London Brookes College- BEWARE! Please read!
I am a mature student and planning to apply to medicine.
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the UK, therefore have no A-levels (or GCSE's).
I found London Brookes College online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the A-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- A-level exam
All was going well and my teacher predicted A*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 DAYS before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my UKCAT and have a 683 average, which I believe could be sufficient for where I want to apply.
but now I cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the UK, therefore have no A-levels (or GCSE's).
I found London Brookes College online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the A-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- A-level exam
All was going well and my teacher predicted A*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 DAYS before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my UKCAT and have a 683 average, which I believe could be sufficient for where I want to apply.
but now I cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
Scroll to see replies
Original post by shah96
Are you serious??? 8oCan't believe this! I am not sure but can you get to the address they have provided?I am actually thinking of doing A-level bio with them as a private candidate.... what should I do??? I need a level bio for my uni 
Yes, unfortunately, my experience is pretty bad with them. The college is not run like a business- how they treat you is very much dependent on who you are dealing with. No consistency at all.
Sorry, not sure what you mean by address?
There are a few other private colleges around and I have found one in central london and will be doing chemistry and biology with them.
Hope you get sorted one way or another as arranging A-levels as a mature student seems to be quite a headache.
Original post by ArtScience
Yes, unfortunately, my experience is pretty bad with them. The college is not run like a business- how they treat you is very much dependent on who you are dealing with. No consistency at all.
Sorry, not sure what you mean by address?
There are a few other private colleges around and I have found one in central london and will be doing chemistry and biology with them.
Hope you get sorted one way or another as arranging A-levels as a mature student seems to be quite a headache.
Sorry, not sure what you mean by address?
There are a few other private colleges around and I have found one in central london and will be doing chemistry and biology with them.
Hope you get sorted one way or another as arranging A-levels as a mature student seems to be quite a headache.
Sorry to hear about your situation! what I mean is that can you go directly to the college and see them personally rather than emailing and calling?
That's good to hear, so far NEC is the one that looks reliable but they cannot guarantee if they will run practical endorsement as well
btw which college have you found? might look them up as a backup option
Original post by shah96
Sorry to hear about your situation! what I mean is that can you go directly to the college and see them personally rather than emailing and calling?
That's good to hear, so far NEC is the one that looks reliable but they cannot guarantee if they will run practical endorsement as well btw which college have you found? might look them up as a backup option
That's good to hear, so far NEC is the one that looks reliable but they cannot guarantee if they will run practical endorsement as well
btw which college have you found? might look them up as a backup optionI couldn't go as I was doing my hospital work experience. Also, they can be quite weird when you are there. It might be worth you visiting them and you will then form your own view of them.
I haven't decided which college to go to, but have been recommended the following: Hampbell Harris, Pascals, Cherry Hill
I will look at NEC as well.
Hope you find a good place.
Original post by ArtScience
I couldn't go as I was doing my hospital work experience. Also, they can be quite weird when you are there. It might be worth you visiting them and you will then form your own view of them.
I haven't decided which college to go to, but have been recommended the following: Hampbell Harris, Pascals, Cherry Hill
I will look at NEC as well.
Hope you find a good place.
I haven't decided which college to go to, but have been recommended the following: Hampbell Harris, Pascals, Cherry Hill
I will look at NEC as well.
Hope you find a good place.
Thanks mate and wish you best as well finding a good place
. Yes, I'll definitely visit them if I can't find any other institute. Are you going to apply to university for next year?I'm looking for an institute that does Edexcel and I think Campbell does aqa only not 100% sure. Apart from those, other distance learning organizations are Open oxford learning and Wolsey Hall that offer different subjects.
Which exam board are you doing?
Probably much safer to stick with ordinary FE colleges. They are part of the UK education system, are regulated and inspected, and run a good range of courses. They are probably cheaper than private colleges too.
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Original post by ArtScience
Yes, unfortunately, my experience is pretty bad with them. The college is not run like a business- how they treat you is very much dependent on who you are dealing with. No consistency at all.
