IGCSEs (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) are internationally recognised qualifications. They are for students normally aged 14 to 16. However, home schooling can push that boundary! I hadn’t heard about them until I contacted UK Virtual School. I wanted to understand how Evie could continue her GCSE studies at home.

It turns out that the Virtual School I thought suited Evie only offered iGCSE’s (at the time of writing – apart from GCSE maths which she is also studying). I then went off trying to understand what they meant, would college accept them? The short answer is yes. I spoke with 5 colleges. They are recognised in the same way that GCSE’s are.

So – plus points – in a virtual school, Evie’s teachers are teaching from across the globe- she has a wonderful Biology teacher in Morocco! and she learns with students from other countries too – like South Africa and Portugal! I hear her English teacher, who is from Greece talking to the class about interesting things from her country too.

Anyway, I’ve gone off track. Evie’s first iGCSE in Travel and Tourism was awarded by Cambridge. Weirdly, that result came out 2 days before the normal GCSE results day. It was awarded as a B, not a numerical grade!

The rest of Evie’s iGCSE’s are with EdExcel. They are graded 1-9 and take place at the same date and time as the GCSE equivalent exams. You have to find an examination centre when you home school. Some schools may offer the opportunity to pay to take them at the school. As I keep saying – we were lucky enough to find FareGos near Fareham on the South Coast. I know people travel quite far to use them. We have moved location ourselves this year – to Derbyshire! However, I will travel back for her Summer exams. We have access arrangements in place. She knows the centre, the rooms, the teachers, and the invigilators. And so do I. Its quite overwhelming as a parent driving them to a exam – making sure they have the right ID – the right clothes… you have the right time and date. It all falls on you.

UK Virtual School are launching a new examination centre themselves and I know it will be as great, as they are. I will do a separate post on exam centre options.

You also need to book the exams. It is a bit daunting, to make sure you book the right exam codes. But what I can say is break it down into small chunks. Write a list of things you need to do – and ask for help. The exam team at FareGos have received many probably ridiculous questions from me. They are always so helpful. They never make me feel like I’m getting it wrong.

Exams cost money to secure your spot. For Evie, I wanted to act quickly. I made a booking request as soon as the Summer exams opened because they are in demand. November series exams are quieter – and a lot of the subjects are available to sit then. Some councils have a homeschooling exam budget to pay a small amount towards your exam fees. Hampshire County Council did not have this as an option, and neither do Derbyshire where we are now. Again I’ll do something separate for that.

I want to explore how we can reduce this fee. One possibility is to secure some kind of sponsorship or scholarship like some do in private schools. Surely there has to be an option? More on that to come.

In summary – don’t worry about the ‘i’. Consider it an exciting positive. They get to study with people from across the globe. Evie will have 3 GCSE’s and 4 iGCSE’s at the end of our journey. I tell you something- I cannot wait to compare her results with her last school report with predicted grades. She is going to BOSS it.

Laura xxx