IT, all subjects can be taken without coursework. They are equivalent to GCSEs and some independent schools are offering them as an alternative to GCSEs as they prepare students better for A level study. The two exam boards for IGCSEs are:



http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications/academic/middlesec/igcse/subjects



and



http://www.edexcel-international.org/quals/igcse/



Just for your information, I know that you can do the following GCSEs through OCR without coursework - there may be others though:



English Literature

Maths

Latin

Classical Greek

Classical Civilisation

RE



The following have a compulsory coursework element, so IGCSE may be a better option:

English Language

Modern Languages

History

Geography

Sciences



To get round the IT problem, there are alternatives to GCSE. We are doing the ECDL which can be done in stages at a time to suit you. See:



http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.5829



Finally, if you cannot get some books 2nd hand, then try:



http://www.bryntegbooks.co.uk/



They sell new books, but at a minimum of 10% discount, plus free postage. Sometimes they can work out cheaper than 2nd hand from Amazon.



Best of luck to you and your son.

Answer 2

I would say your best option if you decide to home school your son is to have him sit IGCSE exams instead of GCSE examinations. It will be alot less expensive in the long run.



IGCSE stands for international gcse, and it is equivilent to a normal GCSE and is accepted in many countries around the world besides the UK.



The benefits of sitting an IGCSE instead of a GCSE are:

- The is no coursework, so you do not have to worry about getting work externally verified - which is often both difficult and expensive. Instead you study the syllabus over 2years and then sit 1 or 2 exams per subject which your finally marks are based on.

- There are many exam centres around the country so its easy to find somewhere to take them.

- There are a number of subjects available, some of which are available as a normal GCSE



I was home educated myself and i took my IGCSEs last year with Little Arthur Independant School, here is the link to there site:

http://www.littlearthur.org.uk/



I can highly recommend them, the education packs they provide are very good and they have set assignments for you to complete and send in so you can assess how you are doing. They are wonderful at providing help and support and you can phone them should you be having any trouble with your course.



Each IGCSE with Little Arthur cost around £145 plus a very small enrollment fee when you register for the exams. Believe me this is very cheap for a qualification of this level.



I really hope things work out for your son, whatever path you choose and i wish him every luck for the furture.

Answer 3

What the Social Worker said is true, and for under sixteens it is the cost that makes it very difficult for home education.

You would be best advised to call your local college to find out exactly what the exams cost. I cannot find out exactly how much on the net. However, I have found this very good site offering loads of info about home tutoring.



I think that once your son has found that all schools are not the same, and that he isn't going to be bullied anymore he will soon settle and be able to take his exams with all the other lads. It is also advantageous that he attends school rather than home tutoring as he will be able to build new friendships, and social, and interpersonal skills too. He would be deprived of these if he were home tutored.



There is no need to rush him, thus giving him more pressure to contend with, since the school that my son attends, is also now offering lessons for the older pupils, which will see them through into more vocational qualifications, if the child is not so academic. They are also extending the age of children staying on until they are 18, if they so wish, and in fact will be law soon in the UK in about 5 yrs time.



I do wish your son luck, and happiness, and hope that he is able to settle at school. I know too how you must feel for him. I have been there.

Answer 4

Don't know the specific answer to you ??, but feel bad that your son has been bullied...I despise that type of behavior. If it is a decent school, maybe he can join something to make him feel like more a part of it. Or do soemthing extra on the side, like karate or something that might give him more self esteem to face the other kids every day. It may make in stronger to confront his fears instead of doing the work from home; he will need those coping skills to succeed in life. Good luck to him and you.

Answer 5

Hi! I'm 14 and doing home education in the UK. I started just last week after moving back from Spain. My mother ordered the GCSE courses ( they come in folders, including course work, assignments, answers, study guides, what you need, etc..) from http://www.nec.ac.uk/colleges/category-browse?category_id=3800. You can also choose to have a tutor or not, to send the coursework to. On http://www.education-otherwise.org/, you can read all the information and queries about home tutoring and your son can have other home schooling pen pals so he doesn't feel alone.

I hope it works out for him as it's working for me!

Answer 6

i don't know about your local college but i had to pay £100 for registration with the college and an exam fee of generally less than £50.

if you use a company sucth as oxford open learning it will cost more for the course

try this company

home:

http://www.ool.co.uk/index.htm

price list:

http://www.ool.co.uk/GCSE/GCSEPriceSheet.htm

i recommend this company as i have used them and liked them (never use ics)

here is a useful website if you are considering home education

http://www.education-otherwise.org/