Fast track 1-1 online lesson GCSE Photography for Home Ed starting in April 2026

This ticket is for the first one-to-one lesson for the Fast Track GCSE Photography course. There will be 12 1-1 lessons in total, taking place on the same day and time each week.

Overview of the Fast Track Photography GCSE course and how it is taught:

The course is taught over the space of one year from April or July 2026 to March/ April 2027 Your child will take their practical photography exam in March/ April 2027.

The course will be taught with live online lessons on Zoom. It will be a combination of one-to-one and group classes. They will have 12 one-to-one lessons of one hour with me to catch up and create their coursework portfolio in a more intense way over the Summer term or Summer holidays and then in September 2026 they will join the group lessons which occur weekly.

The one-to-one lessons are weekly over a two to three month period in the Summer term or over the summer holidays depending upon your child’s availability and when they would like to begin.

Over the period of these 12 one-to-one lessons your child will be creating the majority of their coursework portfolio which is worth sixty percent of their mark. So over this period I will ask your child to take at least 5 planned photoshoots and to learn photography editing with me. So this period of learning is quite intense with weekly home learning of 2 hours each week expected.

At what age can my child begin Fast Track?
Fast Track is a mode of learning that I generally recommend for children who are starting to be at least 14 years old and would be in the equivalent of Year 10 school year. I understand that every child is different, but to get higher marks in Photography, you must give meaning to your work which requires maturity in approach and thinking. Also, quite complicated editing in PhotoShop is required.

In my experience, the Fast Track is too much pressure for children to begin in year 9.

What days of the week and times of the day are the lessons?
For the one-to-one lessons, there is a choice of the days and time you can choose available in the ticket selection

From September 2026 there is a choice of two group classes that your child can join:

Either Tuesday at 1pm - 2pm or Thursday at 11.15 am - 12.15pm. Once you have enrolled on the Fast Track course then you can choose and reserve one of these class choices to join weekly from September 2026

Lessons are live online and recordings are available if you can't make a class at the time and will have between 5 and 8 pupils in each group.

What is the cost?

Total £1020 payable to me for lessons over the year.

The fee for the 2 day exam is separately payable to Tutors and Exams and is approx. £500 for two days and you get a ten percent discount booking through me as your tutor.

Break down of costs:

1-1 lessons from April or July 2026 are £45 per hour

You will pay £540 for 12 one-to-one lessons (12 x £45) over a period of 3 months. These can be paid for in blocks of 4 lessons of £180 per month.

Group online lessons from September 2026 are £17.50 each

It will be £420 for four half terms of group lessons from September 2026 until April 2027 paid for in half term blocks of 6 lessons costing £105 each.

There will be a fee of £60 paid to me for the marking, standardising and submission of the coursework and exam work in April 2027.

The fee for the 2 day exam is separately payable to Tutors and Exams and is approx. £500 for two days and you get a ten percent discount booking through me as your tutor.

What do I provide when your child becomes part of my GCSE photography group lessons?

Live online lessons, access to online video tutorials made by me and tailored to their project, lesson recordings, weekly personalized feedback to each student, artist research resources, portfolio template, written resources and templates. Email updates to parents and carers with action plans and photoshoot plans.

What will you be taught for the Photography GCSE?

In these online lessons up until Christmas 2026 you will be creating a coursework portfolio which is one project worth 60 percent .
It is a digital portfolio on Googleslides.

We are starting on the theme of photography skills - composition and camera settings - which will then lead onto the main theme of your portfolio decided by you.

There are 4 assessment objectives in Photography GCSE that the course will be guided by as you will be marked using these Assessment Objectives for your Photography GCSE. GCSE Photography is about more than taking photographs - it is also about looking at the work of other artists and photographers and using that to inspire your own personal style.

In the course you will be asked to create by:

-Looking at other artists, photographers and sources for inspiration for your own work

-Refining work through experimentation with techniques and processes

-Capturing and recording your ideas through photography, film, drawing and other media.

-Creating final pieces that are personal responses and developed using your own personal style and ideas.

How much writing is required?

Writing is part of the coursework portfolio for GCSE photography as you analyse other artists' photography: evaluate your own work about your aims: what your work means and how you can improve.
I provide writing frameworks for this and the portfolio is digital on Googleslides which means writing will be typed rather than hand written.
The practical GCSE Photography exam requires no writing as it is more practical in that you will be creating a piece of artwork (the exam prep will require some writing in the same way as the coursework portfolio)

-What equipment will you use?
For your Zoom lessons please have a device with a camera so I can see you and a microphone so we can talk to each other

A camera with manual settings to take photos on during your lesson such as a DSLR camera is preferable - you can get one second hand from MPB.com

A laptop with wifi that you can use for editing photographs.

A camera tripod

A cheap light with different colours

Photoshop to edit photos - I can advise you how to get a cheaper subscription for this

I can send you a full equipment list with suggestions of cameras if you would like to enroll.

Course timeline

Summer Term: You can choose April - July 2026 or July - September 2026

12 x one-to-one lessons in which you will creating Coursework Portfolio which is worth 60 percent of your mark

Winter term: Sept 2026-Dec 2026

Completing and refining your coursework portfolio

Spring term: Jan 2027- March 2027

You will be given the exam question in January and then spend spring term preparing for the exam

March/ April 2027 – The 2 day practical exam is taken over two consecutive days in March/ April of year 2 at a Tutors and Exams Centre in UK (exact dates for 2026 photography exam TBC)

April / May 2027 - Your work is then marked and moderated and you will receive your marks on GCSE results day

What is the exam and where will the exam be taken?

OCR will be the awarding body for the GCSE and the coursework and the exam will be marked according to OCR guidelines, marking scheme and specification.

The exam will be a two day practical exam where you will make a final piece. The preparation for this will have been done in the previous term from January to April and you will have a plan of what you are going to do and how you are going to do it.

You will take the GCSE Photography Exam at one of the ‘Tutors and Exams’ Centres, they prefer to have your tutor specialist photography tutor present and as I will be in in Doncaster & Coventry for the exam then I will ask you to book it there.
The fee for the 2 day exam is separately payable to Tutors and Exams and is approx. £500 for two days and you get a ten percent discount booking through me as your tutor.

https://www.tutorsandexams.uk/about-us/#testimonials