a level homeschooling

hi!

I've been struggling going into sixth for a while now and I'm thinking of doing homeschooling....I don't know whether it's a good idea to take a levels at home or not.

I want to know what options there are if I do decide to embark on a homeschooling journey...I have been thinking to apply to Wolsey hall Oxford sixth form which is a distance learning school but I don't know how good it is

thanks for your help!!

hi!

I've been struggling going into sixth for a while now and I'm thinking of doing homeschooling....I don't know whether it's a good idea to take a levels at home or not.

I want to know what options there are if I do decide to embark on a homeschooling journey...I have been thinking to apply to Wolsey hall Oxford sixth form which is a distance learning school but I don't know how good it is

thanks for your help!!

Hello. I'm a new student at Wolsey. At first, I was skeptical about joining but when I couldn't find any other place with reviews as good as theirs, I joined. THEY ARE AMAZING!!!! I'm not even exaggerating. They are wonderful. They've been involved in distance learning since 1894 and one of their alumni is Nelson Mandela.

You'll have tutors for each subject and a student progress manager you can talk to whenever you have problems with your courses. They don't do virtual teaching like some do. Instead, they give free textbooks (you'll pay for delivery if you don't live in UK), a detailed study schedule for each subject, assignments with submission deadlines so you can't slack off, quizzes to revise which add to your final grade. They connect you to a variety of ordered resources including tutoring videos and websites with already paid subscriptions to aid your study and your tutors are always there to help with any issues you have. There's also the online student community which have clubs aimed towards creative writing, art and digital media, and other things I'm still discovering like the free e-library, the mock exams I can take which are free right now, and the university admission adviser I can subscribe for. It's like a flexible school where you can learn with the style that suits you, and have help ready whenever you need it.

For payment, you can make an initial deposit and spread the rest over 8 months which is what I did for my 4 A Levels. This option made me happy cause I couldn't afford the entire sum at once. The only downside is that you have to arrange your exams yourself. They do have a list of endorsed exam centres and their students get some discounts at some of these centres. When compared to the others, I have to admit that they're actually really cheap for all the services they offer.

Warning: Do not go to Interhigh or the Oxford Open College. They will eat your money and give you shabby services. Interhigh used to be good but now, they're disappointing. They used to be part of my top choices.

Lastly, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm advertising them but I'm just so happy cause I almost gave up finishing school after the others disappointed me. I literally was depressed for weeks till I found them and I'm just really really happy right now.

Nelson Mandela was a alumni at that school are you sure that Nelson Mandela attended that school wasn’t he from South Africa

What are you struggling with?
What do your parents say?
If you withdraw yourself from school you need to be able to afford the exam and centre fees yourself, this is in addition to the online course fees.


The options for homeschool are teach yourself or pay for an online provider.

I cant say if its a good idea, you just have to do the pros and cons, but imo I would go to school if possible as it will be easier.

Hello. I'm a new student at Wolsey. At first, I was skeptical about joining but when I couldn't find any other place with reviews as good as theirs, I joined. THEY ARE AMAZING!!!! I'm not even exaggerating. They are wonderful. They've been involved in distance learning since 1894 and one of their alumni is Nelson Mandela.

You'll have tutors for each subject and a student progress manager you can talk to whenever you have problems with your courses. They don't do virtual teaching like some do. Instead, they give free textbooks (you'll pay for delivery if you don't live in UK), a detailed study schedule for each subject, assignments with submission deadlines so you can't slack off, quizzes to revise which add to your final grade. They connect you to a variety of ordered resources including tutoring videos and websites with already paid subscriptions to aid your study and your tutors are always there to help with any issues you have. There's also the online student community which have clubs aimed towards creative writing, art and digital media, and other things I'm still discovering like the free e-library, the mock exams I can take which are free right now, and the university admission adviser I can subscribe for. It's like a flexible school where you can learn with the style that suits you, and have help ready whenever you need it.

For payment, you can make an initial deposit and spread the rest over 8 months which is what I did for my 4 A Levels. This option made me happy cause I couldn't afford the entire sum at once. The only downside is that you have to arrange your exams yourself. They do have a list of endorsed exam centres and their students get some discounts at some of these centres. When compared to the others, I have to admit that they're actually really cheap for all the services they offer.

