Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

Best way to do A-Levels away from school

Hi there, I'm interested in doing A-Levels but I'm above the age required to attend a school or college, I'm wondering what is the best service available to provide learning resources and enter me into exams over the internet (or elsewhere)

Another question I have is whether I can do both AS and A2 exams in the same exam season as long as the exams don't conflict with each other, or must I do both AS and A2 over two separate and subsequent years. I know they are 'fast track' options available that offer a completed A-Level in a single year but the subjects seem limited and don't include what I want to study, thanks.

Reply 1

Compost

I the timescale you are thinking of AS and A2 exams will have disappeared. You can take AS (worth 40% of the A level) or you can take A level. You can take as long as you like learning the content but you have to take all the exams for the qualification in the same Summer.

If you are not enrolled in a centre it is much easier to take subjects without any coursework. What were you thinking of studying?

Reply 2

dragonkeeper999

Original post by JosephBatley

Personally, I would advise not going through a "service" like you are mentioning - they will probably charge you ridiculous amounts of money for stuff you can easily do yourself anyway.

Regarding entering for exams, these can't be sat online - you will have to physically go to a nearby exam centre to take them. The easiest thing to do is to get in touch with nearby schools and colleges to ask them if you can sit exams there as an external candidate.

Things get a lot more complicated if you are taking subjects with coursework, so ideally you would pick subjects to avoid that... If not, again you could speak to nearby schools... I'm not an expert on this - someone else hopefully can give you advice.

Since AS and A2 qualifications have now been decoupled, you don't need to take AS exams - just A2s (n.b. this might be different for some subjects, e.g. possibly maths... not sure...). You can take these (and AS exams if you want them) all at the same time or spread out over several years, whatever suits you.

I'm not sure what you mean about "fast track" options. Any subject can be fast-tracked in theory, it just means you take all your exams at the same time so complete the course in one year instead of two. However, some schools just don't teach their classes at this speed so don't offer "fast track" subjects in terms of their teaching - however as an external candidate you're not registering for classes so you can fast-track any subjects.

Reply 3

Compost

Original post by dragonkeeper999

Since AS and A2 qualifications have now been decoupled, you don't need to take AS exams - just A2s (n.b. this might be different for some subjects, e.g. possibly maths... not sure...). You can take these (and AS exams if you want them) all at the same time or spread out over several years, whatever suits you..

This is a misunderstanding of the new system. A2 refers to the second half of A level and is a concept that doesn't really apply any more. If you want to get an A level then you have to take all the exams for the full A level (there are generally 3 but are longer than the outgoing AS and A2 exams) and they all have to be taken in the same Summer.

Reply 4

dragonkeeper999

Original post by Compost

Ah, ok cool thanks for the clarification :smile:

I had heard that you could spread them out, but it does make more sense to take them at once anyway...

Reply 5

JosephBatley

Original post by dragonkeeper999

Ah, ok cool thanks for the clarification :smile:

I had heard that you could spread them out, but it does make more sense to take them at once anyway...

So does the new system mean I can take all exams in a single summer? How would I independently take the exams without going through a service, how would I enrol and what learning materials would I need?

Reply 6

dragonkeeper999

Original post by JosephBatley

1. Yes
2. You need to get a school/ exam centre to enter you for the exams. Usually the easiest way to do this is to just phone up a local sixth form college or school and ask if they accept external candidates for exams. They will then enrol you and sort out all the complicated stuff, and you just have to pay them the exam fee and probably an admin fee. Essentially, the school will treat you the same as their own students in terms of exam enrolment, but you don't join in their classes. If you go through a service, they will do exactly the same thing, but charge you a lot more and probably not pick a school close to you - instead going through an exam centre they submit all their candidates too, which could be several hours drive away.
3. In terms of learning materials, you should buy the textbook published by your exam board (this is why you need to talk to nearby schools now, since they will only offer one particular exam board per subject), perhaps buy a generic revision workbook (just pick one with good reviews on Amazon) and then practice using the free exam papers available online on your exam board's website. I wouldn't bother enrolling on any online courses (just look at free tutorials on YouTube/ Khan Academy), but if you find you are really struggling with a topic it may be worth paying for a private tutor for a couple of hours a week. Throughout the year, just gradually work through the textbook, looking up stuff you don't understand online, then complete the revision workbook and last 10 years or so of past papers as revision just before the exams :smile: