Bauhaus Education has opened a fully accredited examination centre in Nottingham, creating new local capacity for home-educated learners, GCSE resit students, adult learners and schools needing somewhere for external candidates to sit exams.
Nottingham schools, families and local organisations now have access to a fully approved examination centre after Bauhaus Education's city base, at Carlton Business Centre on Station Road, completed a year-long accreditation process. The centre is set within a building that used to operate as a school, repurposed to deliver tuition, careers guidance and now accredited examinations.
Tutu Alaka, CEO of Bauhaus Education, said: "This is an important step for Nottingham. We have heard from schools, families and individual learners who have struggled to find somewhere local, secure and supportive to sit exams.
"For a home-educated young person, someone retaking English or maths, or an adult returning to learning, access to an exam centre can be the difference between progressing and being held back. We are proud to now offer that opportunity here in the city."
The move responds to a wider, well-documented challenge facing learners across the UK: finding an exam centre able and willing to accept private candidates. Department for Education figures show that 126,000 children were recorded in elective home education in England in autumn 2025, up from 111,700 the previous year, itself a 21% rise on 2023. Most home-educated learners sit GCSEs, IGCSEs and A-levels as private candidates through approved exam centres.
At the same time, the number of centres able to accept private entries remains limited. JCQ's own online search tool listed around 180 approved centres accepting private candidates in summer 2025, though separate analysis by the Home Educators Qualification Association (HEQA), reported by Schools Week, found a further 27 centres not listed - taking the true total closer to 207 nationally. HEQA's research also found that at least 10 centres stopped accepting private candidates within a single year, as rising demand from home-educated learners continues to outstrip available places.
Bauhaus Education opened its Nottingham centre in 2025 to provide tuition and careers guidance. However, it was soon approached by local organisations seeking a secure venue for students to sit external examinations. Recognising the gap in local provision, the independent education provider invested in becoming an accredited centre itself.
The Carlton Business Centre site is now approved by AQA and Pearson Edexcel and operates in line with Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) requirements. It can facilitate examinations across subjects offered by the major exam boards, alongside GCSE English and maths resits in November, the main GCSE and A-level exam series each May and June, and Functional Skills qualifications throughout the year.
The centre will support:
• Home-educated learners entering GCSEs, A-levels and other qualifications independently
• Young people retaking GCSE English and maths
• Adult learners returning to education
• Schools needing additional examination capacity
• Local authorities and organisations seeking an approved venue for external candidates
• Independent learners who require a centre for a single examination or a full programme of subjects
Dide Ala, Exams Officer at Bauhaus Education Nottingham, said: "We know that arranging exams can feel daunting, particularly for learners outside mainstream education. Some students have been studying independently for months or even years yet still face the practical challenge of finding a suitable place to take their exams.
"Our centre gives them a professional, welcoming and properly accredited option in Nottingham. Whether someone is learning with Bauhaus or simply needs a place to sit one paper, we can now support them."
The Nottingham centre is now expected to be a major area of growth for the organisation, which is recruiting additional tutors to meet increasing demand from schools and families across the city.