Home Study for A Levels and GCSEs
The options here are much wider than for Leaving and Junior Cert, though it is likely that a candidate will have to travel at least to Northern Ireland and possible to the England to sit exams and/or complete the practical or course work portions of courses that include continuous assessment.
There are a much broader range of subjects available than for the Irish state examinations. UK examinations also duffer in that there is no single nationally used syllabus, instead a number of exam boards set specifications for and examine candidates in various subjects.
Edexcel (A Levels and GCSEs)
Edexcel is the only UK exam board that accepts individual candidates for A Level exams. Individual candidates are those who will not sit the exam at the school they attend, so covers home educated candidates. In most cases individual students will sit the exam at a centre that already exists for school going candidates (ie in a school, alongside other candidates) although they do have an open exam centre in London.
Edexcel offers exams in the full range of A Level subjects, however they offer no courses and in the case of the many courses which have a continuous assessment element the student will need to make independent arrangements for this to be completed. There is a PDF with much more information about Edexcel and overseas students, which will outline the details. A number of schools in Northern Ireland accept individual candidates at their exam centres, details in that PDF.
You can purchase the specifications for Edexcel examinations at their site and follow the courses independently, but there are also some options for supported home learning (see below). (It is weirdly difficult to figure out how to buy at that site!)
ASW2 (A Levels)
A college based in South London who offer international students the chance to study online for A levels, in association with Edexcel. It is definitely not a budget option, it may be necessary to travel to England to sit exams and to complete the practical aspects of some courses and fees are high.
Subjects covered are Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English Literature, Geography, Mathematics and Physics.
More about ASW2 Distance Learning A Levels
ICS Learn (A Levels and GCSEs)
Part of the massive international group Thompson Learning, ICS offer tutor-led home study at both GCSE and A Level in the subject areas Business & Law, History, Religious Studies, Science, Languages, Maths and English.
They have no exam centre and it is the responsibility of students to organise their own centre in order to sit exams, though an information pack about doing this is provided. All courses come with access to an extensive online library and an online community area where students can meet and discuss their courses (or anything else they want to discuss I suppose!).
More About ICS Learn Distance Learning A Levels & GCSEs