GCSE History- how difficult to teach at home?

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

DD (14)(Yr 9) is desperate to study GCSE history which her school find impossible to time table with her other options. Does anyone know whether she would be able to do the work at home, and take the GCSE either privately or at school?

Thanks.

[IloveJudgeJudy]

I would think that history would be particularly difficult. My DS is just taking this and I looked through his textbook. he said the last topic was one they could research and use other sources, but Propoganda was a topic where they have to follow the book completely. I don't know how you find out which parts of the curriculum you have to follow the book completely and which parts are more fluid. would the school help you with that?

[Jamillalliamilli]

We?re home ed and have done History IGCSE (solid grounding for A level which we?re now doing) without specific text books, just learnt all about the chosen relevant periods/events/background, and read around subjects, historians views, arguments etc, and some exam technique, so not really sure it would be a big problem if you?ve a motivated child who?s interested in history, (took a year early, and got an A, so definitely do-able) but I didn?t understand and was surprised by the comment ?a topic where they have to follow the book completely?. It sounds like being taught to pass a specific exam, rather than teaching history well enough to be examined on it, but I?m out of the school loop and may be being unfair. (Hopefully you?ll get a history teacher show up)

Our approach would be to find which exam board we could sit where, get everything needed from your chosen exam board?s site, then either, get your school as you've one available, on board with verifying coursework, or if they won?t, find an exam centre you can take an IGCSE at, as they don?t use coursework (it?s equivalent to old style O level exam) and go for it. Hth.

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

Thank you, that is useful.
School do not seem to be able to help- very infexible. No extra classes after school either. So dd either has a choice of doing a language at home, or history at home and I think history would be easier.
I have found Oxfordlearning who do an IGCSE which seems to be doable. (And the course outline looks very good). Do you know, JustGOWI, if IGCSEs are considered as equal to GCSEs by colleges, unis? Because it seems we may have to do A level that way too.

Thank everyone.

[Jamillalliamilli]

They?re generally considered more rigorous and you?ll find a fair amount of the grammars and independent schools using them. (making them potential exam centres)
It?s really important to make sure you have an approved exam centre for the relevant exam board, before paying out for a course, if that?s her preferred method of learning. It?s the thing that can mess up independent learning and cause untold stress otherwise.

Assuming you can find an Edexcel exam centre, I?d happily recommend Edexcel. They give access to past papers, examiners tips, external candidates handbook, etc.
If you?re happier getting in a course, go for it, but if you go and have a look at the spec: www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/IGCSE%20New%20IGCSE/UG026708-IGCSE-History-4HI0-Issue-2-090211.pdf you don?t actually need one, and if you?re in this for the long haul, you may need to look at financial side of things.

We?re doing A/S level history at the moment, (AQA) which is coursework free, but the A2 component requires coursework verification, so you need to look into finding a method of getting that if she?s going to do A levels independently.