Watch the short videos below to find answers to commonly asked questions by parents
We follow the UK National Curriculum in which we prepare students to sit the Edexcel IGCSE examinations.
Please note that we have a politically neutral stance when it comes to teaching according to the National Curriculum. So for example old texts such as Of Mice and Men, we do not teach this due to some of the language that it contains.
We also keep students away from inflammatory topics around religion, race, gender, orientation, wars etc (so if there isn’t an absolute need to teach this to get great grades in their exams, we won’t cover these topics in our core subject lessons).
However if students have questions about sensitive topics then we can provide an appropriate environment where these views can be heard, supported and understood.
For all of our students who are enrolled with us for at least a full term will receive a certificate with their subjects, grades and progress marks.
Yes! It is not uncommon for home educated pupils to start taking their GCSEs, one per year, from age 13 and we are able to support that, if it is right for the student and agreed by you.
Yes we definitely do! We’ve had students who graduated last year who solely relied on us to help them pass their A-Levels in a year. It’s definitely challenging but if you are determined to put the work in, then we are happy to help you succeed!
We cover all core subjects and more to provide a holistic education. However your child only needs to enrol on the subjects they wish to do. We do not have a minimum subject requirement
You can find out more information about the subjects we cover for each key stage by clicking here
Teachers are regularly providing students with exam practice questions to help gauge student understanding and to help minimise exam anxiety. We will also then share these details with you as a parent so you can decide if you would like us to provide more homework, arrange additional private lessons or delay exam dates
Yes we do! We teach IGCSEs (Edexcel) and help students to do really well in these exams. Please follow this link for more information on our curriculum and subjects we cover
We can also help provide support on test centres and when would be the best time to sit the exams.
Some students wish to do exams early and some wish to do them over an extended period of time. We support both.
We follow the UK Curriculum for all of the core subjects: English, Maths, the Sciences, French, Geography, History, and Psychology. Students will prepare for their IGCSE exams under the Edexcel Exam Board
We also teach Coding, Life Skills which aren’t IGCSEs but will broaden student horizons and understanding
As exams approach, our lessons will be focussed on exam practice, how to answer exam-style questions and ensuring that your child has the knowledge and is fully prepared to achieve the best grades possible.
Our Key Stage 4 Courses are designed to cover the content and exam preparation over a 2 year period.
However if your child would like to be ready for their exams in 1 year we will cover the majority of the content within the year but we will require your child to complete additional homework and exam practice (that we will provide and support with resources). Your child may also require some additional 1:1 tuition to help fill in any gaps in their understanding of the subject they wish to sit.
The additional 1:1 lessons for IGCSEs are £30 per hour
Yes!
Our teachers design homework to be encouraging, not overwhelming and should take up to 15 minutes to do per lesson.
The homework is also designed to get them ready for the next lesson.
This will be shared directly in your student dashboard and you will be able to see the marks and teacher comments from within the same place.
If your child would like more homework then they are welcome to ask and we will do our best to give them what they need.
We regularly assess students throughout the learning cycle with ourselves. This is to ensure they get comfortable dealing with exam style questions and will ultimately support to reduce their anxiety around exams.
We will also do mock exams to establish where students are and to be able to provide recommendations as to whether we feel they are ready to sit their exams yet.
If they are are then we will support you to find the most appropriate exam centre and help you through the booking process.
Yes!
All of the lessons we deliver for our IGCSE subjects are sufficient for your child to attend, participate in and be ready to do well in their exams.
We normally encourage 2 years for a child to complete their IGCSEs with us. This allows students to take the learning at a healthier pace, allows for ample exam practice without overwhelming the student.
But it should be noted that we do require student participation and enthusiasm in order for them to achieve the best grades. We can provide additional homework and exercises for students who are wanting to complete their IGCSEs early.
That is totally fine. We’re ready and happy to accept students all year round.
We can provide support to students to ensure that they are able to catch up (if they are behind) by providing them with lesson recordings, additional homework or even put them into a lower class (provisionally) so that they can catch up if needed.
On average we are between 10-30% cheaper than other popular online schools based on the standard pricing that you can see on our fees pages.
We also offer further discounts to frontline NHS workers, single parent families, parents on benefits and more where you could make up to a further 35% saving (if eligible). See here for more information about Financial Support
It is quick and simple to enrol:
1) Make a free student account (takes less than 2 minutes)
We would advise parents to enrol yourself for a FREE trial lesson from within your dashboard
2) When your ready to enrol either go to My Orders in your dashboard and choose the learning plan for you
OR
Your lessons will automatically be added into your dashboard.
