By Jane Wanjiku, Smartious Admissions Director · February 2026 · 9 min read
Families living outside their home country face a unique homeschooling challenge: curriculum continuity across borders, exam registration from anywhere, and building a social life for children without a physical school community. After six years of supporting families in Kenya, the UAE, the UK, Canada, and the US, we have distilled what actually works.
Cambridge IGCSE, Pearson Edexcel, and the IB Diploma are recognised by universities worldwide. A child who finishes IGCSE in Dubai can sit the same exam in Nairobi or London next year without losing progress. Locked national curricula — like Kenya's CBC or the American Common Core — do not travel as well. If your family moves every 2 to 4 years, go international from day one.
Expat families often discover too late that exam registration deadlines are 6 to 8 months before the exam. Cambridge exam centres in Dubai, Nairobi, and London fill up by October for the May/June session. Register your child with a recognised exam centre as soon as you know your location.
The biggest criticism of homeschooling is social isolation. It does not have to be that way. Use local co-ops, sports clubs, music schools, and religious communities. Our Parklands, Nairobi learning centre runs a weekly "Campus Day" where homeschoolers meet for group science, debate, and lunch.
If you are in the UAE and want a UK-trained A-Level teacher, you will need a tutor who can teach outside their local school hours. At Smartious we have tutors across three continents specifically to match global families to subject specialists regardless of time zone.
Some countries require homeschool registration. Germany bans homeschooling outright — expat families there must enrol at an international school or an online school that provides a legal enrolment certificate. Check before you move. We provide enrolment documentation to families in Germany, France, and the UAE when needed.
An expat homeschooler applying to UK universities needs predicted grades from an accredited centre, a UCAS reference from a registered educator, and a personal statement that reflects real academic engagement. We support our families through UCAS and the Common App every year.
Homeschooling as an expat family is harder than picking a good school in your home country, but it is also more flexible, more academically focused, and more resilient to relocations. We have 340+ students in 12 countries doing exactly this.