Study A level maths w/ full time work

Hi, I’m 23 now and will be continuing my commercial airline pilot training when this recession starts to subside.

In the meantime I’m looking at going back to school to study 2 A levels. Maths and Geography or physics.
Ideally I’d like to sit both exams next May/June.

I have experience with distance learning. I completed 14 ATPL exams all fully distance learnt so I don’t see the commitment of A levels being an issue.

What is the process to booking exams (going with AQA)?

Can I just buy the AQA textbooks for maths and study from them, with help from an online tutor when required?

All the online ‘schools’ seem like glorified textbooks to me to be honest, are they worth more of my respect than that?

How long is a realistic time frame for completion to a decent standard? Looking for AA or AB respectively ideally. (I achieved BB in GCSE) studying around 2-3 hours per day around work

Thanks for your help

I recently done A Level maths with AQA as a private candidate and got an A from it whilst doing full time work (30-50 hours a week), so I think I am qualified to give an opinion or 2.

You will need to select an exam centre from the AQA website, and contact the exam officier at your chosen exam centre. I had a bit of issue when I was looking for my exam centre because a number of them chose not to respond. If they do, they tend to be really slow. So you might need to persist with some and be really patient.

When paying for your fees, you will need to pay the exam centre, not AQA. If you pay early, you should be able to get your exams booked for roughly £120 (both admin and exam fees). If you pay later, this can mount up to as high as £300-400, including late fees.

In terms of study, you can choose however you want to study. You can buy the textbooks and study yourself, or go through a course with an online college like I did. The ultimate aim is to get through the exam with flying colours, and that is independent on your method of study.

I can't opine whether you should go through an online college or not, because you could easily go through a textbook and get high grades instead of going through an online college. I don't know your methods well enough. If you need me to, I can describe my experience with my online college.
Having said that, the material that they present to you via online college can significantly reduce the amount of reading and note taking that you would need to do if you do have a textbook; organise the material in a digestable way; offer tutor support where needed; and they do offer assignment questions. There is value there in studying through an online college.

With the hours and variable timeframe of my work schedule, I aimed to do 30 hours a week on top of the 30 hours of work. I maintained that I would not exceed more than 60 hours of week of combined study and work. I don't know your personal circumstances, so I cannot say whether this would work for you (no pun intended). If you have your weekends spare, it might help to serve as an opportunity for more intensive study.

The standard A Level is to be said to require roughly 300 hours of study, at least on paper. In practice, I tend to go for 600 hours because I want to secure certain target grades and become more proficient in the subject that I am studying. If I needed to, I would have done the A Level within 6 months (and I almost did during the pandemic, but I was late in applying for exams). At least 100 hours of it was spent on revision and exam practice.

The grade boundaries for B, A, and A* were 138, 171, and 220 out of 300 (or 46%, 57%, and 73%) in Summer 2022 (notice the large jump in grade boundary between A and A*). I don't know what the boundaries will be in later exams, but if they stay relatively consistent with the prepandemic levels, these would serve as good benchmarks for any practice exams you do. If you feel confident that you could score at least 60% in the exam papers on average doing 2-3 hours a day for a few months, then sure it's doable. If you're not that confident, then I would probably be more careful about how you schedule your study.

Should you want information on picking online colleges to study A Levels from, let me know. I have a spreadsheet saved when I was compaing and searching for these colleges.

Hi, I’m 23 now and will be continuing my commercial airline pilot training when this recession starts to subside.

In the meantime I’m looking at going back to school to study 2 A levels. Maths and Geography or physics.
Ideally I’d like to sit both exams next May/June.

I have experience with distance learning. I completed 14 ATPL exams all fully distance learnt so I don’t see the commitment of A levels being an issue.

What is the process to booking exams (going with AQA)?

Can I just buy the AQA textbooks for maths and study from them, with help from an online tutor when required?

All the online ‘schools’ seem like glorified textbooks to me to be honest, are they worth more of my respect than that?

How long is a realistic time frame for completion to a decent standard? Looking for AA or AB respectively ideally. (I achieved BB in GCSE) studying around 2-3 hours per day around work

Thanks for your help

Hi, I’m 23 now and will be continuing my commercial airline pilot training when this recession starts to subside.

In the meantime I’m looking at going back to school to study 2 A levels. Maths and Geography or physics.
Ideally I’d like to sit both exams next May/June.

I have experience with distance learning. I completed 14 ATPL exams all fully distance learnt so I don’t see the commitment of A levels being an issue.

What is the process to booking exams (going with AQA)?

Can I just buy the AQA textbooks for maths and study from them, with help from an online tutor when required?

All the online ‘schools’ seem like glorified textbooks to me to be honest, are they worth more of my respect than that?

