main-image

April 1, 2022

Our tips for transitioning to online GCSEs

By King's InterHigh

Moving schools can be nerve wracking, but there are lots of things you can do to help you feel more prepared and confident if you are moving your education online. Online GCSEs provide an opportunity for pupils to take control of their learning and make new friends along the way too.

These are our tips for settling into virtual learning so that you can get the most from your online GCSEs.

Choosing the best online GCSE school for your needs

It is important to think carefully about which online GCSE school you would like to study with. Some GCSE courses which are delivered online may be entirely self-led, with a bank of learning materials for you to play back and learn from completely independently in your own time.

If you are looking for the same level of teacher support you would get in a traditional school setting, then online learning with a fully virtual school could be for you. Online GCSE schools like King’s InterHigh provide timetabled, live lessons with real, qualified teachers. Online schooling gives you the best of both worlds, with the engagement of live teaching and also the ability to re-watch lesson recordings to go back over complex topics and access a library of learning resources to help you to understand any topics you may be struggling with. With 1 to 1 support from pastoral tutors, a virtual school guides you through your GCSEs.

Select the best online GCSE subjects for you

When you are choosing which GCSEs you would like to study, it helps to think long-term about what A Levels or even degree you might like to study one day, so you can start building a foundation of knowledge in those areas at GCSE level. By looking at the entry requirements of your ideal degree, you can work backwards to see which A Levels or BTECs to take, and from there which GCSEs would provide you with the best knowledge base possible.

For example, if you would love to become a vet, you would need the core GCSE subjects of Maths and English. These subjects provide a solid foundation of skills, so you can develop your analytical thinking, ability to tackle complex problems and come up with creative ideas. As well as these, you would also need to take all three sciences, or at least Biology and Chemistry. This will give you a really strong scientific and mathematical understanding ready for A Levels, where, for example, you might take Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry, ready for Veterinary Sciences at university.

If you don’t know exactly what you want to do after education yet, don’t worry! The best advice for choosing your GCSE subjects if you are still unsure of your future path, is to just choose subjects which you love. If you have a passion for languages, take some languages – it could lead to a career in international journalism or politics. Or, if you love getting stuck into a maths problem, take maths and physics – these have future career possibilities like engineering, theoretical physics and data analysis. Often, the subjects you enjoy the most are the ones you will succeed in too. It also makes your study experience much more enjoyable if you love what you do!

Before settling on your choices, the GCSE course subject outlines can be a great place to discover details about the topics covered within the GCSE modules. Click here to discover the full range of subjects we offer as online GCSEs and to learn more about the topics covered in each subject.

At what age are you looking to transition to online GCSEs?

Joining at the start of Year 10?

Joining right at the start of your GCSE journey is the best way to ensure a smooth transition to online learning. It means you can begin your GCSE studies online right away, without any worry about disruption to your studies from moving schools midway through an academic year.

There is always a step up from Year 9 to Year 10. It is likely to be your first time studying with the pressure of an exam at the end of it. Our talented teachers are ready to support you every step of the way and have years of experience in helping students through the process.

Joining at the start of Year 11?

If you are joining us at the start of Year 11 and have already finished your first year of GCSE studies, we recommend continuing the same subjects for your online GCSEs as you had picked previously. The British curriculum we teach online is exactly the same as what is taught in schools, so you can pick up where you left off with your previous school in Year 10. Our admissions team are here to help guide you through the transition if you are joining part-way through your studies, to ensure that the syllabus covered aligns with the topics you’ve already been learning.

Joining part way through an academic year?

Changing to online GCSEs part way through an academic year can be daunting, but we teach the same curriculum at the same pace as traditional schools. Within days of enrolment you can be joining your new classes and continuing your GCSE studies.

Don’t forget – learning online not only means live lessons, but also access to previous lesson recordings and pastoral support too. This means you can revisit topics whenever you need and catch up on anything missed, which is particularly useful if you have had some disruption to your learning during your transition to online education. Also, if there was something you were struggling to understand at your previous school, you can always make use of the library of lesson recordings and bank of resources to revise and revisit trickier topics.

Discover as much as you can before your first day

Even before your first lesson, you can get a feel for your new online learning platform by having a look through all the information available to you on the school’s website. Past pupil stories can be a great place to start, if you want to see how others found the transition to online learning. You can also read any advice they give on making the transition as easy as possible.

Have a read of our FAQs to find the answers you need about how online GCSEs work. You can also get in touch with customer support if you can’t find the exact answer you are looking for. Learning as much as possible before your first day will help to settle any nerves and help you feel more confident.

Make the most of your new school’s resources

To make your transition to online learning smooth, try to take advantage of all the resources your new virtual school has available.

Online GCSE schools will usually give you 24/7 access to class recordings, so you can read up on any topics you aren’t quite sure about and stay on top of every GCSE subject you are studying. You can always speak to your teachers directly too if you have any questions about a subject or how the online lessons work.

Thriving in your online GCSEs isn’t just about the academics – make sure to use break times to reach out to your fellow classmates in the online common rooms. Extracurricular activities also give you the opportunity to get chatting with your classmates about things other than school and is a great way to build new friendships and get settled into your new virtual school.

By King's InterHigh

King’s InterHigh is an independent British international online school. Offering Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form education, we cater to students from age 7 – 18 who are looking for a high quality British education delivered in a way that revolves around their lifestyle.

In this article: