January 13, 2021 by Minerva Tutors,
Online schools are becoming more popular by the day. In this roundup style post, we look at several Harrow School Online alternatives to assist parents in making the right choices for their children.
Why Are Online Schools on the rise?
One of the big insights we gained from “Lockdown 1”, contrary to the media narrative, was that many parents enjoyed teaching their children at home, and in many cases found that their children thrived in a less socially intense environment.
Over the last five to ten years, homeschooling has been on the rise in the UK. But it’s not been until recently that the technology been developed to enable home-based homeschooling services and online schools to really take off.
The combination of these factors has led higher numbers of families looking for alternative options for their children’s education in 2021. But online schools are still very much in their infancy, they are hard to review and they can be tricky to see if they are right for your child for before starting.
1. Minerva’s Virtual Academy
It’s true, we could only be saying this because they’re our sister company, but we believe – and we’ve based this on a load of research into our competitors – that Minerva’s Virtual Academy is the most comprehensive, affordable, and inspiring online school available to parents in the UK and around the globe.
The Academy currently offers pupils in year 9 and 10 the opportunity to study for their GCSEs in a safe, 100% online setting. Pupils learn at home through our super-advanced online learning platform and are helped along the way by their very own personal mentor who makes sure they’re on top of their school work and remain motivated. Pupils join other pupils in group subject classes, collaborate with new friends on exciting extra-curricular projects, attend weekly virtual assemblies, and enjoy after school clubs like Debating or Art.
The Academy is run by Minerva Tutors and has the school motto: ‘Vigemus Uma’ – Together We Thrive. What’s more, as the Academy is powered by the countries top homeschooling and private tuition agency, parents can choose to bolster their child’s education with extra lessons (i.e. Russian, or computer programming) to make for a truly one-of-a-kind, bespoke education.
Minerva’s Virtual Academy is also far more affordable than other options, coming it £590 a month, or just under £6000 a year, compared to the £15,000+ a year fees for Harrow School Online, for example.
2. Harrow Online School
It wouldn’t be right to create a list of Harrow school online alternatives without including the school itself. The original Harrow School is one of the most prestigious private schools in the county. They have recently launched an online version, touted as ‘a new kind of school founded on the educational philosophy, practices and traditions of Harrow School, and delivered by Pearson to pupils all over the world through an online platform’. Harrow have joined up with education stalwarts Pearson to help with the technology aspect of delivering courses online. The fees are the highest in our roundup, coming in at a significant £15,000 a year…
2. Interhigh
Interhigh, the first online school in the UK, launched by Jacqueline Daniell, opened its doors in 2005 and touts itself as ‘a complete interactive Primary School, Secondary School and Sixth Form College’. It offers the usual benefits of a good online school – a range of clubs and societies and even has their own social platform. In our investigations, we discovered that the leadership team aren’t as inspirational as we’d hoped, and that the classes are more like lectures. Having said that, they’ve certainly got the pedigree of being around for over a decade.
4. Wolsey Hall Oxford
Another one of our Interhigh alternatives is Wolsey Hall Oxford who began offering iGCSE courses online in 2010. Wolsey Hall positions itself as a ‘homeschooling college’ and sells its courses individually per subject, rather than charging a yearly fee. The institution does employ tutors to offer mentoring and learning support, like Minerva’s Virtual Academy, and like the Academy, teaches students who live all round the world.
5. Oxford Homeschooling
Oxford Homeschooling is the sister company of Oxford Open Learning, who are specialists in adult learning, and are based in Oxford, UK. They provide their own course materials, and, like the others on this list, they enable children to educate themselves at home. Similar to Harrow Online, they have a fairly lengthy application process, and charge per subject, rather than per term.
So that’s it, a summary of the top virtual schools and Harrow School online alternatives for your child in 2020.
Enroll Today
Enrollment for Minerva’s Virtual Academy is open all year round. If you’d like to know more about how the Academy works, and how easy it is to enrol, head on over to their website, or contact Principal Lawrence Tubb, on +44 (0) 20 3637 6477 or lawrence@minervavirtual.com.
Meet Our New Online School!
If you’re thinking of schooling your child at home, then our brand new, thriving online school could be the perfect solution.
- All lessons and learning material supplied
- Group lessons with other pupils
- 1-2-1 mentoring
- Suitable for pupils in Years 9 & 10 (GCSE)
- Free trial period available
- Rolling monthly payments, cancel anytime
All you need is a computer with an active internet connection, and we’ll do the rest. Visit Minerva’s Virtual Academy now to register for an immediate start!
