GCSE advice

I’m hoping to get on to the BA in Social Work 2021 and have enrolled on an access course in social science to start in September. However my uni have stated they require GCSE C or above in English Maths and Science. Whilst I have English and Maths I don’t have the grades in science.

What is the best way to gain that GCSE that I can fit it alongside the access course. I’m a bit worried being a mature student with children and work commitments that I’m going to struggle to fit it all in.

Reply 1

National Careers Service

17

Original post by Jsoc

I’m hoping to get on to the BA in Social Work 2021 and have enrolled on an access course in social science to start in September. However my uni have stated they require GCSE C or above in English Maths and Science. Whilst I have English and Maths I don’t have the grades in science.

What is the best way to gain that GCSE that I can fit it alongside the access course. I’m a bit worried being a mature student with children and work commitments that I’m going to struggle to fit it all in.

Hi there,

It sounds like you've got a good plan with the access courses and the BA lined up, good on you. For your science, there are two options really, one is to self-study and sit the exam as a private candidate. To do this you just need to contact exam boards (Pearson/OCR/AQA/WJEC) and find one that can offer you a place to sit in your area and then buy a revision guide or use the BBC bitesize materials. This is the cheapest option as you just have to pay the exam fee, and is suitable if you feel confident enough to teach yourself.

The other is to do a course through an online learning provider like the Open Study College or the National Extension College who will provide a course and arrange for you to sit the exam, so you'd be paying more but getting academic support and help to arrange the exam. You may find other adult education colleges that offer GCSEs too and some of them might be offering flexible or online learning given the current situation.

It might be worth having a look at some examples of what's involved to get an idea of the level of study required and decide if you think you'll need that extra support or not... https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/zqkww6f

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks, Mark

Reply 2

I luv cake

8

Original post by Jsoc

I’m hoping to get on to the BA in Social Work 2021 and have enrolled on an access course in social science to start in September. However my uni have stated they require GCSE C or above in English Maths and Science. Whilst I have English and Maths I don’t have the grades in science.

What is the best way to gain that GCSE that I can fit it alongside the access course. I’m a bit worried being a mature student with children and work commitments that I’m going to struggle to fit it all in.

I didn't have a science for my entry to uni but there was biology and a psychology module in my access course. Most unis will accept these as a science as long as it has enough credits. Your best bet is to email your uni of choice and ask them if your access course will count towards your science

Reply 3

National Extension College

Official Rep

12

Original post by National Careers Service

The other is to do a course through an online learning provider like the Open Study College or the National Extension College who will provide a course and arrange for you to sit the exam, so you'd be paying more but getting academic support and help to arrange the exam. You may find other adult education colleges that offer GCSEs too and some of them might be offering flexible or online learning given the current situation.

In addition to being able to book the exams for you, as an approved exam centre, we were also able to deal with the centre-assessed grades that were put in place this year. This means that if the exams are ever cancelled and replaced by this form of assessment again, we would be able to provide these grades for all eligible students.

More information about National Extension College, our 57 years' of distance learning experience and our courses can be found on our website: https://www.nec.ac.uk/

Best wishes,
Charlotte

Reply 4

Jsoc

OP

3

Thank you I’ve managed to get conformation from my uni they don’t require the science GCSE if you do the access course which is great news.