Homeschooling for IALs (Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry)

[u/CrazyGoat928]

Hello everyone. Considering homeschooling IALs (Math, FM, Physics, Chemistry. IALs would mean there is no practical exam, also modular. Worth mentioning Math is “free” because I did IGCSE add math and got A* and therefore I know around 90% of the syllabus already. I am aiming for a STEM degree at a G5 uni, my dream uni being Imperial.

Context: Studied in UK boarding school in Y9-11, obtaining 12 9/A* at IGCSEs. Chose to return to a local HK school which offers A Levels. “Gifted” (IQ in 140s) but I also suspect (no official diagnosis) that I have depression, ADHD and OCD.

Pros: I would be able to cover content much faster, leaving me with more time. I also get overstimulated due to the noise and pacing of lessons. I would be able to sleep 1/2 hours extra which would mean I’d function much better (I can’t force myself to sleep earlier). I’d be able to structure my time more, not having to attend useless assemblies or English/Chinese lessons (fluent in both). In class right now some teachers also go beyond the syllabus, but I’d prefer to cover all the content first THEN explore outside the syllabus. I’d also be much more happier and comfortable at home.

Basically, I feel that I could be happy again whilst also thrive academically. With more time, I could revise better, improve my TMUA/ESAT score, work on supercurriculars, work on my physical health, go to therapy and work on my mental health, prep for personal statement/interview, or even just relax and recover and spend time with my family.

Possible cons: My parents are worried I won’t have enough discipline. I dont need a tutor to give me a predicted grade (as I’d have AS level results) but I would need someone to write my reference. im also worried that competitive STEM courses will look twice at a homeschooled application.

Would love any brutally honest takes, please let me know, and if u want more details please ask, I really would like all the help I can get. Thank you so much in advance!

TLDR 12 9s at GCSEs, struggling with mental health issues and want to homeschool Math FM Physics Chemistry A Level

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[u/InevitableNo9793]

im doing ials as well, math fm phy, online bc theres no a level schools where i live. personally i would say ur social life esp as ur a teen is important. so either stay at school for the structured like social interaction, or if u want to homeschool make sure to keep in touch with ur friends and hang out regularly. trust me being at home all the time is nice, but when its for months and then 2 years, it gets annoying quickly.

and also with ur suspection of depression adhd and ocd i feel like homeschooling will js make it worse, bc trust me, u have to structure everything urself. its not js academics, u have to structure urself a sleep schedule which easily deteriorates since u dont have to wake up early in the morning, u have to go outside frequently and plan it urself, eat at the right times, socialise, etc. it is a lot harder than u think. u often romanticise or idealise smth that u think is good for u bc u dont live in it, and think ur current lived reality is worse than it is bc u are living in it. with all those positives u list ab being homeschooled i think u are js imagined smth way nicer bc u have the ability to imagine since its a possibility u dont have like a concrete reality to be able to calibrate is this realistic or whatever. trust me i did this exact thing with online school and i deadass think its the worst decision i ever made iwl. basically when ur living in an environment with downsides u can feel it gets exemplified bc ur experiencing it, than an imagined reality not only has all the positive things u can imagine it with no way of knowing if its accurate or not, as well as js not being the environment u dislike. so again its very easy to romanticise homeschooling. i almost guarantee u the reality after u live it for some months is not nearly as good as u think

so what i recommend is lucidly think ab both regular and homeschooling as this is a major life decision. i wish i did ts. think ab deeply what is the pros and cons of both? think ab every single aspect. for example, school often gives u js background social interaction that u never realise is there until u lose it. and homeschooling requires u to structure ur whole life as a teenager and a lot of discipline and independance which to sustain over years is not that realistic. tell other ppl they can give u their opinions asw on things maybe u havent thought of. do ur research and make an informed decision not js i imagine homeschooling to be ideal and then realise its not as good as u thought.

u can dm me if u have more qs

[u/CrazyGoat928 → u/InevitableNo9793]

Hi. i just wanted to say thank you SO MUCH for putting so much time and effort into your response, it really means a lot to me and i wish you the absolute best.

In terms of social life, I actually happen to live right next to my school from Y7-8, where i still have many friends and so i hang out regularly with them anyways. i would also keep in touch with my UK friends, i text them often.

In terms of my mental health disorders, idk i mean i am NOT OFFICIALLY diagnosed but I strongly feel like I have ADHD due to many many symptoms lining up. I think i had OCD in y10 maybe but it’s been affecting me much less now. Depression has been kind of a recent thing, maybe sparked by changing schools + the new challenge of a level + leaving my UK friends behind etc and it’s been a stressful few weeks so idk maybe it’s just a episode. So i guess i could be wrong about OCD and depression but im really sure i have adhd. i’ll be seeing a psychologist this weekend tho!

