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Reply to: Home Schooling

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Previously on "Home Schooling"

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  • d000hg
    replied
    I know several people who are doing this though their kids are still primary age. It's all rather different to the USA where it's quite well-established and there are well-proven pathways, here it's still seen as pretty fringe/niche.

    It sounds like a lot (a LOT) of work but if you have the capacity and are serious about it, worth looking into.
    There are definitely a whole bunch of communities, groups, etc, covering this so I'd look for places like that where you can find people already doing this who know the system and can save you a lot of faff. They will have far more information on how to make it as painless as possible than me for sure, you can (probably) find a group locally who will welcome you and people might invite you to have a coffee and chat about it.
    Finding what local people in a similar situation makes sense in case you can pool resources, use the same courses/providers/exam venues, etc.

    Good luck!

    Leave a comment:


  • edison
    replied
    Originally posted by ContractorBanking View Post
    Interesting about the exam situation, can I ask, why is it difficult to take an exam externally?

    My friend's son took his GCSE Maths a year earlier than usual. The school was not supportive of this and wouldn't allow the boy to sit the exam through the school so they ended up taking the same exam externally (the kid got an A).

    This was about 5/6 years ago so no idea what its like these days but i always thought as long as you're paying for it, it should never be an issue.
    It still seems to be the case. My son took his GCSE maths aged 11 and had to do it at a state school a few miles away. It cost something like £200.

    He now wants to do his maths and further maths A levels two years early as he's taught himself the whole curriculum whilst his classmates did the first year of GCSEs. It's been a battle with his current school to enter him so we searched for other places that admit private candidates. Each one has their own exam board accreditations and rules but the one we found is an expensive private school that seems to have no problem letting my son do the exams at a cost of £440 per exam entry.
    Last edited by edison; 2 October 2024, 10:45.

    Leave a comment:


  • NonnyMouse
    replied
    Minerva and Kings Interhigh seem to be the most popular online school providers. Every area probably has a homeschool community group as well.

    Leave a comment:


  • BlueSharp
    replied
    Similar situation to a friend of ours.

    Their option was to send them to college to study for their GCSEs as some do a 14-16 provision which is GCSE. These colleges also make it easier to sit as independent candidates and can partner for homeschooling.

    Leave a comment:


  • ContractorBanking
    replied
    Interesting about the exam situation, can I ask, why is it difficult to take an exam externally?

    My friend's son took his GCSE Maths a year earlier than usual. The school was not supportive of this and wouldn't allow the boy to sit the exam through the school so they ended up taking the same exam externally (the kid got an A).

    This was about 5/6 years ago so no idea what its like these days but i always thought as long as you're paying for it, it should never be an issue.

    Leave a comment:


  • avonleigh
    replied
    Originally posted by merseygrit View Post
    Done it. Be aware that it's very difficult and expensive to get a school to enter them for exams as an independent candidate. Also, it requires a lot of effort on your part. We started early (5/7 years old) and it took some time to get over issues that school had introduced.
    Thanks for the info. I was aware of the exams cost but wasn't aware that it would be difficult to enter them, so that's good to know.

    Leave a comment:


  • merseygrit
    replied
    Done it. Be aware that it's very difficult and expensive to get a school to enter them for exams as an independent candidate. Also, it requires a lot of effort on your part. We started early (5/7 years old) and it took some time to get over issues that school had introduced.

    Leave a comment:


  • vetran
    replied
    Originally posted by avonleigh View Post

    She is in her third secondary school already. The last time though was cos she had to come to live with me as her mother threw her out. She has disabilities so does have a lot of name-calling and stuff. Which is why I am now thinking home schooling might be the best solution.
    Does she have a send classification?

    https://www.isc.co.uk/schools/sub-pages/send/

    One of the arguments against the VAT grab on private schools is how many SEND places they supply. Apparently government schools don't manage it as 40 kids per class isn't ideal.

    Leave a comment:


  • avonleigh
    replied
    Originally posted by dsc View Post
    I'm sure you have but just in case, have you considered changing schools? we moved schools when ours was 5yo as the teachers in the old one were dickish and didn't give two tulips about with some kids do to others (biting, hitting etc.), also they were super tulipe when it came to setting up boundries, time outs etc. The current school is super small and the teachers are wonderful and suddenly our child really likes going there, when previously it was a nightmare in the morning. Sometimes a change of scenery really does wonders.

    Are the problems mostly with other pupils or teachers as well? wellbeing related or teaching related or both?
    She is in her third secondary school already. The last time though was cos she had to come to live with me as her mother threw her out. She has disabilities so does have a lot of name-calling and stuff. Which is why I am now thinking home schooling might be the best solution.

    Leave a comment:


  • dsc
    replied
    I'm sure you have but just in case, have you considered changing schools? we moved schools when ours was 5yo as the teachers in the old one were dickish and didn't give two tulips about with some kids do to others (biting, hitting etc.), also they were super tulipe when it came to setting up boundries, time outs etc. The current school is super small and the teachers are wonderful and suddenly our child really likes going there, when previously it was a nightmare in the morning. Sometimes a change of scenery really does wonders.

    Are the problems mostly with other pupils or teachers as well? wellbeing related or teaching related or both?

    Leave a comment:


  • avonleigh
    started a topic Home Schooling

    Home Schooling

    Does anybody have experience of home schooling? Seriously looking into it currently as my daughter has a lot of problems at school and is 14 now so next two years very important. I have considered private schooling but I am not convinced it will be any different, kids can be horrible whether rich or poor. Just wondering if anybody can recommend home schooling and which providers to go with.

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