Sorry, not sure what you mean by address?
There are a few other private colleges around and I have found one in central london and will be doing chemistry and biology with them.
Hope you get sorted one way or another as arranging A-levels as a mature student seems to be quite a headache.
Sorry, not sure what you mean by address?
There are a few other private colleges around and I have found one in central london and will be doing chemistry and biology with them.
Hope you get sorted one way or another as arranging A-levels as a mature student seems to be quite a headache.
Which central London college did you choose? I'm doing gcses with London Brooke's at the moment and am finding them difficult with regards to payment. They seem reluctant for me to pay. I am wondering if they are hoping I'll pay the late fee payment. Never have I heard of a business that makes a customer wait so long to pay.
I'm a mature student as well, and I want to study mathematics in the UK. I have the same situation about abroad education. Finished the IGCSE's on my own, but took the exams at London Brookes College's exam centre. I was considering to sit my A levels at their college, but I'm reconsidering as I also had issues with them. E.g. they took forever to send me my certificates, and couldn't find them at first (think they were temporarily lost among their files, around 3 months while everyone else received theirs). They also didn't care to put in a carton or something in the envelope to support my certificates in the post, hence they are now bent. I also sat an exam alone in a classroom once, then a group of students outside started to make a lot of noise. No one cared. I tried to concentrate but it was really hard. The same actually happened with a maths exam as well (though there were more candidates for the exam and they seemed to care a little bit more - not that it helped, there was still a lot of noise). I don't understand why they would let us write in a classroom not suitable for exam writing. Another thing I had a problem with is that every time I sent them an email to enquire about something, they would not reply. I would then call them and ask them over the phone, on which they always very rudely replied: 'Okay, you should send an email about that and then we can look into it'. I would tell them that I have sent this email a week ago and then again two days ago. Only when I asked to speak to the principal, they would actually help me. They never let me speak to the principal though. I had enough of them now. I wrote my last IGCSE exam at a small college somewhere else in London, and it was cheaper. I am going to find a more professional college somewhere else to write my A levels at; perhaps Greenes Tutorial College in Oxford, they seem professional and they let private candidates write there. Contrary to what I thought at first, because they are based in Oxford, their exam fees for the IGCSE's and A levels are actually less than London Brookes College's fees. I think the supplementary tutoring and practical courses are also about the same or less. They could also offer help with the university applications. Think they are really professional and know what they are doing, because they are also the oldest one in Oxford apparently. Good luck with your studies!
Original post by artscience
i am a mature student and planning to apply to medicine.
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the uk, therefore have no a-levels (or gcse's).
I found london brookes college online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the a-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- a-level exam
all was going well and my teacher predicted a*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 days before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my ukcat and have a 683 average, which i believe could be sufficient for where i want to apply.
But now i cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the uk, therefore have no a-levels (or gcse's).
I found london brookes college online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the a-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- a-level exam
all was going well and my teacher predicted a*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 days before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my ukcat and have a 683 average, which i believe could be sufficient for where i want to apply.
But now i cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
no sixth-form college in uk will predict a* even if you have a masters degree from abroad (?) where? You actually have to sit their mock exam to have a predicted grade.
Original post by uvakhshatara
no sixth-form college in uk will predict a* even if you have a masters degree from abroad (?) where? You actually have to sit their mock exam to have a predicted grade.
I had been attending the college and they said that based on my performance in the classes they were happy to predict the a* grades- not based on my masters!
Then all of a sudden they changed their mind and said they would only predict if I sat the full a-level mock- this was in October, when I of course couldn't sit a full a-level mock because I was still 8 months away from the actual a-levels.
The issue with them primarily was not that they didn't give me the predicted grades but that they said they would, and then they changed their minds right before the application to uni.
I do understand your UNIQUE issue but I did my two A-levels and one AS at London Brookes and actually know the Biology teacher myself. She is a lovely lady and does absolutely everything by the book.
There must be an issue and a good reason why they could not have done that for you. I do hope you managed to get into uni.
My experience was completely opposit.
