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23, no GCSEs, no qualifications, what now?

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HelloT
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You can do it
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Original post by confusedguye
Forgive the dramatics but I'm in a bit of a pickle right now, due to some strong anxiety issues I missed a lot of schooling and left before the GCSEs were to start and ended up missing the entire exam. I've spent time sorting those issues out and now I find myself at 23 with no qualifications to speak of.

I'm determined to pull myself up from this scenario and I'd like to one day obtain a degree (I've always liked the idea of being a Librarian 😛) I'm confident in my determination yet am unsure which steps to take to get there, it makes sense to acquire an English and Maths GCSE but I'm also unsure how to go about that. Can these things be done online? How would I do that? I'd appreciate any advice and guidance, thank you.

Hi. I don't believe GCSEs can be sat online, you'd have to register as a private candidate at an exam centre near you. I think this link will help in locating the ones available in your area: https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates-summer-2021/, but I'm not sure about COVID circumstances.

There are some really great resources available online for GCSEs, but I believe you'd have to do a minimum of 5. As per UCAS's recommendations: https://www.ucas.com/ucas/after-gcses/find-career-ideas/explore-jobs/job-profile/librarian

"What do I need to do to become a librarian?
You can qualify as a librarian either by studying for a university qualification or by working as a library assistant and doing work-based training.

To get on a degree you need five GCSEs A-C, including maths, English and science, and at least two A levels. There are no specific subjects required but relevant ones would include English literature and English language."



If you aren't interested in doing all 3 sciences, there are options to do combined science , where you still study Phys/Chem/Bio but are awarded 2 GCSEs as it's like 2/3 of the triple (full) award. So maybe your GCSE subject choices might look like:

1-English Language
2-English Literature
3-Maths
4 & 5 - Combined/Double Science

Resources! You might want to look at getting a tutor, definitely will need to get the relevant textbooks/study guides (most people use CGP) for the board you have chosen (AQA, EDEXCEL or OCR). Download the subject specification on the board website and revise according to that + past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports.

The YouTube channels I recommend:

-HEGARTYMATHS
-FreeScienceLessons (really good.)
-Mr Bruff (for English)
-PrimroseKitten (science and maths)
-Science with Hazel

There are also a lot of "the whole of GCSE biology in 2 hours!" and similar cram videos (Primrose Kitten & Science With Hazel both do a lot of these) that you might be interested in once you get a feel for the content.


Best of luck!
Original post by confusedguye
Forgive the dramatics but I'm in a bit of a pickle right now, due to some strong anxiety issues I missed a lot of schooling and left before the GCSEs were to start and ended up missing the entire exam. I've spent time sorting those issues out and now I find myself at 23 with no qualifications to speak of.

I'm determined to pull myself up from this scenario and I'd like to one day obtain a degree (I've always liked the idea of being a Librarian 😛) I'm confident in my determination yet am unsure which steps to take to get there, it makes sense to acquire an English and Maths GCSE but I'm also unsure how to go about that. Can these things be done online? How would I do that? I'd appreciate any advice and guidance, thank you.

I was in this position!
However I *do* have my English GCSE but not maths.

First, to access University as a mature student you can do an ‘Access to higher education’ course.
Lots of colleges across the UK offer these and offer lots of assistance with bursaries and financial aid, and if you continue into university, the loan for this course will be wiped off completely meaning you will owe £0.

Functional skills level 2 are the equivalent of GCSE’s and are offered free of charge in lots of UK colleges. I emailed the tutor for the access course and told her, although I don’t have my maths level 2 that I have already applied for the course and will achieve this alongside the access course, which she had to issues with.

So your steps should be:
Find a local college which offer Functional Skills level 2 in Mathematics and English. Take these and pass.
Look into different Access to HE courses and find a local college which offers this course. Do this and pass.
Apply for university, and you’re there.

I’m 24, almost 25 :smile:

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