Teen secures place at Oxford University... after using YouTube to home-school himself
A teenager who homeschooled himself with the help of YouTube is celebrating after securing a place at the University of Oxford.
Anree Bektashi-Brown, from Stockport, had been teaching himself at home from childhood right up until sixth form college. The 18-year-old says his first home-schooling years included travelling with his family, reading and taking part in extracurricular activities.
The real academic side came in once secondary school rolled around – seeing him knuckle down for subjects including maths, English, human biology and Russian. Anree, who lives in Heaton Chapel, studied alongside his brother who was in the academic year below him.
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With no cash to hire tutors, the teen says he was “clueless” on how to prepare for exams, teaching himself from scratch with the help of books and online videos.
“It was a very interesting experience because teaching yourself is not an easy job,” Anree told the Manchester Evening News. “Especially a marked scheme. At the time, there was no one to guide us. We were all a bit clueless and we didn’t have the money to hire tutors for subjects.
“We ended up just teaching ourselves – reading things from textbooks and watching YouTube videos.
“We weren’t focused on academics until the very last few years of home education. My mum ended up not working for a while and would stay home with us.
“We would go to games groups, drama groups, read loads of books and she would take us places like parks or on an adventure.”
Anree says he quickly developed an interest in science, particularly biology, which was one of the main reasons he was able to stay focused at home.
“I think it was the curiosity to learn,” he added. “I have a strong interest in science. I was reading the textbooks, doing the questions and learning more for fun. I found it cool and interesting.
“That kept most of my motivation for the first year, then when it was like, ‘Oh, we actually have exams,’ the motivation changed from purely being curious and interested to having a drive to do my GCSEs because I needed to go to college and university. Long term, I think that helped me to stay driven.”
When it was time to sit his GCSE exams, Anree says he turned to online past papers and YouTube videos to help him revise. “We bought some GCSE textbooks,” he added. “I would read them and do the questions at the end of a chapter and do my best to answer them.
“Going on YouTube was a massive help. If you’re stuck on something and need an immediate answer, there are people on there who will explain.”
But the teen found himself a in “sticky situation” while trying to find somewhere to actually take his exams. “I had to sit them at an exam centre,” he added. “It was £200 per exam and my parents didn’t have the spare money at the time.
“We had to split the exams over two years – three exams in year 10 and four in year 11. It was a strain on my parents that way.”
With no circle of schoolfriends to socialise with, Anree says his family enrolled him in clubs including sea cadets which allowed him to make friends.
“People ask how I socialised which is valid,” he added. “If you don’t get out of the house, you have no social skills.
“I was really lucky. A lot of the time our parents would take us to groups. For a long time I was doing sea cadets. I started when I was 10 until 17 and would go twice a week.
“I also did a drama group for two to three years and went to music school on a Saturday morning, so that was more socialising and more interacting.”
After completing his GCSEs, Anree decided to stop homeschooling and enrol at Xaverian College in Rusholme, studying four A-levels in chemistry, biology, physics and music.
He also chose to undertake an extended project qualification, or EPQ, a qualification which helps students develop and demonstrate their project management skills.
Incredibly, Anree discovered he had earned A*s across the board on A-level results day on August 15 – securing his place at the University of Oxford.
“When I went to college, I found the social aspect fine, but I was very naïve and arrogant at the same time because I thought I would do four A-levels. They said I would struggle, but out of spite I said I would do it and I stuck to.
“[When I opened my results], I scrolled down and went non-verbal. I fell to the floor. I was like, what has happened?!
“I convinced myself I was going to get a B. You can imagine, when I saw straight A*s, I thought it was a joke. I wasn’t sure if it was real.
“I was genuinely over the moon. [Oxford] was my dream university to get into.”
Anree will study biology and is set to move into his university campus halls this autumn, with classes starting on October 6.
“I’m very excited,” he added. “It’s hard to put into words how excited I am. I’ve always wanted to go and study biology, so to study at a place like Oxford – it's a dream come true.
“It’s exciting for loads of reasons. I can’t wait to move out, as much as I will miss Manchester, I don’t want to take living here for granted too much.
“Moving out will be a great experience – meeting new people, making new friends and being academically challenged.”
Reflecting on Anree's journey, Richard Evans, founder of The Profs, shared his thoughts on the role of independent learning and expert guidance.
He said: "Anree's story highlights the remarkable outcomes that can be achieved through self-discipline and resourcefulness. For students like Anree, combining free online resources with expert academic guidance can unlock even greater success.
"Whether through independent learning or with expert guidance, the path to success is unique to each student. For those seeking extra help, our team offers specialised advice and coaching to help admissions to elite institutions like Oxford and Cambridge."