Seventeen-year-old Darius has been homeschooled in Romania with Wolsey Hall Oxford for the last three years. His dedication to his studies and revision paid off when he received four amazing IGCSE results:
IGCSE Computer Science – A*
IGCSE Mathematics – A*
IGCSE History – A*
IGCSE English Language – A
As he continues to study for more IGCSEs, Darius spoke to us about making the decision to homeschool and the benefits it’s brought him.
Wolsey Hall Oxford supports students learning at home in Romania and around the world.
“Homeschooling has been in mine and my parents’ mind for some years, for various reasons,” explains Darius. “We all thought that such a system would work very well for me. We also had some acquaintances who homeschooled their children, and they explained the process in detail, convincing us further. However, what triggered the change was the pandemic and the damage it caused to most schools. The school I was enrolled in was no exception. Wolsey Hall was one of the first options we found when it came to homeschooling, and it caught our eye from the beginning. We also had the opportunity to meet a homeschooled student at Wolsey Hall from the same city as me. This led to us learning more and becoming keener to join.”
“The biggest advantage must be the freedom and flexibility. I can choose what I want to learn, based on what I’m interested in and the career path I’ve chosen. I can also shape my daily schedule in any way that I want and that has always been very important to me. This has also allowed me to invest more in my hobbies and passions such as sport, guitar, or programming. More than that, I’ve become a much more responsible and disciplined person overall because of homeschooling. The fact that I study the material all by myself was very appealing to me. This has made me enjoy studying, remember what I study better and overall learn faster and more efficiently.”
“Learning all by myself was difficult in the beginning, but I eventually got used to it. I had to make sure I understood everything in the lesson plan. There was no teacher to test me, and I had to test myself. Luckily, the resources given by Wolsey Hall were enough to make me understand everything I learn about perfectly. The social aspects also became somewhat more challenging – there were no longer 20 classmates I saw every day and interacted with, whether I wanted to or not. I was completely responsible for my social life and had to take good care of it. It was hard at the beginning but got easier and easier.”
“I think my preparation for the exams went smoothly. There were times when I felt like I was not doing enough and that I did not know the subject well enough to get a good grade, but overall, I made constant good progress. I started revision around 2-3 months before the exam, and after revising, I started working on past papers – and did a lot of them. I studied the mark scheme very well so I could know what is expected of me at each question. Each time there was a question I got wrong; I would write the answer down from the mark scheme at a “special notes” section in my notebook so I would not get that question wrong again. The best advice I can give to students is to do as many past papers as possible and study the mark scheme very well. It will help a lot. The exam itself will feel way easier, like you’ve done this so many times before already.”
“Right now, I am focusing on my final two IGCSEs, which are Economics and Physics. I plan to take A Levels next – Computer Science, Mathematics and a third subject I haven’t really decided on yet. It will most likely be Economics. Eventually, I would like to get into a Computer Science University and continue on that path.”
If you’re thinking of enrolling your child at Wolsey Hall Oxford and you’d like to know more about what we do or how to enrol, please get in touch. We’re ready to enrol new students throughout the academic year.
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