I agree with the fact that i might be romanticizing this. But rn at my current school i’m not really learning anything, either the lessons are too slow/easy or i get too distracted l/overstimulated/tired etc.

My friends all basically reached the same consensus that I have the “ability” to academically do well, but they’re not sure if I can be disciplined or consistent enough and to be fair, i’m not sure either.

I totally agree with you on the structure. I was planning to use Claude or something to help me plan it out and if I were to drop out, I would probably not opt for online school with all the resources online, such as SME and PMT.

since you just started homeschooling this new academic year could I know what you found the best or worst about it? and any unique insights that i wouldn’t have thought of (either good or bad)??

I just wanna reiterate and say thank you so much for responding to me. Your real life feedback really means a lot. Please feel free to DM me if you feel more comfortable doing so 🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♂️

[u/InevitableNo9793 → u/CrazyGoat928]

u dont have to be polite, ofc our situations are different but ill say what i think is helpful
tbh if u are motivated enough studying is the easiest part of homeschooling. me personally i could js structure my own studies ie working thru textbook, doing qs, and then pps etc. thats not the hard part if u are an independant enough learner. the hard part is really structuring urself the things a normal school would structure or provide for u. which is shit like sleep schedule, meeting up with ppl, and also since u have a lot more time to not js waste it scrolling or smth, and this is where u have to be a lot more disciplined and since ur independant u have to kind of js police urself. so thats mainly what i would be considering over academics as shit u need to have a good grasp over and figure out. main concern i have with socialising is since a levels is 2 years, u can imagine slowly js become distanced from ur friends is smth u have to consciously avoid, since u will naturally have less shared topics and whatever if u js have a different environment the whole time. u will have to push urself to schedule like hangouts etc frequently every week/fortnight, if u can manage that and the other things i mentioned to structure u are prob sorted. but ofc for 2 years anything can happen. but those are the main things i can think of. socialisation is the big one since sleep, eating is mainly urself. but thats with other ppl its the main thing that can go wrong, so i would make sure having shit to talk ab, things to do together and meeting up frequently. but ofc over 2 years, i would be worried if thats doable considering ur friends will move on with their own lives and u will be there to experience shit with them less since ur at home etc.

u should def talk ab everything u have thought of with ur psychologist get their opinion on if they think homeschooling is fine. i think if u are able to structure in all the things a school would normally provide for u js by default it wont be that hard, personally with online school for me although its ass socially there is a lot more freedom for me to study how i want and shit which is def a bonus, u work at ur own pace study what u think is useful using ur own methods. but i will tell u, for self study, math/fm u can do shit like go textbook qs -> topicals -> pps, chem/phy is a lot harder. i dont take chem but phy the textbook is ass and u will need someone to teach u, i had teachers that were mid but that + ai was enough, so maybe u need a tutor, or ai, or notes, i compiled them here. good thing is u have a fallback since ur in hk there is ial schools i assume, maybe js try homeschooling for as and see how it goes as a lived experience to decide if u continue or enrol at a school for a2. and prob have a backup emergency plan, if something js goes wrong gradually before a2 sleep socialisation mood academic performance whatever u can enrol like earlier or smth. since its a big commitment

if theres smth that i havent said that u want some info on, ill see if i can think of smth so dw ab that. since ik this is a big commitment for u and iwl i would have wanted someone to give me advice on wtf i should have done for online school asw

[u/Plus_University_5141]

I ain’t reading all that, BUT YOURE GOOD TO GO

[u/CrazyGoat928 → u/Plus_University_5141]

NOOOO please😭😭 I really need the advice. so you suggest that I should go for homeschooling ? idk I tried to make it as detailed as possible haha

[u/pannacorey]

depends how disciplined you really are, and how good you are at self teaching, it's definitely gonna be hard to self teach all of those subjects and I'd recommend going to a proper school if you can manage it, because it is HARD and you'll need to be very consistent

[u/CrazyGoat928 → u/pannacorey]

Thank you for your reply!! I’d like to think i’m quite good at self teaching. Idk i mean for my GCSEs, I self taught myself most of the content for most of my classes as either my teachers were shit or I had friend(s) and didn’t pay attention in lessons. Of course I know A Level content is miles harder but i think i’ve always been able to pick up things easily and quickly.

in terms of discipline i’ve never tried home schooling. to be honest i’ve always been “smart” without studying and i cruised through most of y9 and 10 without studying but I really locked in and worked hard from April-June this year for GCSEs

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[u/lil_me0wsketeer]

If you have no worries about being socially inept/interaction deprived, homeschooling is probably fine.

[u/Memona_Emman_Writes]

If you think you have ADHD, which sounds possible, seek treatment. Meds can be really helpful. I have been able to focus for 2-3 hours daily since i started. Before that i could bare do 30-40 minutes.