Key Facts
| Entries | Made through an approved centre; centres are not obliged to accept private candidates |
|---|---|
| Science practical endorsement | At least 12 required practical activities, teacher-assessed; reported as Pass or Not Classified separately from the grade |
| Centre duty | Centres must offer private candidates the opportunity to take the endorsement; a candidate who declines must have it recorded |
| UCAS | Home-educated students usually apply as independent applicants; the referee must know them academically or professionally and cannot be family |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
Home-educated students can take A-levels as private candidates in the same way as GCSEs: they study at home, with a tutor or on a distance-learning course, and sit the exams at a centre that agrees to enter them. A-levels raise some extra questions, though. The sciences include a practical endorsement that needs a laboratory, some subjects include coursework, and university applications need a referee and predicted grades without a school to provide them. Below are the choice of subjects and boards, the science practical endorsement, coursework, exam timing, applying to university and the other routes to the same qualifications.
Who can take A-levels as a private candidate
Any student can enter as a private candidate through an approved centre, and exam boards do not accept entries directly. Pearson says a centre is not obliged to accept private candidates, and OCR says the JCQ list of centres that accept them is updated each December for the following year's exams. The exam centres for private candidates page explains how to find a centre and what to ask about fees and arrangements.
Since there is no school timetable, a home-educated student can take A-levels at any age and spread them across more than one exam series, for example sitting one subject a year early. Most A-levels are linear, so all the exams for a subject are taken in the same summer series at the end of the course.
Choosing subjects and boards
The subjects that are easiest to take as a private candidate are those assessed entirely by written exam, such as mathematics, further mathematics, economics, psychology, sociology and religious studies. Assessment can differ between boards within a subject, so checking the assessment section of each specification before choosing a board is worthwhile.
| Assessment type | Examples | What a private candidate needs |
|---|---|---|
| Written exams only | Mathematics, further mathematics, economics, psychology, sociology | A centre that offers the specification |
| Exams plus a practical endorsement | Biology, chemistry, physics | A centre that can run and assess the required practicals |
| Exams plus coursework or non-exam assessment | History, English literature, geography | A centre willing to supervise and authenticate the work |
| Exams plus a speaking assessment | Modern foreign languages | A centre able to conduct the speaking exam |
| Mostly or wholly non-exam assessment | Art and design, design and technology | A centre with the facilities and staff to supervise the work |
The board must also match a centre that will accept the entry, so many families choose the centre and board together. Some families choose International A-levels, which are offered by some boards and are often assessed by exam alone, after checking that their chosen universities accept them.
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Enquire about this tutorThe science practical endorsement
A-level biology, chemistry and physics include a practical endorsement, reported separately from the grade as a Pass or Not Classified. AQA's guidance for private candidates explains that every student taking one of these A-levels must have carried out at least 12 required practical activities, most of which need specialised laboratory equipment, and that the practicals must be assessed by a teacher against the endorsement criteria. At least 15% of the marks in the written papers relate to practical work, so a candidate who has not done the practicals is at a disadvantage in the exams too.
Pearson says the endorsement is a mandatory part of the qualification and that centres must offer every candidate the opportunity to take it, including private candidates. A candidate can decline, in which case the centre still has to confirm that the opportunity was offered. AQA warns that arranging the practicals is likely to involve considerable cost and suggests contacting local schools and colleges directly, since it keeps no list of centres that can help.
Many universities ask for a pass in the practical endorsement for science-based courses, so a student planning to apply for medicine, natural sciences, engineering or a similar course should treat it as essential and check the entry requirements of each course.
Coursework and non-exam assessment
Where a specification includes coursework, the centre must supervise it and confirm that the work is the candidate's own, under the JCQ rules for non-exam assessment. Some centres accept private candidates only for written papers, so families should ask about coursework when they first contact a centre. Choosing a specification without coursework, where one exists, is often the simplest route.
Planning the exams
A-level entries are made through the centre months before the summer series, and centres usually set their own deadlines well before the boards'. Since a private candidate needs the centre's agreement before entries open, a typical plan settles the centre and board during the first year of study.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Before starting | Choose subjects and specifications; check university entry requirements, including any practical endorsement |
| Autumn of year 1 | Contact centres; confirm the board, fees, practical or coursework arrangements and access arrangements |
| Year 1 | Study the course; complete any practicals at the centre as arranged |
| Autumn of year 2 | Confirm entries with the centre ahead of its deadline; plan the UCAS application |
| Summer of year 2 | Sit all exams for each linear A-level in the summer series |
Applying to university as a home-educated student
Home-educated students usually apply through UCAS as independent applicants, not linked to a school. UCAS says the reference must come from someone who knows the applicant in an academic or professional capacity, and it cannot be from a family member or friend. A tutor, an exam centre or college course tutor, or the leader of a volunteering role can be a suitable referee, and a school or college can also supply a reference through UCAS if it agrees.
The referee can also enter predicted grades. A tutor who has taught the student, set timed work and marked mock papers is in the best position to predict grades, which is one reason many families arrange regular assessed work in each subject. Some universities have their own guidance for home-educated applicants, so contacting admissions offices early is sensible. The UCAS application guide covers the rest of the process.
Other routes to A-level qualifications
- Further education college. Many colleges accept students from 16 on full-time courses, which include teaching, practicals and exam entries, and this suits students who want a structured sixth-form course.
- Online schools. Some online schools offer A-level courses and act as, or arrange, an exam centre, which the online homeschooling page compares with tutor-led home education.
- Tutor-led study with a private entry. The student studies with tutors in each subject and sits the exams as a private candidate, which gives the most control over pace and subject choice.
Related guides
- Exam centres for private candidates
- GCSEs for home-educated children
- Home schooling in the UK: the law, deregistration and how to start
- Home education curriculum by age
- How to choose A-level subjects
- UCAS application guide
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Home-educated students taking A-levels as private candidates often work with a specialist tutor in each subject, who can also set and mark the assessed work a referee needs for predicted grades. More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and tutors who work with children hold an enhanced DBS check, and most are registered on the DBS Update Service.
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Read more about our home education tutors and A-level tutoring, or send an enquiry and we reply with tutor recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you do A-levels if you are home educated?
- Yes. Home-educated students sit A-levels as private candidates at a centre that agrees to enter them, after studying at home, with tutors or on a distance-learning course.
- How do home-educated students do A-level science practicals?
- Through a centre that can run and assess the required practicals. Centres must offer private candidates the opportunity to complete the practical endorsement, and AQA warns there is likely to be a considerable cost.
- Which A-levels are easiest to take as a private candidate?
- Subjects assessed entirely by written exam, such as mathematics, further mathematics, economics, psychology, sociology and religious studies, since they need no coursework or practical arrangements.
- Who writes the UCAS reference for a home-educated student?
- Someone who knows the student in an academic or professional capacity, such as a tutor or course tutor. UCAS does not accept a reference from a family member or friend.
- Do universities accept home-educated applicants?
- Yes. Universities assess the qualifications, reference and personal statement in the same way, and some publish guidance for home-educated applicants, so contacting admissions offices early is sensible.
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