Resitting GCSE's at age 20!

Hi all,

I turned 20 at the end of July last year .When i was younger i missed a lot of school, and subsequently didnt sit any GSCS' S . Ever since then i have been doing nothing, apart from only a few part-time jobs.

only now i am beginning to finally wake up in life and has decide to do something about my education, and im very eager to do something about it asap.

What i need to know is where to start. I am very ambitious about resitting all my gcse's (about 6/7 in total) within 18 months. However i have not a clue how to go about this and would like to know whether TSR could help me out and give me a plan.

Can i resit them again in this summer? Or is that too early?

Appreciate if someone could help me out here, im looking to, English Literature, Geography, History, a language (Possibly Spanish )

Thanks all,

Reply 1

Chrisjay17

Don't bother. Pointless.

Reply 2

HighestKungFu

They won't hold the same sway as GCSEs obtained at school (given your considerably over school age now) although they could open you up to A-Levels and then a degree which is a good path for you to take.

Search on Google. I'm sure you'll find out where and how to do them.

Regards,

HKF.

Reply 3

Hanz_a93

Why not start an access to degree course in uni since your a mature student? You wont have to sit Gcse's n A Levels, 3 years in uni n get a nice job n ur lyfs sorted

Reply 4

gdunne42

You could do some GCSE's part-time just to prove to yourself and others that you can handle learning and exams. Maths and English would be a good start as would a language. Local colleges and adult education will offer them as day or evening classes that you could do alongside a job. Some colleges do offer a full time programme of GCSE or equivalent level qualifications. Checkout their web sites/get a prospectus. You could, if you are ready, take GCSE exams as early as November (no realistic way you could do them this summer as they have already started). You could just sit the exams as a private candidate if you think you know the stuff already or can teach yourself but this is tricky for any course that has assessed practicals or coursework.

An access course would be a good approach if you are really committed to your plan. It could be full or part time. Get more info here:
http://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/

You are too old for Connexions as it's for 16-19 but could ring them and get some initial advice if you were economical with the truth about your age, you could certainly use their web site for info:
http://www.connexions-direct.com/index.cfm?go=Learning

A skills account may help you find/access the learning you are looking for
https://skillsaccounts.direct.gov.uk/Pages/default.aspx

Reply 5

Emers

Hey Tom - I'm in a very similar situation to you, as I also missed lots of school and didn't sit any GCSEs. I'm now 18 and am still doing a few GCSEs this year before going into sixth form. I don't know whether this would work for you but I did 4 GCSEs in one year and I'm doing 3 this year.

This is just an idea about what you could do:

English Language (instead of Literature) - I would have preferred literature as well, but it's very hard to find a place that teaches it. English Language is offered in sixth form/FE colleges usually as an evening class and the course involves quite a lot of literature (we did Hamlet, To Kill a Mockingbird and an anthology of poems!).

Maths - If you don't already have this, it's a very good idea to get it because jobs and courses often ask for applicants to have a grade C or equivalent in mathematics. You could probably do this at a local college, too.

History and Geography - I was lucky to have a tutor for history, but you can do both of these subjects through correspondence courses. The courses are quite good, but they are often expensive and you have to find an exam centre so you can sit the exams at the end of the year. I'd recommend NEC - National Extension College.

A Language - I'm doing Spanish through an NEC correspondence course. It's very helpful and comes with CDs, notes and books as well as a tutor you can email and send work to. Again, some sixth form colleges do language courses in the evenings - usually either French, Spanish or German.

As someone else suggested, an Access Course isn't a bad idea; however, I think it's A-level standard so maybe it would be a good idea to do GCSEs first in one year and then go on to do that.

Reply 6

FloMac<3

Dont listen to all these idiots who are saying theyre pointless or not as good when you were 16. Im 16 and currently sitting mine, btw. Get a good job with the GCSEs than working part time in rubbish shop. :smile: