Home education: exams, community and next steps
Practical guidance on exams, meeting other families and building a plan that works for your child.
Exams as a private candidate
One parent in our research told us their child returned to school because they could not find clear information about exams for home-educated young people. This section is here to close that gap.
Home-educated young people usually take GCSEs or IGCSEs as private candidates.
An IGCSE can be easier to arrange for some families because many courses do not include coursework. However, this varies by subject and exam board, so always check before choosing.
First, choose:
- The subject.
- The exam board.
- The exact specification or course code.
You need these details before an exam centre can confirm whether it can accept your child.
Your child will take exams at a school, college or private exam centre that accepts private candidates.
Not every centre accepts private candidates, and centres can decide which subjects, exam boards and access arrangements they can support.
Start with:
- The JCQ private-candidate search tool ↗.
- The HE Exams community ↗, which includes family-maintained advice about centres and how to approach them.
Ask each centre:
- Do you accept private candidates for this subject and specification?
- Can you support coursework, practical work or speaking assessments if they are required?
- Can you provide access arrangements if my child needs them?
- What is the full cost, including administration fees?
- What is the entry deadline?
Summer exam entries often need to be arranged during the autumn or winter beforehand. Centres may stop accepting entries well before the final exam-board deadline.
Private candidates usually pay the exam entry fee and the centre’s administration costs. Fees vary widely by subject, exam board, centre, coursework requirements and access arrangements.
A useful planning estimate is around £150 to £300 per subject, although some subjects, practicals and specialist arrangements may cost more. Ask for the full cost in writing before booking.
Your child does not have to take all their exams in one summer.
Many home-educating families spread GCSEs across two or three years, taking one or two subjects at a time when the young person is ready. This can reduce pressure, spread the cost and make it easier to plan.
Finding other home-educating families
Families in our research were clear: community is a vital part of home education. Other families can offer friendship, shared activities, practical advice, exam-centre recommendations and reassurance when things feel difficult.
Education Otherwise. A long-standing national charity for home-educating families. It offers guidance, local-group links and advice about communication with councils.
HE Exams community. A useful source of private-candidate exam information, as well as discussion groups where experienced home educators answer practical questions.
Local groups. Across South East London, families may find home-education meet-ups, forest-school groups, shared classes and informal social groups through the organisations above or local social-media groups.
Finding each other. See Chapter 24 for this toolkit’s pages for connecting families across the boroughs.