Homeschooling at A-Level
Hi All,
I've always felt the educational system has been pretty hopeless. I understand most find it works well generally (I disagree but still), but I don't find myself working well within it. My teachers say I've got a lot of potential but I just cannot concentrate in lessons. I feel this is for numerous reasons.
I was wondering if switching to self-educating for Sixth Form (currently in Year 10) would be a good idea? I want to do A-Levels as well though so I don't know how different it would be doing them at home. I was thinking Chemistry, English Lit and History. This is just because I want to get into University, I hate exams generally. But then I keep reminding myself there might be little point if I'm going to be doing the courses the same in the end anyway... Idk.
Has anyone tried this? Any opinions would be appreciated really!
I've always felt the educational system has been pretty hopeless. I understand most find it works well generally (I disagree but still), but I don't find myself working well within it. My teachers say I've got a lot of potential but I just cannot concentrate in lessons. I feel this is for numerous reasons.
I was wondering if switching to self-educating for Sixth Form (currently in Year 10) would be a good idea? I want to do A-Levels as well though so I don't know how different it would be doing them at home. I was thinking Chemistry, English Lit and History. This is just because I want to get into University, I hate exams generally. But then I keep reminding myself there might be little point if I'm going to be doing the courses the same in the end anyway... Idk.
Has anyone tried this? Any opinions would be appreciated really!
People do manage it but beware :
•
Chemistry is hard to achieve because of the practicals.
•
English and History coursework would cause problems as you need someone to authenticate the work
•
You have to pay a centre to accept you as a private candidate for the exam entries and that isn't cheap
Original post by threecrayons
Hi All,
I've always felt the educational system has been pretty hopeless. I understand most find it works well generally (I disagree but still), but I don't find myself working well within it. My teachers say I've got a lot of potential but I just cannot concentrate in lessons. I feel this is for numerous reasons.
I was wondering if switching to self-educating for Sixth Form (currently in Year 10) would be a good idea? I want to do A-Levels as well though so I don't know how different it would be doing them at home. I was thinking Chemistry, English Lit and History. This is just because I want to get into University, I hate exams generally. But then I keep reminding myself there might be little point if I'm going to be doing the courses the same in the end anyway... Idk.
Has anyone tried this? Any opinions would be appreciated really!
I've always felt the educational system has been pretty hopeless. I understand most find it works well generally (I disagree but still), but I don't find myself working well within it. My teachers say I've got a lot of potential but I just cannot concentrate in lessons. I feel this is for numerous reasons.
I was wondering if switching to self-educating for Sixth Form (currently in Year 10) would be a good idea? I want to do A-Levels as well though so I don't know how different it would be doing them at home. I was thinking Chemistry, English Lit and History. This is just because I want to get into University, I hate exams generally. But then I keep reminding myself there might be little point if I'm going to be doing the courses the same in the end anyway... Idk.
Has anyone tried this? Any opinions would be appreciated really!
I've just completed my A2s and my teachers were so awful that I had to self teach every single one of my subjects. Though I did turn up for lessons, everything we did in class was a complete and utter waste of time. Had I been homeschooled, it would have left me with a lot more time to revise. Since A-level does require so much independent study, regardless of the quality of your lessons, I think it is the ideal time to begin homeschooling if any time is.
I did English lit, history, philosophy at A level and an AS level in geography.
(edited 7 years ago)
It's possible, I did it part time for just one a-level but you can't do it all alone, you'll need help and guidance along the way and that doesn't come cheap in today's world. You're gonna need work schedules and resources as well as someone to give you feedback and track your progress. You should also build a social circle with people doing the same subject, the best way of learning and revising for me was discussing and reflecting with my friends
don't do homeschooling, you can still revise at home after school, theres so much benfits to going to school than homeschooling
Obviously it's possible but not with those subjects. Especially chemistry.
