Exams in year 11. It’s a lot. Emotionally, in time and financially. I’m so glad we had enough time to plan a few early exams. We’ve got 3 under our belt. 2 taken a year early in Summer – and one just taken in the November series (results are in a few weeks!) So with the route we have taken we have 4 exams left to sit – and pay for.

Thank goodness we have the most amazing exam centre to go to – see my resource page. They help keep me organised, provide some amazing lessons – and revision resources for Evie. She knows the exam invigilators and the rooms she will have to sit in. It breaks down some of the on the day worries. BUT – Policy holders (Councillors, Government) – please, why must we pay for the exams? These exams would be free if they attended school. Yes, yes – some will say, “but you chose this homeschooling route. Therefore, you need to deal with that”. To those people I would say everyone has the right to choose. They can protect their child. They can look after their child. They can put their child first. School is based on an archaic system that does not suit everyone. Neurodiversity is a reason. Bullying is another reason. Special educational needs aren’t being met. I could go on with a long list of reasons why so many are having to choose a different way.

My bill to pay this month is over £700 for 4 subjects, for Evie to obtain the certificates she is going to need to get into college.

When children are educated at home, parents usually have to cover the cost of public examinations like GCSEs and A-levels themselves. These fees can quickly add up as you can see above. That said, there are a few ways families can manage or lower these expenses.

For home educated students, parents will usually need to arrange GCSE or iGCSE exams as private candidates and pay the relevant fees. The total cost can vary depending on the subject and the exam centre, so it is worth contacting several centres before making your entries.

The JCQ has a search tool for finding schools, colleges and other centres that accept private candidates. Not every centre accepts them, so this is something I would recommend researching well in advance.

I’m just left feeling like more needs to be done to explore what policy makers can do to support the ever increasing need for alternative provision and a new way… and this is something I want to work on. Let’s see where that goes. My New Year’s Resolution to work on this perhaps?

Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash