Best online GCSE courses for home education in the UK (2026 comparison)

What to compare in an online GCSE course for home education

• GCSE or International GCSE. Home-educated students sit exams as private candidates. GCSE English Language needs a spoken language endorsement that most centres will not assess for private candidates, and GCSE sciences need required practicals signed off by a centre. International GCSEs have neither: the whole grade comes from the written papers.
• Where your child will sit the exam. Check whether the course books an exam seat or leaves it to you. On Lift College's Study option you book with a centre and pay its published fee; on +Exams the entry and centre fee are included and we book the seat.
• Exam series. GCSEs have one main series a year, in May and June, plus November for GCSE Maths and English Language resits at 16 and over. International GCSE Mathematics is examined in January, June and November. Check each subject's course page for its series.
• A named tutor. The same subject specialist who marks work and can support a UCAS reference later.
• How you pay. A one-off course fee, finance, or a monthly subscription you can stop. Lift College has no course fee and no credit agreement.
• Support for anxious learners. Live classes suit some children and not others. Lift College has no live classes and no camera; work is set and marked in writing.
• Regulation. GCSEs are on the Ofqual register; International GCSEs are not. If a college or employer asks for a regulated qualification, choose the GCSE.

Every Lift College course is a full specification with marked practice and mock papers, marked work back in 5 to 7 working days, and a parent dashboard: the parent holds the account.

GCSE Maths online for home education: comparison (2026)

Lift College is listed first. Competitor fees are from each provider's own page, checked 21 October 2026.

International GCSE Maths online: comparison (2026)

Competitor fees are from each provider's own page, checked 22 October 2026.

"Check provider" means we do not hold that detail from the provider's page. Prices change, so check each provider before you buy.

Who each option suits

• You home educate by choice and want GCSEs without coursework: International GCSEs, sat in the series your child is ready for, with the seat booked on +Exams.
• A college or employer asks for a regulated GCSE: the GCSE, for example GCSE Maths. For English Language and the sciences, plan the spoken endorsement or practicals with a centre first.
• Your child is out of school and anxious: self-paced study with no live class to face and one tutor who replies in writing.
• You want to pay once for the course and arrange exams yourself: the course-fee providers in the tables, or Lift College's Study option.
• Your child is under 14: Lift College teaches from 14; our advisers can point you to other providers until then.

What you get with Lift College

• From age 14. Under 18s enrol with a parent or guardian's permission and support, and the parent holds the account.
• One subject at a time, each its own monthly subscription, so you only pay for what your child is studying now. Five or six subjects is typical, sat across different series.
• The same named UK tutor from the first lesson to results day, with marked work back in 5 to 7 working days.
• Exams handled on +Exams: entry and centre fee included, and the seat booked at one of 10 Tutors & Exams centres in England, with access arrangements through their SEN team.
• 7-day free trial, 14-day money back on every payment, no contract and no credit check.
• Exam fees: there is no state funding for exam fees in England; parents who home educate bear the cost, and some councils in Wales reimburse fees.

Ready to start? Take GCSE Maths online with Lift College, read GCSEs at home: how study and exams work, or see the home education hub.