I just finished my A2's, one of them being history and self teaching yourself that with absolutely No feedback from an actual a level history teacher, is not possible. It's one of the hard A levels you need guidance for. It's difficult to have all the info in the course book + Internet. That A level also includes one coursework unit which yes, it's independent research + independent essay but it has to include a question that has been approved by the exam board, previously sent over to them by the teacher. The coursework also has to be assessed and marked once by the teacher before being sent to the exam board. Self teaching that subject just won't work.
You're better off going to an actual sixth form/college as A levels are nothing like GCSEs. Much more work and a humongous difference in the level of education. You don't necessarily always come across bad teachers but even when you do, it's likely that the other ones are not bad.
Edit: also if you hate exams and being in a class room, A levels might not be for you as both history and English are both essay based. And both include essays writing in exams.
You might be better off doing level 3 Btec which is accepted by most unis for most of the courses they offer.
I just finished my A2's, one of them being history and self teaching yourself that with absolutely No feedback from an actual a level history teacher, is not possible. It's one of the hard A levels you need guidance for. It's difficult to have all the info in the course book + Internet. That A level also includes one coursework unit which yes, it's independent research + independent essay but it has to include a question that has been approved by the exam board, previously sent over to them by the teacher. The coursework also has to be assessed and marked once by the teacher before being sent to the exam board. Self teaching that subject just won't work.
You're better off going to an actual sixth form/college as A levels are nothing like GCSEs. Much more work and a humongous difference in the level of education. You don't necessarily always come across bad teachers but even when you do, it's likely that the other ones are not bad.
Edit: also if you hate exams and being in a class room, A levels might not be for you as both history and English are both essay based. And both include essays writing in exams.
You might be better off doing level 3 Btec which is accepted by most unis for most of the courses they offer.
(edited 7 years ago)
Thank you for all the responses!
By saying I hate exams, I hate the idea of exams but I'm actually okay at doing them, I get good grades at the moment (generally working at As, A*s in the three subjects I mentioned)
Yeah, I was wondering about the practicals for science... Do you think it would be absolutely impossible to get them done at a centre of something?
By saying I hate exams, I hate the idea of exams but I'm actually okay at doing them, I get good grades at the moment (generally working at As, A*s in the three subjects I mentioned)
Yeah, I was wondering about the practicals for science... Do you think it would be absolutely impossible to get them done at a centre of something?
Original post by Platopus
I've just completed my A2s and my teachers were so awful that I had to self teach every single one of my subjects. Though I did turn up for lessons, everything we did in class was a complete and utter waste of time. Had I been homeschooled, it would have left me with a lot more time to revise. Since A-level does require so much independent study, regardless of the quality of your lessons, I think it is the ideal time to begin homeschooling if any time is.
I did English lit, history, philosophy at A level and an AS level in geography.
I did English lit, history, philosophy at A level and an AS level in geography.
Since you self sort of are self taught:
I'm doing maths, further maths, government and politics and maybe computer science. I say maybe since my college said they might make us do three instead of four because of the changes to A-level, which is ********.
Anyway, I wan't to do either PPE or mathematics at university, I haven't decided yet, but looking at the entry requirements for PPE for durham they say you need three A-levels, but unfortunately for me they count Maths and further maths as one subject, since it's not a math heavy subject. If I was to forced to only do three A-levels, obviously I wouldn't be able to do PPE. Which brings me to my question;
In my situation, do you think it's worth dropping maths and sitting as a private candidate instead, so I can pick up another subject that would allow me to be eligible to do PPE. I'm finding AS maths pretty easy, but I fear that If I take three other A-levels and do maths as a private candidate, which i'm very confident I can succeed at, when It comes to A2 maths, which looks significantly harder I may actually need help / a teacher. If I were to sit as a priv. candidate I wouldn't be able to do A2 maths at college and would sort of be ****ed. Any advice?
Original post by 34908seikj
Since you self sort of are self taught:
I'm doing maths, further maths, government and politics and maybe computer science. I say maybe since my college said they might make us do three instead of four because of the changes to A-level, which is ********.
