HE Exams Wiki

Welcome to the Home-Ed Exams Wiki, a site about qualifications for home-educated students.

If there is something you need to know which you can't find, please use the search function,

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***NOTE: FOR INFORMATION ON THE 2021/22 EXAM SERIES LOOK HERE***

New to Home Education or Exams

If you are new to home education or exams there is a lot to get your head around. Join the Home Education UK Exams and Alternatives Facebook Group for help and advice. Then settle down with a mug of something comforting and start from our New to Home Education or Exams category.

If you don't really want to home-educate, but feel you have no other option, or you are considering deregistering a child who is too unwell to attend school then start from our EOTAS page.

If your child is still in school or you've recently taken them out then this page will help with those first things to think about - Considering Home Education For Qualifications. There are also support pages for those starting at different stages - Starting Home Education in Years 7-9, Starting Home Education in Year 10 and Starting Home Education in Year 11.

Our Jargon Buster and Frequently Asked Questions will help deal with the 'where do I start' panic.

While you do your research we've put together a useful page of home education resources to draw on while you find your feet

Arranging and Sitting Exams

If you happy you have the basics and are ready to get started then have a look at our Quick Start Guide

The Arranging and Sitting Exams page will walk you through the process.

Our IGCSEs, Exam Boards, and regional pages for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland (if relevant) are important for understanding the practical issues to consider.

Decide which subjects your child would like to sit - make sure you are aware of any practical components to the exams. Contact exam centres and find out if they can offer the subjects you want and if so which exam boards they can offer. Then you can decide what and how to study.

Completely new to exams? Start here

1. Choose the right starting page for your circumstances:

• Quick Start Guide If you have been home educating for a while

• Considering home education for qualifications If your child is still in school, or you've recently taken them out.
• Specific advice for starting home education in:
  • Years 7 to 9
  • Year 10
  • Year 11

• EOTAS - If you don't really want to home-educate, but feel you have no other option, or you are considering deregistering a child who is too unwell to attend school

2. Then, to answer your initial questions, see the Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs .

3. Find information about the subjects you are interested in (Subject page links are also at the bottom of  this main page). The subject pages are very important and will give an overview of your options and available resources.

4. Grab a cup of tea and have a read! Our Jargon Buster will help with any terms you don't understand.

5. Join the Home education UK exams and alternatives Facebook group or one of the other online support groups listed on the support groups page.

6. If you're in Scotland , Wales or Northern Ireland, you might find their pages a useful addition to your research.

If there is something you need to know which you can't find, please use the search function, and / or leave a comment on this page.

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General Exams Info for Home Educators

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) including, but not only: Where do I start? Can my child go to college to do GCSEs? How many should I do? etc.

Subjects - Find out about the syllabus options for subjects you are interested in.

Exam Changes - how does the change to new GCSEs graded 9-1 affect home educators?

Distance/Online Learning Course Providers - you don't need to use correspondence or online courses to do exams, but they can be useful.

Finding an exam centre - centres already in use by home educators, and how to find others, or approach potential centres and make your exam entries. (note: if you're looking for a non-UK centre that will offer IGCSE or international A level sittings, try here)

Special educational needs/ Access arrangements - If your child might need extra time or help to enable them to sit exams, start reading up on Access Arrangements at least a year before you plan to sit exams.

Making your exam entries, and preparing for exams using Study Skills for self-study techniques.

Past Papers - where do you find past exam papers?

Exam Day - what to take, what to do if there are problems, and what you need to know about Results Day.

College for home-educated children: part-time college at 14-16, through a special scheme funded direct from the government.

Qualification Types

• IGCSEs - What are they? How do they compare to GCSEs?
• Functional Skills
• A-levels
• Open University
• Alternative Qualifications - Open University, Btecs, American SATs, and gaining recognition for other achievements, sports, volunteering, conservation work etc.
• (For short vocational courses for CV-building, see our University Summer courses page)

Subjects

• Accounting
• Ancient History
• Art
• Astronomy
• Biology (IGCSE/GCSE). (For A level see Science A-Levels)
• Business Studies
• Chemistry (IGCSE/GCSE). (For A level see Science A-Levels)
• Classics:
  • Ancient History
  • Classical Civilizations
  • Classical Greek
  • Latin
  • Sanskrit
  • Biblical Hebrew
• Citizenship Studies
• Computer Science
• Dance
• Design & Technology
• Drama
• Economics
• English Language
• English Literature
• Environmental Management
• Film Studies
• Food Tech/Cooking
• Geography
• Geology
• Global Citizenship
• History
• Human Biology
• IT (and separate page on ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence)
• Latin
• Maths and Further / Additional Maths, plus a separate page on Maths Resources.
• Modern Foreign Languages :-
  • Arabic
  • French
  • German
  • Japanese
  • Polish
  • Spanish
• Music
• PE and Sports
• Physics (IGCSE/GCSE). (For A level see Science A-Levels)
• Psychology
• Religious Studies
• Science - single, combined or triple? See also separate pages for single sciences:-
  • Biology and Human_Biology ; also Biology Practicals
  • Chemistry and Chemistry Practicals
  • Physics and Physics_Practicals
  • Science A-Levels
  • Vocational/non-GCSE options for science see Alternative Qualifications: science
• Sociology
• Statistics
• Travel and Tourism

Finding an Exam Centre

Finding an exam centre centres already in use by home educators, and how to find others, or approach potential centres and make your exam entries. (note: if you're looking for a non-UK centre that will offer IGCSE or international A level sittings, try here)

Post-16 - what happens next?

16+ - What do home-ed teenagers do at 16+? At what age does home education officially finish? Do you still have Local Authority involvement? Can you claim Child benefit?

Personal experiences of home educators - exam results and case studies. University offers and routes to Further- and Higher- Education and employment from home-ed.

Studying A-levels from home and alternatives to the Extended Project Qualification.

Adult Education - it's never too late to gain qualifications.

Apprenticeships - get a qualification while you work.

Higher Education - applying to uni from home education, or if you were home educated previously. How to fill in UCAS forms.