I HAVE NOTHING BUT PRAISE FOR THE LONDON BROOKES COLLEDGE.
I was treted so badly by two state schools who simply wrote me off and told me to sign up for an apprenticeship. I was devasted.
If it was not for London Brookes College I would not be going to university at all.
I have achieved to A-levels and one AS in one year with good grades and got the place at a uni I wanted.
Very happy student and highly recommend London Brookes College.
There must be an issue and a good reason why they could not have done that for you. I do hope you managed to get into uni.
My experience was completely opposit.
I HAVE NOTHING BUT PRAISE FOR THE LONDON BROOKES COLLEDGE.
I was treted so badly by two state schools who simply wrote me off and told me to sign up for an apprenticeship. I was devasted.
If it was not for London Brookes College I would not be going to university at all.
I have achieved to A-levels and one AS in one year with good grades and got the place at a uni I wanted.
Very happy student and highly recommend London Brookes College.
I just wanted to share my utter excitment!!!!
Last year I was told by my state school that I would not get the required grades from my A-levels and that I cannot continue on the course. I should not waste my time and get an apprenticeship.
I was devasted as for my chosen career there is no an apprenticeship.
My mum and I franticly explored what to do. After days of research, we finally concluded that London Broookes College is the only place that offerred what I wanted and gave me an opportunity to finish both A-levels and AS in one year as well as provide taylored support. I really did not want to be behind my school mates. I was determined and was ready to put a lot of work in.
I applied for a uni through UCAS without prediced graded because a private candidates are not required to have predicted grades.
BROOKES COLLEDGE AND THE WHOLE TEAM WERE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT and IMMENSELY HELPFUL.
I have been celebrating since yesterday - I've got a place at a uni I wanted.
I could not have dreamed last year that this was possible.
The fees were reasonable and flexible. I could select how much help I need and plan my spending. My parents say "worth every penny."
I have no reservation in recommending London Brookes College. Good luck.
THANK YOU ALL.
Last year I was told by my state school that I would not get the required grades from my A-levels and that I cannot continue on the course. I should not waste my time and get an apprenticeship.
I was devasted as for my chosen career there is no an apprenticeship.
My mum and I franticly explored what to do. After days of research, we finally concluded that London Broookes College is the only place that offerred what I wanted and gave me an opportunity to finish both A-levels and AS in one year as well as provide taylored support. I really did not want to be behind my school mates. I was determined and was ready to put a lot of work in.
I applied for a uni through UCAS without prediced graded because a private candidates are not required to have predicted grades.
BROOKES COLLEDGE AND THE WHOLE TEAM WERE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT and IMMENSELY HELPFUL.
I have been celebrating since yesterday - I've got a place at a uni I wanted.
I could not have dreamed last year that this was possible.
The fees were reasonable and flexible. I could select how much help I need and plan my spending. My parents say "worth every penny."
I have no reservation in recommending London Brookes College. Good luck.
THANK YOU ALL.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by shah96
Are you serious??? 8oCan't believe this! I am not sure but can you get to the address they have provided?I am actually thinking of doing A-level bio with them as a private candidate.... what should I do??? I need a level bio for my uni
I actually met the Biology teacher she is talking about. She must have requested something unreasonable.
The teacher is really nice and professional. I asked her to do something for me. She was lovely and went well beyond her call of duty to find out how she can help.
See how many happy people there are.
I've just finished my A-levels there - my experience is nothing but BRILLIANT.
Original post by ArtScience
I am a mature student and planning to apply to medicine.
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the UK, therefore have no A-levels (or GCSE's).
I found London Brookes College online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the A-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- A-level exam
All was going well and my teacher predicted A*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 DAYS before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my UKCAT and have a 683 average, which I believe could be sufficient for where I want to apply.
but now I cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the UK, therefore have no A-levels (or GCSE's).