Anyway, I wan't to do either PPE or mathematics at university, I haven't decided yet, but looking at the entry requirements for PPE for durham they say you need three A-levels, but unfortunately for me they count Maths and further maths as one subject, since it's not a math heavy subject. If I was to forced to only do three A-levels, obviously I wouldn't be able to do PPE. Which brings me to my question;
In my situation, do you think it's worth dropping maths and sitting as a private candidate instead, so I can pick up another subject that would allow me to be eligible to do PPE. I'm finding AS maths pretty easy, but I fear that If I take three other A-levels and do maths as a private candidate, which i'm very confident I can succeed at, when It comes to A2 maths, which looks significantly harder I may actually need help / a teacher. If I were to sit as a priv. candidate I wouldn't be able to do A2 maths at college and would sort of be ****ed. Any advice?
I'm doing maths, further maths, government and politics and maybe computer science. I say maybe since my college said they might make us do three instead of four because of the changes to A-level, which is ********.
Anyway, I wan't to do either PPE or mathematics at university, I haven't decided yet, but looking at the entry requirements for PPE for durham they say you need three A-levels, but unfortunately for me they count Maths and further maths as one subject, since it's not a math heavy subject. If I was to forced to only do three A-levels, obviously I wouldn't be able to do PPE. Which brings me to my question;
In my situation, do you think it's worth dropping maths and sitting as a private candidate instead, so I can pick up another subject that would allow me to be eligible to do PPE. I'm finding AS maths pretty easy, but I fear that If I take three other A-levels and do maths as a private candidate, which i'm very confident I can succeed at, when It comes to A2 maths, which looks significantly harder I may actually need help / a teacher. If I were to sit as a priv. candidate I wouldn't be able to do A2 maths at college and would sort of be ****ed. Any advice?
Hmm so you would be self-teaching yourself maths only? I don't do maths but from the experience of my friends who do, it looks very hard. Unless you're amazing and very confident at it, you should probably have a teacher, or at least a private tutor.
Do you actually need further maths for PPE? I have friends who applied for PPE and did only 3 A-levels. They didn't do further maths and still got offers - one, I believe, from Durham. Doing 4 A-levels is tough and really just not necessary.
Original post by Platopus
Hmm so you would be self-teaching yourself maths only? I don't do maths but from the experience of my friends who do, it looks very hard. Unless you're amazing and very confident at it, you should probably have a teacher, or at least a private tutor.
Do you actually need further maths for PPE? I have friends who applied for PPE and did only 3 A-levels. They didn't do further maths and still got offers - one, I believe, from Durham. Doing 4 A-levels is tough and really just not necessary.
Do you actually need further maths for PPE? I have friends who applied for PPE and did only 3 A-levels. They didn't do further maths and still got offers - one, I believe, from Durham. Doing 4 A-levels is tough and really just not necessary.
I'm very confident I can do well at AS-levels maths, but not A2 maths. And no it's not required, which is my point really. Durham consider maths and further maths the same subject [they only count for 1 A-level] if you're apply for PPE, since it's not a math heavy subject. Like I said, If i were to do maths and further maths and just one other subject I wouldn't be able to do PPE, or at least I would be considered a very weak candidate.
Original post by 34908seikj
I'm very confident I can do well at AS-levels maths, but not A2 maths. And no it's not required, which is my point really. Durham consider maths and further maths the same subject [they only count for 1 A-level] if you're apply for PPE, since it's not a math heavy subject. Like I said, If i were to do maths and further maths and just one other subject I wouldn't be able to do PPE, or at least I would be considered a very weak candidate.
My recommendation would be that you don't do further maths. If I were you, I'd do maths, gov pol and comp sci
Original post by Platopus
My recommendation would be that you don't do further maths. If I were you, I'd do maths, gov pol and comp sci
I'm not keen on the Idea since I still haven't fully decided on what I want to study. It's either PPE or Mathematics. Which FM is very helpful for the latter.
Original post by 34908seikj
I'm not keen on the Idea since I still haven't fully decided on what I want to study. It's either PPE or Mathematics. Which FM is very helpful for the latter.
