Any mature students on here who have gone back to study A-levels??

I'm a bit torn between doing Maths or doing Physics again. Maths would be a new A-Level for me, Physics would be something I've done already but performed poorly in, although I'm actually interested in a lot of the stuff in physics.

I didn't do a good job of revision when I did my A-Levels at school, I think having a little more maturity now I could actually do a proper job of them

This is really good to hear, thank you for posting. I am 27, did good at GCSE and left school to teach horse riding. Then I went to college when I was 21 I think and did appalling- my brain had frazzled but the social life was ace fun. Left with C D E and worked abroad to get away. Came back, now in the middle of 3 A level studies (self teaching) of Maths, bio and chem. I've just finished the biology edexcel exams yesterday. For those asking- each year-you can study biology with edexcel at home and do your own experiments, write them up and this is the coursework of which marks go towards the final grade- you don't do practical exams. I was really glad when I heard this. I'll start the chem this year and finish the maths. I too had 2 children very close together, got married new house etc. at the beginning of the studies and I'm a full time mum. I have to say it was/ is very hard and you need a lot of determination but it teaches you to manage your time doesn't it! Also helps slow down the effects of baby brain!

Well done to you and others here, I no longer feel alone with the feeling of trying to better yourself when you are older with life going on. I hope to have 3 a levels under my belt in 2 years time for further education (so I'll be in my 30's!) when kids are at school (depending on results!).If I'm lucky and get 3xA's I will def, consider vet or met school- can't decide yet because I love the countryside (grew up with horses and animals like someone else here).

Good luck everyone, peace out

I am 30, I am doing a-levels in English language and literature combined and I am doing Psychology.

I am also doing an Open university degree in Health and Social Care


Access to HE in Social Work

BSc Health and Social Care - pending

Hi there did you start a delievery job because it was an easier job to work around your studies rather than yoir previous job?

Hi all. Nice to hear from others in similar situations. My story:

I did OK the first time around at A-Level, getting AAB, plus a B at AS-Level.

I then went on to Uni at East Anglia and was getting good grades (I was on course for a 1:1), but sadly had to drop out in my final year due to ill mental health.

Looking back and remembering how screwed up I was between of 15-24, I'm amazed I did as well as I did. I'm lucky to be alive.

Three years on, I'm fully recovered and symptom-free. Now that I've got this amazing new thing called "confidence" I want to go back into education and pursue my ideal career as an A.I. Programmer. I made this decision a wee bit late in the applications process for the year, but what can you do.

My background to date has a bit of an Arts/Humanities bent (English Literature, History, Government & Politics, Geography, American Literature, Creative Writing). By contrast almost all Artificial Intelligence courses require between an A*-B in Mathematics, and most would like you to have a A or B in Science too (preferably Physics or Chemistry), oh and they prefer A*AA to AAB students. So I'm a stretch on three counts for immediate entry. Plus there's the problem that I'll be flagged as a drop-out, and also STEM departments don't seem to like mature students as much (presumably because they worry that their skills have atrophied?). So I have basically no chance of getting in on the ground floor. Which is OK. If I'm not ready for that, I'm not ready.

So I instead applied for a few maths/science Foundation Years, but again it's late in the day and the drop-out strike against my name seems likely to tip the balance against me.

So my fallback position would be to do A-Levels Maths and Physics. Obviously there are lots of options to achieve this via long-distance learning. But my preference would be to do an intensive 1-year full-time course. The problem is finding a college that a) takes mature students, b) teaches physics, c) does intensive A-Levels, and d) is in the Greater London area.

So far, no luck. But still looking!

Anyone have advice for me?...
I'm 23 years old just finished studying towards AS-level Maths and Biology with the hope to finish A2 and possibly apply for a STEM subject related degree at University. I have a perfect girlfriend but am very anxious of what life has to throw at me due to my current situation. My partner is already earning a decent salary (she has just finished her Optometry pre-registration year and is now earning £38k a year at an Opticians chain-store). She has just bought a brand new car and is hoping to put a deposit down on her first house within the next 2 years. I feel like I'm so far behind in life in comparison to her due to going back to study. Is it possible to carry on making our relationship work or should I do the decent thing and let her go so she can start settling down with someone who currently has the same outlook on life?

