Mature student A-Levels self-study

Normally a University can't reject you just because the date of when you've finished your A-Levels is a bit older. School degrees are valid FOREVER. So even if you are like 60 years old and finished your A-levels with 19 or 20, you should still be able to join a university IF your A-Levels meet the requirements.

Must be a very very very picky university then...

Most UK universities will demand proof of recent successful academic study. If you took A Levels more than, say, four or five years ago, then they will probably no longer reflect your current ability. Poor results at 18 can be misleading if you then have seven years in a job which needs you to develop analytical and/or critical skills. The Access to Higher Education course is specifically designed to address this issue and give older students the recent study proof required by unis.

Some UK unis do indeed place specific limits on how long ago A Levels must have been taken before you apply. One example is Edinburgh, which views a break from study of three years as grounds for requiring additional qualifications for mature students:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/entry-requirements/mature

For info, we don't have "school degrees" in the UK.

GCSEs and A-Levels are a form of school degree since a college is a form of school.

I'm afraid you've been misinformed on all points. In the UK, schools (ages 4-18) and colleges (ages 16+) are different things. GCEs and A Levels are different to degrees (and to each other).

Thanks so much for your help.

I am rather daunted by all this. Mainly just by what red tape I need to sort out and when. Is it only necessary for me to register for an exam centre? Don't want to miss anything

I'm a little confused about the fact that A-Levels are now one qualification while AS remains as a qualification. What implications does this have on doing AS and A2 separately (having done each in separate years at school)? Does that mean there isn't a separate AS unit or whatever for those doing the full A-Level? Additionally, what implications does this have for the requirement some universities have for an additional AS - presumably that stands?

It's great that none of my choices have coursework - so this would mean that I would only sit summer exams in these subjects?

The thing about re-doing my A-Levels is that I did them last in 2012 and for some universities I want to apply to they have now expired for admission. Thanks again!

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Also, not sure on your circumstances but if you already have A-levels from the past and are working now then some unis (including Cambridge) will accept 2 recent A levels instead of 3. I got into Bristol just with 1 A* in History. It's definitely worth speaking to admissions tutors before you commit to anything. I would also advise against doing A-level Law if you are aiming for a top uni as it's not that well respected. You'd be better off with something like classical studies (which would fit nicely with Italian and philosophy).

Good luck.

I think you should look into them a bit more.

I studied the Legal Methods Cert of Higher Education @ Birkbeck aged 25. This is a Level 4 qualification (A-levels are level 3). I got a distinction. I then sent my UCAS application to Oxford and was invited to interview. I find out next week if I made it to Oxford. It's quite a good course to getting back into education with a qualification from a "decent" establishment.

Thanks for all the help

I am leaning towards either following the suggestion by Pythian (thanks), or doing a law A2HE at the same time as one or two A-Levels - does anyone have any insight into how realistic this is? An Oxford AT suggested doing an A2HE that includes one or two A-Levels, so presumably it is doable, and from what I've gauged just doing the Access course is a mug's game for Oxbridge (notwithstanding the success of those who have done it alone!)

One other thing I am concerned about is whether they will prefer some access courses to others. I am looking to distance learn preferably, and have been looking at the Distance Learning Centre's law and criminology course - I am slightly worried Oxford will not deem it rigorous enough (though I have no reason to think they won't), and the ATs, helpful as they are, tend not to spill all the beans on this sort of stuff.

Thanks again