Sorry not to be more help. If I were you, I'd get clear on which I want to study first and then decide on my A-levels. You have all summer to mull it over.
Maths is pretty much the only subject you could successfully self teach given the textbooks and past papers are enough to succeed. But if you're talking about sciences/ coursework heavy subjects then you need to be attending lessons where you can get advice on exam technique ect .... So in your case it isn't a good idea
Original post by threecrayons
Thank you for all the responses!
By saying I hate exams, I hate the idea of exams but I'm actually okay at doing them, I get good grades at the moment (generally working at As, A*s in the three subjects I mentioned)
Yeah, I was wondering about the practicals for science... Do you think it would be absolutely impossible to get them done at a centre of something?
By saying I hate exams, I hate the idea of exams but I'm actually okay at doing them, I get good grades at the moment (generally working at As, A*s in the three subjects I mentioned)
Yeah, I was wondering about the practicals for science... Do you think it would be absolutely impossible to get them done at a centre of something?
Not to put you off but As and A*s don't = good grades at a level. People in my class who did GCSE history and got such high grades were still struggling at a level. A levels are nothing near GCSE level
Original post by katherine9609
Not to put you off but As and A*s don't = good grades at a level. People in my class who did GCSE history and got such high grades were still struggling at a level. A levels are nothing near GCSE level
Agree . Someone who got straight A's at GCSE in my year and an A* in history ended up with a C in history AS, and another two students who gained A* at GCSE maths got C's in AS maths. Don't just think that you're guaranteed to do well you really do need to put in maximum effort alongside attending lessons where you can get feedback on your work.
Hi threecrayons,
Although taking A-levels outside school is possible, you will need a support network of one kind or another. In the articles on the following pages you'll get an interesting perspective on the kind of things educators outside mainstream education emphasize for your three chosen subjects. Good luck if you decide to go down this route.
http://www.thetutorpages.com/a-level-english-tutors
http://www.thetutorpages.com/a-level-history-tutors
http://www.thetutorpages.com/a-level-chemistry-tutors
Although taking A-levels outside school is possible, you will need a support network of one kind or another. In the articles on the following pages you'll get an interesting perspective on the kind of things educators outside mainstream education emphasize for your three chosen subjects. Good luck if you decide to go down this route.
http://www.thetutorpages.com/a-level-english-tutors
http://www.thetutorpages.com/a-level-history-tutors
http://www.thetutorpages.com/a-level-chemistry-tutors
Original post by threecrayons
Hi All,
I've always felt the educational system has been pretty hopeless. I understand most find it works well generally (I disagree but still), but I don't find myself working well within it. My teachers say I've got a lot of potential but I just cannot concentrate in lessons. I feel this is for numerous reasons.
I was wondering if switching to self-educating for Sixth Form (currently in Year 10) would be a good idea? I want to do A-Levels as well though so I don't know how different it would be doing them at home. I was thinking Chemistry, English Lit and History. This is just because I want to get into University, I hate exams generally. But then I keep reminding myself there might be little point if I'm going to be doing the courses the same in the end anyway... Idk.
Has anyone tried this? Any opinions would be appreciated really!
I've always felt the educational system has been pretty hopeless. I understand most find it works well generally (I disagree but still), but I don't find myself working well within it. My teachers say I've got a lot of potential but I just cannot concentrate in lessons. I feel this is for numerous reasons.
I was wondering if switching to self-educating for Sixth Form (currently in Year 10) would be a good idea? I want to do A-Levels as well though so I don't know how different it would be doing them at home. I was thinking Chemistry, English Lit and History. This is just because I want to get into University, I hate exams generally. But then I keep reminding myself there might be little point if I'm going to be doing the courses the same in the end anyway... Idk.
Has anyone tried this? Any opinions would be appreciated really!
The Classical Civilization A Level from OCR is a good one for studying at home as no course work is required and there are some good resources on Massolit and some on Youtube/other websites. Just sat this exam and felt prepared.
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