Hi all I'm 38 and about to start my 3rd year of a 4 year Masters degree in Physics at Queens University in Belfast. Didnt do A Levels but did a Extended Diploma in Motor vehicle mechanics.

I've just turned 27. So still quite young really.


I sent you a message.

Hi, I know this is a bit off-topic but have any of you decided to do A/AS levels after undertaking an Apprenticeship?

Yes I was working as an Accounts apprentice before I decided to pick up 2 A-levels
How come anyway?

I went completely the wrong way with Economics, it's like I took a wrong turn early in my life and I've been paying the price ever since. I went into Environmental Science, learned that it means a lot of Earth Sciences and Geology in a Foundation Year but I was good at the science/maths modules, so I tried to move to a Nuclear Engineering course with Sustainable Energy as the common theme.

The Universities couldn't do it. Access Courses were a "some Universities accept it, others won't because not science/math-y enough" thing so I figured A-levels were necessary. Physics/Maths/Chemistry intensives, going from CDD in Economics, Mathematics, and Critical Thinking to what I predict myself to be AAB in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry.

In hindsight, had I known that I was able to teach myself a lot of math modules and that I'd struggle with A2 chemistry, I'd have done Maths/Further Maths/Physics and aimed for A*AA-A*A*A*. I feel annoyed I messed up a C4 paper, blew my chances of an A* out of the water.

EDIT - I'm twenty two, I'm the youngest of the mature students but oldest of the normal students.

Those subjects are very intensive. Physics you'll probably be able to cope with easier as you've probably already covered a lot of the content whereas Maths you will need to ease yourself into it as soon as possible! It's probably a good idea to spend a week or two going through GCSE Higher Maths content first (that's what I did anyway).

Anyone have advice for me?...
I'm 23 years old just finished studying towards AS-level Maths and Biology with the hope to finish A2 and possibly apply for a STEM subject related degree at University. I have a perfect girlfriend but am very anxious of what life has to throw at me due to my current situation. My partner is already earning a decent salary (she has just finished her Optometry pre-registration year and is now earning £38k a year at an Opticians chain-store). She has just bought a brand new car and is hoping to put a deposit down on her first house within the next 2 years. I feel like I'm so far behind in life in comparison to her due to going back to study. Is it possible to carry on making our relationship work or should I do the decent thing and let her go so she can start settling down with someone who currently has the same outlook on life?

Hi, I know how you feel because sometimes I feel insignificant to my OH. He works and pays all the bills while I am raising our 2 young children and making the home. Its quite old fashioned and I'm lucky I don't have to give our children to strangers while im at work. I am studying at home so I can work full time when the children go to school in a couple of years. It works for us. So decide whether you love each other and are committed to sharing a life together, and your OH will hopefully understand and support your studies and work goals when you set them. You will be fine if you have a plan and communicate honestly.

Hello,
Since I am from Germany, also classified as a mature student (29 years old), I attend an A-Level Mathematics course via distance learning.

I will either attend other A-level courses later that year (owing to revised syllabuses resp. syllabi) or go to a "real" college in the UK, then I would like to study there anyway.

Best wishes

I'm in a similar position. I'm currently doing GCSE's from home and I plan on doing an access course after as I don't have any A levels. Are you doing your A levels through an online provider? Have you not thought about an access course?


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How many of you Mature Students will be studying A-levels this academic year then? If so, what subjects?

I;'d like to do Maths and Further Maths, but I'd like to do sciences as well, although I am really stuck with the practicals and don't know of anywhere I can do them or a time frame in which I can do them (due to work commitments).

And I have nowhere to sit any exams as of yet.