You will be contacted by a member of our team within 24 hours to confirm that we have received payment and are working on enrolling your child onto your chosen lesson plan or package. Please ensure your phone number and email address is up to date.
You can also start a webchat with us once paid in case email/phone isn’t your preferred method of contact.
However we would encourage a phone call initially so we can get the best understanding of your child their specific needs. We will use this information to personalise their experience with us and ensure their teachers are equipped with this information
Yes of course. We understand that your child’s future and education is nothing to be taken lightly so we want to ensure you are confident in our ability to support your child through their learning journey.
Please make a student account and you will be able to book a FREE trial lesson from within your dashboard. Click here to create your student account
You can also book for a paid trial week (which can be done from within your dashboard)
However our recommendation is to buy a Rolling Half Term contract to allow your child to really gain a real online schooling experience without committing for anything more than the half term you pay for.
Yes! It is our aim to make quality education affordable for every household.
So beyond our discounts that we offer for eligible families we also allow parents on the Annual Packages to spread the remaining outstanding fees over an agreed monthly schedule
We also offer payments to be accepted through Klarna and Paypal which allow you to spread the cost
Your lessons will automatically be added into your dashboard once you have made payment. This can take a couple of days.
You will also be sent email reminders 30 mins & 10 mins before the lesson starts as well when it has started and ended.
You can adjust these settings from within the settings panel in your student dashboard which can be found by clicking on your profile picture in the top right.
Never!
We value every single student that walks through our virtual doors. They are an individual with their own beautiful needs and we will always work hard to make sure they are always having fun whilst learning.
We take student satisfacction so seriously that after each lesson the students have the option to score the lesson out of 5 on various points. We regular review this data and look into addressing any areas of improvement or concern as a priority. This could also involve speaking to yourself and your child to ask how we can better support them 🙂
No 🙂
To help make education more financially viable for families we have removed the need for any deposits or enrolment fees to be paid.
Yes! It is a very simple process to deregister your child from their school.
All it takes is an official letter sent by you to the school and you will be legally allowed to home educate your child.
You can find out more information and a template for how to do this in our Student Handbook
Yes! We have successfully helped students pass their IGCSEs, A-Levels and even secured them places in univerisities.
Our comprehensive learning plans and packages allow you to choose the subjects you wish for your child to learn. We will then ensure our amazing teaching staff help provide all of the knowledge and exam prep they will need to do really well.
Naturally, this does require enthusiasm from the student. But TheOnlineSchool.uk will be provided adequate resources and support to get your child to be happy, excited about learning and to achieve good grades.
All our teachers are SEND trained and have experience in engaging and teaching students with all needs.
We have a lot of students who may have anxiety, depression, demand avoidance, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and autism.
Our teaching style is focussed around creating a calm environment for students, helping them understand the concepts at the core of the matter and providing regular mind breaks to avoid students feeling over whelmed.
Our timetable is also spaced out to allow adequate breaks for maximum engagement.
Our classes are also based on ability rather than age group so we can tailor your child’s lessons to their individual needs.
Yes! You can request for a comprehensive assessment of your child’s progress whilst at The Online School. This report will be good enough for any school to read and be able to understand your child’s strengths, weaknesses and what they need to work on next according to the UK curriculum.
We have no minimum number of subjects that you must enrol for. We would rather that students enrol for the subjects they are motivated to learn.
We would also advise parents to ease their child into our school by potentially enrolling them for 1-3 subjects to begin with. This will help reduce their anxiety and help them get comfortable before you add in more subjects if you so wish.
However the more subjects you choose, the more savings you make.
You request a cancellation with a full half term’s notice if you are on the Annual Package i.e. If you were currently in the 1st half of Spring Term (and the term had started), then you would be able to cancel at the end of the 2nd half of Spring Term. But your notice must be given to us in writing before the start of 2nd half of Spring Term.
If you are on a Half Termly Contract then you cancel within the same Half Term without any notice. But you will not receive any refund for the current Half Term you are attending.
In accordance with our terms and conditions, we do not offer any refunds once you have made payment with us and have access to your dashboard for the current half term. Beyond that you are eligible for a refund if you are on an Annual Contract and give us a full half term’s notice before you wish your payments to stop. In this case you will receive a refund.
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