Warning: Do not go to Interhigh or the Oxford Open College. They will eat your money and give you shabby services. Interhigh used to be good but now, they're disappointing. They used to be part of my top choices.

Lastly, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm advertising them but I'm just so happy cause I almost gave up finishing school after the others disappointed me. I literally was depressed for weeks till I found them and I'm just really really happy right now.

What A levels are you thinking of doing?

I was in a kind of different situation but can offer some info I’m in Sixth Form in Year 13 with Wolsey Hall Oxford. I started as a student with Wolsey because I had begun at a sixth form which ended up being too far for me to travel, so online learning was a more practical option for me. I think Wolsey on the whole is good but I am going to warn you that I personally have had quite a difficult journey with them.

I began with them around Feb 2019 after being at my other sixth form for four months. At first everything was alright but then in September they made a massive mistake. They had told me from the start that with all the exam boards I was on for my A Levels I could sit exams in October/November 2020. This is a common thing with the CIE board, and it allows students to break up exams into two sittings (May/June and Oct/Nov) if they want to, or just to sit them a later time. This was great news to me because I was four months behind as a result of having been at another sixth form, so I thought doing the exams later would help me do better and I was planning to take a gap year anyway. Then in September 2019 after having done months of work, I get told all of a sudden that actually one of the exam boards does not offer this option anymore, meaning I would have to sit one of my A Levels (all of the papers) in May/June 2020. I then ended up having to teach myself two years of Politics A Level in a year, when I should have had the full two years. I am now set to sit my other two A Levels in the October/November sitting, but I have to tell you, it has been exhausting. I practically study all the time and my weekends are also often spent studying. At times, my mental health has been so low because of the burnout from constantly studying.

I’m not saying don’t do it and I’m not even saying don’t go with Wolsey. What I am saying is that if you do decide to go with them, don’t make the mistake I made which is trusting how organised they are - always double and triple check things. Another thing is that Wolsey will often make students pay for things like mock exam papers. This might be fine for you especially if your parents can help pay, but for my family this was kind of a pain. That being said, I have come a long way with them and have enjoyed the flexibility of online learning. It takes a lot of discipline and hard work, but if you’re willing to put the effort in, you should be fine. I know a lot of people tend to also like online learning if they suffer from anxiety or were bullied. I don’t know your personal situation but it could be good for you. My case is probably quite rare - I know most people have had a good experience with them, but personally mine has been kind of difficult and challenging at times.

I'm thinking of taking chemistry, biology and geography as they are the ones I'm currently taking

Thank you, this was extremely helpful!!! Although, I've read that for assignments they merely just grade them and don't give you any help for improvement. I've also read that they don't help you with how to understand a topic or subject and just leave you to it? I don't know how much of that is true...but it is putting me off it as I do like having feedback on what I did right/wrong etc. I appreciate your answer fully though!!

Firstly, you're welcome. The feedback issue isn't true, at least not for me. They grade your assignments, give feedback, give you access to the marking scheme, and example solutions to show how they expect you to answer questions. On your assignments, sometimes, they even make comments on the exact places you need improvement. I would say that the only downside is that their assignments are tailored to ensure you've finished the syllabus or a particular module. For perfect exam-style questions, I use websites like examsolutions and freeexampapers.com. If I have a problem, I tell my tutors and they guide me through it.

But you are right when you implied that they don't teach like an actual school. What they do is make self-studying as flawless as can be with the various resources they compile, the timetable assignment and study deadlines. Whenever you meet a problem you can't overcome with all these resources (that is rare because there are a lot of resources), your tutors step in and teach you how to tackle it. The goal of Wolsey is to encourage studying at your pace, and in an environment suitable for you. You should see it as an effective self-studying path with access to tutors.

However, if you still aren't comfortable with Wolsey, that's fine. I won't push further. It may not even be a learning style that fits you. I'll just say that whichever online provider you pick, please, be really cautious. It took years for me to find a good one. Avoid OOC, Interhigh, NEC and the Distance Learning College. If you read their worst reviews on trustpilot, you'll be stunned. I was almost deceived by the good reviews they bought. Find any other online provider apart from those ones.