How long is a realistic time frame for completion to a decent standard? Looking for AA or AB respectively ideally. (I achieved BB in GCSE) studying around 2-3 hours per day around work

Thanks for your help

Were you doing them just for interest, rather than as an entry qualification for something? I ask because two A levels on their own don't really lead to anything (maybe a foundation degree)

Firstly, thankyou for such a comprehensive reply. I appreciate your experience in undertaking this journey whilst also being in, what seems to be on the surface, a similar situation to mine.

I have read and taken onboard everything you have said. I’d like to know more about your experience with your online school as I have made contact (through phone call) to a couple of them already and I’ve had mixed reception (no pun intended on my behalf this time). I have seen a fair few reviews online stating the courses were great, but also a fair few mentioning the lack of tutor support and incorrect learning material etc. again, I think learning about your experience with your online school would help. Which school did you settle with? That spreadsheet may be all I need to guide me.



Thanks again

It’s more to get myself noticed for interview and assessment at the airlines. None particularly require A level education, however I will be competing in an already challenging environment against people with the same licenses as myself. Granted my ATPL results are above average, but I fear that not having A levels could have the potential to land me (pardon the pun again. I’m on fire today) at the wayside

It’s more to get myself noticed for interview and assessment at the airlines. None particularly require A level education, however I will be competing in an already challenging environment against people with the same licenses as myself. Granted my ATPL results are above average, but I fear that not having A levels could have the potential to land me (pardon the pun again. I’m on fire today) at the wayside

As an aside, if you don't need specific subjects then it's worth bearing in mind that the NEA component of geography and the practical component of physics could make those subjects harder to find exam centres for, and more expensive.

There's a thread devoted to puns, you know!
I see. If you think it will help you, then doing two A levels privately alongside f/t employment is eminently do-able. You can either try doing them in a year (which would be quite a commitment), or spread it out over two years, which I think it more manageable. If you can afford a private tutor alongside a designed distance-learning course, this would be enormously helpful in terms of keeping you on track, identifying problems early and generally ensuring you get a good result.

I recently done A Level maths with AQA as a private candidate and got an A from it whilst doing full time work (30-50 hours a week), so I think I am qualified to give an opinion or 2.

You will need to select an exam centre from the AQA website, and contact the exam officier at your chosen exam centre. I had a bit of issue when I was looking for my exam centre because a number of them chose not to respond. If they do, they tend to be really slow. So you might need to persist with some and be really patient.

When paying for your fees, you will need to pay the exam centre, not AQA. If you pay early, you should be able to get your exams booked for roughly £120 (both admin and exam fees). If you pay later, this can mount up to as high as £300-400, including late fees.

In terms of study, you can choose however you want to study. You can buy the textbooks and study yourself, or go through a course with an online college like I did. The ultimate aim is to get through the exam with flying colours, and that is independent on your method of study.

I can't opine whether you should go through an online college or not, because you could easily go through a textbook and get high grades instead of going through an online college. I don't know your methods well enough. If you need me to, I can describe my experience with my online college.
Having said that, the material that they present to you via online college can significantly reduce the amount of reading and note taking that you would need to do if you do have a textbook; organise the material in a digestable way; offer tutor support where needed; and they do offer assignment questions. There is value there in studying through an online college.

With the hours and variable timeframe of my work schedule, I aimed to do 30 hours a week on top of the 30 hours of work. I maintained that I would not exceed more than 60 hours of week of combined study and work. I don't know your personal circumstances, so I cannot say whether this would work for you (no pun intended). If you have your weekends spare, it might help to serve as an opportunity for more intensive study.

The standard A Level is to be said to require roughly 300 hours of study, at least on paper. In practice, I tend to go for 600 hours because I want to secure certain target grades and become more proficient in the subject that I am studying. If I needed to, I would have done the A Level within 6 months (and I almost did during the pandemic, but I was late in applying for exams). At least 100 hours of it was spent on revision and exam practice.

The grade boundaries for B, A, and A* were 138, 171, and 220 out of 300 (or 46%, 57%, and 73%) in Summer 2022 (notice the large jump in grade boundary between A and A*). I don't know what the boundaries will be in later exams, but if they stay relatively consistent with the prepandemic levels, these would serve as good benchmarks for any practice exams you do. If you feel confident that you could score at least 60% in the exam papers on average doing 2-3 hours a day for a few months, then sure it's doable. If you're not that confident, then I would probably be more careful about how you schedule your study.

Should you want information on picking online colleges to study A Levels from, let me know. I have a spreadsheet saved when I was compaing and searching for these colleges.

Hi, i have just started studying for my atpls after completing my a levels last year. How did you find them?

Hi flyingpiper,

I sat my A level exams in June and started my ATPLs again (for the second time since last time was pre-covid) and have been getting through them nicely. 95% average so far. I'm sitting Austro and UK CAA.

If you would like any tips shoot me a PM, happy to chat over discord, I have a wealth of experience with these ATPLs as well as with the further training.

Regards,
Jordon