Homeschooling/Learning at gcse level in the UK?

-Hi, i would like to know if I wanted to be homeschooled at Gcse level, how would I do it/ go about it?

I need to know how to become homeschooled etc , what I need to know ,how to take the gcse exams and what to do after, curriculum, coursework and anything else / others??

Thanks and please help ^ ^;;The first thing you need to do is to persuade your parents that you want to be home educated. In the UK, the legal responsibility for your education lies with your parents. Most parents delegate that to a school, but the responsibility remains fundamentally theirs. So your parents have every legal right to home educate you if you can persuade them that it's the right option for you.



The procedure you will need to follow (in England and Wales) is that your parents would need to write to your school telling them that you will be home educated from X date and telling the school (telling, not asking, because the school cannot refuse) to remove your name from their register. The school will then pass that information to the local LEA, who will get in touch with your parents. Depending on the area you live in, some will be sympathetic and stick to their legal remit (which gives them very little, actually, to do with home ed) or some will be more aggressive and demand meetings and so on which they are not legally entitled to. If you choose this option, make sure your parents fully understand the law and can stand their ground against uninformed LEAs. They really should look at http://www.education-otherwise.org/ which gives full legal information about home ed in the UK.



Once the legal bit is out of the way, you and your parents are free to organise your education however you choose. You do NOT have to sit GCSEs or any other examinations, ever. If you decide you want to, then there are a variety of options open to you, but your parents will need to find an exam centre (usually as school) which will allow you to sit the exams as an external candidate. To study, you can study under your own steam, with your parents' help - all of the exam boards have full details online of what exactly you will need to have covered for each subject - or your parents could buy in tutors or distance learning courses. This latter tends to be expensive, however. There are support groups online which cater specifically to home ed teens and their parents who are going through the GCSE process, so you can find plenty of advice and support if you decide to do this.



Bear in mind, however, that GCSEs are not necessary. You could skip straight to A levels if you wish (and you don't have to be 18 to sit them), or many home ed children work on Open University qualifications instead of GCSEs/A Levels. Alternatively, depending on your future career choice, you may find that you don't need any qualifications at all, or that a college or uni might take you on the strength of a portfolio and interview (in creative subjects, for instance). There are many more options available than just following the standard school route. Home education can be a wonderful choice for many families, but it does need commitment from parents and an ability to be comfortable with choices outside the norm. Good luck with your decision!