Thank you again for the reply back! That sounds helpful actually and definitely what I'm looking for from the company. I was planning on doing exam questions made by the exam board along with the assignments that they personally set ( because I'm like that XD ). I will use the websites you've suggested as they do seem very helpful in my understanding.

I'm pretty experienced in self-studying as I had to teach myself the GCSE's i was taking ( even though i never did take them, gosh darn corona ) as my teachers for some subjects weren't the greatest out there. A question that comes to mind about the resources is whether they come with the initial payment ( or pack ) or do you have to get that separately?

I would say self-studying or home-schooling is my strong suit as I've been doing for so long. I am greatly considering Wolsey but another that I have come across is Oxford home schooling and they do seem pretty okay but they also have some bad reviews about the content and lac of communication. Which brings me to another question. How often are you contacted by your tutors that you're given and how much communication actually happens between the student and said tutors?

Again thank you so ever so much for all the information, you have been highly helpful in my research

You're welcome. I'm happy to help.

The combination of external resources and their assignments will definitely guarantee you a good score. There are other websites you'll be linked to and many video tutorials so those will also help. You already have a great study routine since you were able to self-study your GCSE's. That's not an easy thing to do and it's quite commendable.

All the extra resources come with the payment including some educational websites that require a subscription. The cost is included in the course fee. The textbooks are also free but you would pay the delivery cost if you live outside the UK. The only services you would have to pay for are optional services. One of these services is a university admissions adviser who will guide you through your university application. Another is their mock exam service. Right now, mocks are free for everyone but it used to be an optional service you paid for if you needed it.

I have heard of OHS. I remember I didn't consider oxford home schooling because they didn't have all my courses. But I've checked them again. You're right. The reviews don't really please me. Only a little over half of their customers were very pleased with them, a sizeable amount rated them average to poor. Also, they don't give textbooks but coursebooks which many of the reviewers said were poorly structured. Although their reviews weren't as bad as the ones I said you should avoid, I'm still not comfortable. I don't know where I sit with them. If you're prepared to be completely alone, you won't have a problem but it's not advisable.

As for the tutor question, you get an introductory skype chat with them where you can ask any questions you have. Then, after that, you can contact them whenever you want via messages. You can communicate with your tutors as much as you want to. It depends on you. But due to how many students they have, it takes 3-5 days to get a response. What I would do is finish a section of a module or an entire module, compile the questions I have and send them instead of sending one question each day. But if you want to send many a day, you can. They're always there to help. However, they don't contact you to check your progress. Don't get me wrong. They give feedback but unlike traditional class teachers, they don't check how far you've studied. The person who does that is your Student Progress Manager. She's like a mistress in a boarding house who makes sure you're sticking to your schedule, and helps with general problems.

Do let me know if there's anything else you need to know. I'm always willing to help.

That's brilliant, I am aiming for the highest grades I can personally get as I need them for the university course that I am thinking of taking. Do you know what the websites they link are, I know you said you enrolled recently so I don't know how much you've explored them, but i do wonder whether the websites are blocks of information or interactive. I don't know how to word that properly but I hope you know what I'm trying to say.

That is a whole bunch of resources, way more then what was offered from most other providers and my school actually lol. That's reasonable, you can't offer every service in one price without it being too expensive.Thank you for informing me about the mock exam service, I usually find mock practice incredibly useful but again, I can always find other places or websites that offer mock exams so it's not something I am going to downgrade them on as you can find them elsewhere.

With OHS, I think i only considered them because of their cheaper prices but they don't offer the same services that Wolsey does and more specifically the courses I want (The only one they have that I need is Biology which is a bummer) Upon looking at a sample lesson as it were, they seem to be very look and read base and no sort of interaction actually happens that would make it easier to learn.

Thank you. With the Skype introductory call, is it mandatory or is it optional? I have anxiety which makes it hard for me to talk to people even when on the phone etc. If you have to do it, I'm sure I would be able to bring myself to it but I though I would ask. If i go with them (which I have to make a decision on today actually xD oops) I will probably do what you suggested and compile the questions I have for each section of a module or the entire module and ask them at the end of it as that seems most reasonable. With the Student Progress Manager, does she give you a schedule, or timetable I suppose, with times you are expected to study or do the lesson they supplied or do you run on your own schedule ( which makes more sense to me as you said they like to encourage self-study as much as possible )?

