Who are online GCSEs for?

Online GCSEs are a wonderful and empowering option for students looking for an alternative to ‘traditional’ brick and mortar schools. Online GCSEs can be studied by students from any location across the globe. At King’s InterHigh, we emulate the best aspects of traditional schooling, with online lessons that are timetabled and delivered in real-time virtual classrooms, by qualified subject teachers. Students have all the benefits of a quality British and international education, in an environment free from distractions, that promotes highly valuable, independent learning skills.

Studying online for your GCSEs means you can learn alongside a diverse mix of students. For some students, online learning enables them to pursue their dreams outside of school, thanks to a more flexible timetable. This allows them to push themselves to new heights and pursue sporting ambitions, or even study between filming and performing. We even have teenage entrepreneurs studying with us at King’s InterHigh!

For others, who don’t feel quite at home in a traditional school environment due to anxieties or difficulties in their current schools, an alternative pathway to higher education can allow them to thrive.

For many reasons, the local mainstream school option isn’t always the best option for every child. As education isn’t a one-size-fits-all, we strive to guide our online GCSE students at King’s InterHigh along their individual pathways, providing a flexible, supportive, and distraction-free environment.

What age group are online GCSEs for?

GCSEs or IGCSEs (International GCSEs), which are taken during Key Stage 4 in the UK, are typically studied by students who are between the ages of 14 and 16 years old. Students can also choose to take online GCSEs earlier or later than in traditional learning environments. For those who excel quickly through education, this means they can tackle more complex learning at a younger age. Others may have had some disruption to their learning for other reasons, such as travel or illness, and need to pick back up where they left off. The beauty of studying GCSEs online is that it is flexible and led by our students’ individual needs, not just by their age.

How do students study GCSEs online?

The first thing every student needs to do when starting their journey with online GCSEs is carefully select their subjects. Whilst basing your GCSE choices on what you enjoy is important, you should also consider future pathways into further education. It can be helpful to look into which subjects are required by the A Levels, IB Diploma, BTECs and even degree courses you aspire to join in the future, to help inform your subject choices at GCSE level.

Once registered, students are given a timetable of classes based on their chosen subjects, just like a normal school. What’s different at King’s InterHigh online school is that students are also given access to an online learning portal. This provides direct links for students to attend each timetabled virtual lesson, but also to go back and watch past lessons again if they happen to miss a class or want to revise a particular topic.

Class sizes are kept small to provide an intimate learning environment, where students can form relationships with other students, often breaking into groups to work through learning activities. The teacher uses a webcam to engage with students and they use cutting-edge teaching software to visually explain complex topics. Students can communicate with their teacher through a group message board, or in private. Teachers can allow students to use their microphones and webcams to ask questions or demonstrate work.

Our lessons follow the exact same British curriculum for GCSEs as a traditional school does. This makes it easy to start studying GCSEs online, even if you are part of the way through a school year. Click here to read our advice to make your transition to online GCSEs as smooth as possible.

Once a student has completed their online studies, they will need to sit their IGCSE exams, providing an internationally recognised qualification set, that is universally acknowledged by top colleges and universities.

What can students do after they have completed GCSEs online?

Each country will have its own rules when it comes to the options available to teenagers who have completed IGCSE level education. In the UK for example, it is a requirement that students stay in some form of education up until the age of 18. Most of our students at King’s InterHigh will go on to study A Levels or the International Baccalaureate, either online with us, or through an in-person Sixth Form or College.

Other students choose to leave mainstream education and learn on the job through apprenticeships, internships, or traineeships. Completing your IGCSEs online with King’s InterHigh also unlocks pathways to take other forms of further education such as BTECs, Cambridge technical or T Levels. What’s important is that by achieving IGCSE qualifications, students have the power to make a choice about their future. They have opened up pathways into further education and on-the-job training. To read more on the pathways after online GCSEs, click here.

What types of students benefit from studying GCSEs online?

Athletes, entrepreneurs, and performers

Studying GCSEs online provides students who have very busy lives with a flexible means of study. Students who are also high-level athletes, actors, and performers, or even entrepreneurs running their own successful businesses, may struggle with the constraints of a traditional school. Their work or training may require them to travel or put in long hours which often clash with a rigid timetable of attending a physical school from 9am to 4pm every day. Without an alternative means of study, they are faced with a choice; either to compromise their education, or their passion and success.

Online GCSEs provides these students with a new and innovative means of maintaining their studies whilst pursuing their dreams. By being able to study anywhere with an internet connection, they can take lessons whilst travelling, on breaks, and any free time in between their busy schedules. If they do ever miss a live lesson, they can easily go back and watch the recording, and always reach out to their teacher for any clarification and support.

Expats and overseas families

Some families have parents that need to work overseas for long periods of time, or their jobs require constant travel. In the past, the family would have to either be separated for long periods of time through choosing a boarding school, or their child would need to jump from school to school. Online GCSEs provide stability for young learners who are overseas at this crucial stage of their education. They can form long standing friendships with other students and receive an un-interrupted, consistent education from one school. A nice added perk is that it’s more affordable to study at King’s InterHigh than it is to study at many International Schools.

Gifted children

In some cases, children excel academically and can study at a faster pace than other students in their age group. Studying GCSEs online opens new opportunities for gifted students, allowing them to take additional subjects or even take their GCSEs much earlier than they could through mainstream school. Online GCSEs can also be taken alongside existing studies, which allows children to keep their same-age community. Our flexible study model allows high academic achievers to study in a distraction-free environment at a pace that suits them.

Those who struggle in mainstream school

There are many reasons why a child may struggle with a traditional school environment. Some children may fall out of touch with the other students, or even be the victims of bullying. Others may struggle to focus in a loud and disruptive classroom environment. As a result, their mental wellbeing may suffer, severely impacting their ability to learn and achieve high grades in exams. King’s InterHigh offer a supportive, distraction-free environment for students. There is no risk of bullying through our online platform, and students have direct, confidential access to teachers, so they can privately raise concerns or ask questions that they may not have had the confidence to ask in front of the class.

We also provide a safe learning environment that is proven to help students with disabilities. The format of our education is well suited to students who are neurodiverse, have learning difficulties or physical disabilities that may hinder their education in a traditional school.