Equivalency tests help

I don't have a science at GCSE and was set on doing biology GCSE this year with the exam in 2014. I want to do a PCGE for primary. I checked with one of the places I want to apply and they said they were happy to accept my application as long as I was studying and obviously if they made me an offer it would be conditional. There are also 2 other places nearby so I thought I would phone to check their policies. They will not accept this and say I must have passed an equivalency test before I apply to them. I don't want to put pressure on just being able to apply to one place so need to do the equivalency test. Equivalencytesting.com is shut during August so I can't get any information from them. I need to start working on the syllabus as I've only got a couple of months to learn and take the test. Does anyone know what syllabus I should follow for Biology? I would really like to know about the exams as well - Are they easy to book on to? Do they have them in different places around the country? Thanks for any help.

Reply 1

Sangria

Hi I took it this year. Not sure if the syllabus may change when you take it. I may still have the attachments on my email. I'm out up london today can check over weekend if you want.

Mine is from equivalency testing. I took it sometime in may x

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Reply 2

rso101

Thanks for that offer. It's very kind. I actually managed to find the syllabus online so have started to study for it. I would be interested to know where the exams are held and how often. I have to have passed my test before I apply for the PGCE at the beginning of November so don't have long to get it sorted.

Reply 3

Sangria

I took mine at Hutton in essex. Not that far from me. It's their head office. It is just a bungalow down a residential street. They are very
Helpful if you need to phone and ask any questions. They usually do exams there everyday, although not in school,holidays (I think).
You pay on the day when you take your exam and they contact you later that day with your result.

Good luck. If you won't to know anything else feel free to ask

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Reply 4

rso101

Thanks for your help Sangria. I live in the south west so Essex is a really long way. I hope there is somewhere closer I can take it. They are closed at the moment so I can't find anything out which is really frustrating. Do you know which exam board the exam is? Any details would be appreciated. Thanks

Reply 5

Sangria

Hi. I know that there do various hold them at different venues, although not frequently, but I'm sorry I could not tell you where (although I'm sure one was Bristol). If you work in a school they will let the head teacher invigilate the exam there.

I know it was a higher paper, not sure what examination body (sorry) but believe me I took both the IGCSE biology and the equivalency this year and found the equivalency easier.
I took both because I did not want to wait until August for the result as a school direct salaried position was depending on it.

Also I did not start studying for it until 10 weeks before as I was still completing my degree I had exams and final essays etc and could only focus on one thing at a time. I have not studied biology since school and believe me that was many moons ago. So all I am saying is that if you do put the work in now it is definitely achievable.

Questions I asked:
What if I fail?
If you are not successful they give you feedback and explain what you need to work on

How soon after can I resit if I do fail?
If you fail by a few marks you can almost book straight away, however if it's more they recommend you do more revision before rebooking.

They are very helpful and will try to do all that they can to assist you regarding times/ dates etc as they know the importance of taking these exams.

Feel free to ask anymore questions. When you do contact them let me know if you manage to book it.

Finally not sure if I mentioned it. I took the exam only option £150. They still send through exam papers to work on for revision which really helped me as I wrote the answers in from a text book and just sat and kept reading through the papers.

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Reply 6

Sangria

Sorry for poor spelling and grammar. Not long woke up. Lol😜

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Reply 7

rso101

Thanks again Sangria. I got the CGP biology GCSE book a few days ago and I've been working through it all. I didn't even do biology at GCSE so a lot of it is new to me - it is really interesting though. I need to take the equivalency test before the end of October so I have hopefully passed before I apply for a PGCE place. I haven't got long to learn it all. By the way, any ideas how I start a new paragraph on this site?!

Reply 8

Sangria

No I don't sorry. A new paragraph or thread? A new paragraph just return twice

Reply 9

rso101

Thanks Sangria. It is paragraphs I am trying to do! Even return twice doesn't work though. Any other ideas?

Reply 10

Sangria

Nope sorry that's all I do, same as typing in word? Bit unusual. Not much help

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Reply 11

red--king

Hi, not sitting the English one, but doing the Biology one on the 26th-sorry not a lot of help!

Were the papers you guys sat similar to the one given to you? Any major changes?