Generally, GCSEs and IGCSEs have to be sat at an exam centre. If your child is unable to sit an exam centre due to disability, illness or mental health, or if you want to choose to sit exams at home, there are some limited options.
Home Invigilation[]
Home invigilation is an option for candidates extreme need. Few exam centres are able to facilitate this and there are strict rules on how close to the exam centre candidates can live to comply with JCQ rules on accessing papers. It is therefore very difficult for home educators to organise and those who manage it usually have an EOTAS package rather than electively home educated.
Remote Invigilation[]
Online invigilation has recently been introduced by Edexcel for IGCSEs only. It is not available for GCSEs. It is available with a limited number of partner organisations which include Minerva Virtual Academy and Kings Interhigh online schools and Tutors and Exams exam centres.
Exams are only available through online schools to candidates who are study with them and this is one of the most expensive ways to home educate.
Tutors and Exams online invigilation exams are more expensive than sitting in a centre and there are compulsory mocks.
You will need reliable IT equipment and a good internet connection to reduce risk of failure on the day.
Functional skills[]
Functional skills in English and maths can be sat online at home and can be a good option for some young people. However, it should be noted that they are not fully equivalent to GCSE and candidates should ensure that they are sufficient for their future education or employment paths. See the functional skills page for more information.
Coping with Exams at a Centre[]
If your child's mental health or neurodiversity means that they will struggle with sitting exams in a centre, there may be things that you can do to make this easier.
- Find out more about your exam centre as they vary in size. Commercial centres are generally smaller than schools and schools may sit private candidates in a separate room and not in the main hall.
- Autumn sittings are generally quieter.
- Some centres offer tours or mock exams to help with familiarity.
- Access arrangements may help. Whilst individual rooms are in short supply and often reserved for candidates who need readers and scribes, some centres have smaller rooms available. Other access arrangements such as rest breaks, ear defenders or placement at front or rear of the exam room may help to alleviate anxiety.
- It is always worth considering that maturity can help and a child that appears completely unlikely to be able to take exams at 13 may be ready at 17 or 18.