I found London Brookes College online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the A-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- A-level exam
All was going well and my teacher predicted A*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 DAYS before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my UKCAT and have a 683 average, which I believe could be sufficient for where I want to apply.
but now I cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
I thought I should add:
I am sorry about your experience but it looks like you just didn't know how to apply through UCAS. Instead of calling UCAS and figuring how you can do it yourself you have decided to bad mouth the whole college. This is not fair. You don't always need predicted grades. I didn't have them either and have appied without them. I didn't even request them from London Brookes but found out for myself that I don't need them. The lady you are talking about is actually really nice and went out of her way to help me once.
My experience with London Brookes is nothing short of BRILLIANT. It is really not fair for you to bad mouth the whole college when you don't understand something.
This only misguides people.
Original post by ArtScience
I am a mature student and planning to apply to medicine.
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the UK, therefore have no A-levels (or GCSE's).
I found London Brookes College online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the A-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- A-level exam
All was going well and my teacher predicted A*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 DAYS before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my UKCAT and have a 683 average, which I believe could be sufficient for where I want to apply.
but now I cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
I have a masters from abroad. I never went through the education system in the UK, therefore have no A-levels (or GCSE's).
I found London Brookes College online and started taking 1-2-1 biology and chemisrty lessons with them based on the agreement that they would provide:
- the tuition in prep for the A-levels
- the predicted grades for my application
- the reference for my application
- A-level exam
All was going well and my teacher predicted A*'s for me in both subjects. However, yesterday (3 DAYS before the application deadline) they sent me an email that they won't provide me with the predicted grades, nor with the reference. I have been asking them in emails ever since about what the reason is, but no answer. Have been trying to call them and cannot get through to them.
I have been preparing for the past 3 months flat out. I did my UKCAT and have a 683 average, which I believe could be sufficient for where I want to apply.
but now I cannot apply anywhere without the reference and the predicted grades!
Heartbroken!!! Please be very careful if you are considering studying in this college!!!
I really hope you have managed to get into a uni you wanted.
It would be really nice of you to remove this comment permanently.
THANK YOU.
OK- so I find the responses of ADAM0907 very peculiar. Are you a representative of London Brookes College? Why are you so adamant about praising them? Why are you asking me to remove my post?
Anyway, how do you know which biology teacher I had? They have more than one and at no point in my posts did I say their name, not even the gender of the teacher!
It is very unethical to come to Studentroom (I can see that you only just registered and not made any posts other than to praise London Brookes College) and state things that are untrue. Pretending to be someone you are not is immoral and wrong.
I described my experience with them- nothing more, nothing less. Everyone/Anyone can go and visit the College themselves, which is probably the best way to gain personal experience.
If someone genuinely had good experience with the College, I am actually happy for them, because I don't wish that anyone goes through the hell that I did in those 3 days coming up to the UCAS application.
Also, I am very well informed regarding the UCAS application rules. I applied for medicine and private candidate or not, no medicine course accepts an application without predicted grades (unless one has the grades already or potentially has a science degree). Not sure about other courses, but definitely no medicine ones.
Thank you for your kind words- I did get an offer to study medicine, which I worked extremely hard for.
I strongly advise you, ADAM0907 to reconsider your actions on social media and try to stay closer to the truth, as that is the only thing that helps students make decisions.
Anyway, how do you know which biology teacher I had? They have more than one and at no point in my posts did I say their name, not even the gender of the teacher!
It is very unethical to come to Studentroom (I can see that you only just registered and not made any posts other than to praise London Brookes College) and state things that are untrue. Pretending to be someone you are not is immoral and wrong.
I described my experience with them- nothing more, nothing less. Everyone/Anyone can go and visit the College themselves, which is probably the best way to gain personal experience.
If someone genuinely had good experience with the College, I am actually happy for them, because I don't wish that anyone goes through the hell that I did in those 3 days coming up to the UCAS application.
Also, I am very well informed regarding the UCAS application rules. I applied for medicine and private candidate or not, no medicine course accepts an application without predicted grades (unless one has the grades already or potentially has a science degree). Not sure about other courses, but definitely no medicine ones.
Thank you for your kind words- I did get an offer to study medicine, which I worked extremely hard for.