I remember further up that you mentioned that quizzes and an online student community. Are those quizzes specifically only available after every module or are they available throughout the entire course?I do find it interesting they have a community on there of the students enrolled, sort of like TSR in a way but more specific to the school? I don't know whether you know this but how do those clubs work and what do they contain? Are they like the courses where they give you resources or do they differ from them? Last question about the community, you mentioned they have a free e-library....do they provide course related books or just general reading books such as IT ( I don't know why that was the first book to come to mind but xD )

I do have a question on what subjects you decided to take with them and whether you've enjoyed doing them or not? Again, I know you just started but I am generally curious on it

Thank you again for all the information you've already provided. I am now leaning towards going with Wolsey so far so I may "see" you there in the community possibly. I don't know how it works so maybe not xD

Hello. I'm a new student at Wolsey. At first, I was skeptical about joining but when I couldn't find any other place with reviews as good as theirs, I joined. THEY ARE AMAZING!!!! I'm not even exaggerating. They are wonderful. They've been involved in distance learning since 1894 and one of their alumni is Nelson Mandela.

You'll have tutors for each subject and a student progress manager you can talk to whenever you have problems with your courses. They don't do virtual teaching like some do. Instead, they give free textbooks (you'll pay for delivery if you don't live in UK), a detailed study schedule for each subject, assignments with submission deadlines so you can't slack off, quizzes to revise which add to your final grade. They connect you to a variety of ordered resources including tutoring videos and websites with already paid subscriptions to aid your study and your tutors are always there to help with any issues you have. There's also the online student community which have clubs aimed towards creative writing, art and digital media, and other things I'm still discovering like the free e-library, the mock exams I can take which are free right now, and the university admission adviser I can subscribe for. It's like a flexible school where you can learn with the style that suits you, and have help ready whenever you need it.

For payment, you can make an initial deposit and spread the rest over 8 months which is what I did for my 4 A Levels. This option made me happy cause I couldn't afford the entire sum at once. The only downside is that you have to arrange your exams yourself. They do have a list of endorsed exam centres and their students get some discounts at some of these centres. When compared to the others, I have to admit that they're actually really cheap for all the services they offer.

Warning: Do not go to Interhigh or the Oxford Open College. They will eat your money and give you shabby services. Interhigh used to be good but now, they're disappointing. They used to be part of my top choices.

Lastly, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm advertising them but I'm just so happy cause I almost gave up finishing school after the others disappointed me. I literally was depressed for weeks till I found them and I'm just really really happy right now.

Hello. I'm a new student at Wolsey. At first, I was skeptical about joining but when I couldn't find any other place with reviews as good as theirs, I joined. THEY ARE AMAZING!!!! I'm not even exaggerating. They are wonderful. They've been involved in distance learning since 1894 and one of their alumni is Nelson Mandela.

You'll have tutors for each subject and a student progress manager you can talk to whenever you have problems with your courses. They don't do virtual teaching like some do. Instead, they give free textbooks (you'll pay for delivery if you don't live in UK), a detailed study schedule for each subject, assignments with submission deadlines so you can't slack off, quizzes to revise which add to your final grade. They connect you to a variety of ordered resources including tutoring videos and websites with already paid subscriptions to aid your study and your tutors are always there to help with any issues you have. There's also the online student community which have clubs aimed towards creative writing, art and digital media, and other things I'm still discovering like the free e-library, the mock exams I can take which are free right now, and the university admission adviser I can subscribe for. It's like a flexible school where you can learn with the style that suits you, and have help ready whenever you need it.

For payment, you can make an initial deposit and spread the rest over 8 months which is what I did for my 4 A Levels. This option made me happy cause I couldn't afford the entire sum at once. The only downside is that you have to arrange your exams yourself. They do have a list of endorsed exam centres and their students get some discounts at some of these centres. When compared to the others, I have to admit that they're actually really cheap for all the services they offer.

Warning: Do not go to Interhigh or the Oxford Open College. They will eat your money and give you shabby services. Interhigh used to be good but now, they're disappointing. They used to be part of my top choices.

Lastly, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm advertising them but I'm just so happy cause I almost gave up finishing school after the others disappointed me. I literally was depressed for weeks till I found them and I'm just really really happy right now.