I strongly advise you, ADAM0907 to reconsider your actions on social media and try to stay closer to the truth, as that is the only thing that helps students make decisions.
Original post by ArtScience
OK- so I find the responses of ADAM0907 very peculiar. Are you a representative of London Brookes College? Why are you so adamant about praising them? Why are you asking me to remove my post?
Anyway, how do you know which biology teacher I had? They have more than one and at no point in my posts did I say their name, not even the gender of the teacher!
It is very unethical to come to Studentroom (I can see that you only just registered and not made any posts other than to praise London Brookes College) and state things that are untrue. Pretending to be someone you are not is immoral and wrong.
I described my experience with them- nothing more, nothing less. Everyone/Anyone can go and visit the College themselves, which is probably the best way to gain personal experience.
If someone genuinely had good experience with the College, I am actually happy for them, because I don't wish that anyone goes through the hell that I did in those 3 days coming up to the UCAS application.
Also, I am very well informed regarding the UCAS application rules. I applied for medicine and private candidate or not, no medicine course accepts an application without predicted grades (unless one has the grades already or potentially has a science degree). Not sure about other courses, but definitely no medicine ones.
Thank you for your kind words- I did get an offer to study medicine, which I worked extremely hard for.
I strongly advise you, ADAM0907 to reconsider your actions on social media and try to stay closer to the truth, as that is the only thing that helps students make decisions.
Anyway, how do you know which biology teacher I had? They have more than one and at no point in my posts did I say their name, not even the gender of the teacher!
It is very unethical to come to Studentroom (I can see that you only just registered and not made any posts other than to praise London Brookes College) and state things that are untrue. Pretending to be someone you are not is immoral and wrong.
I described my experience with them- nothing more, nothing less. Everyone/Anyone can go and visit the College themselves, which is probably the best way to gain personal experience.
If someone genuinely had good experience with the College, I am actually happy for them, because I don't wish that anyone goes through the hell that I did in those 3 days coming up to the UCAS application.
Also, I am very well informed regarding the UCAS application rules. I applied for medicine and private candidate or not, no medicine course accepts an application without predicted grades (unless one has the grades already or potentially has a science degree). Not sure about other courses, but definitely no medicine ones.
Thank you for your kind words- I did get an offer to study medicine, which I worked extremely hard for.
I strongly advise you, ADAM0907 to reconsider your actions on social media and try to stay closer to the truth, as that is the only thing that helps students make decisions.
First Congratulations that you managed to get into uni and to study medicine - That is impressive. I do understand how stressful it is applying to uni.
I am sorry that my message came across as the college representative. I am not a representative of the school at all and can privately send you my results or meet you if you live in North London. I was just trying to give a Google review for them and came across your message. BeAware. I have finished two A-Levels and AS with London Brooks and really did have a very good experience. I know Psychology, Biology and History teacher and the admin team.
I was at the rock bottom last year and London Brooks have really helped me. Upon gaining my grades and access to uni I thought to put a positive review to help other students in my position.
I thought if I saw your message last year I would not have considered them and that would have been a mistake. I would definitely not be going to uni this year.
I had very bad experience with my state school. In fact far worse than what you are describing. My parents almost got divorced. It really was hell.
However, it never occured to me to post a review about the school. Because many of my friends were still studying there and were happy. I also knew where I went wrong and at London Brookes I made sure I put everything right.
Maybe UCAS requirements for different courses is different. I applied as a private candidate and I did not need to put predicted grades but I did need a reference letter.
I thought since you are already doing well it would be nice to let go of a grudge and remove the post or at least remove that "BEWARE".
As I said, I live in North London and would be happy to meet you in person.
Kind regards,
Adam
I have done my A - LEVELS subjects with london brookes and received my result last week and i am so glad that i achieved A-A-B and they helped me so much to secure my place at UCL university i need to admit i could not achieve good marks with out london brookes .the teachers are masterpiece plus they spend time and effort to teach you
i think this person who put negative comment has no clue about education system here
i think this person who put negative comment has no clue about education system here
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