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GCSEs to sit as a private candidate

Hi I wanted to ask if there are any easy GCSEs to sit as a private candidate ?

As during 2020 I was underpredicted by teachers at this period I was facing medical problems .

As a result I wasn’t able to meet GCSE requirements of my desired course .
(edited 9 months ago)
Original post by 12XYZ123
Hi I wanted to ask if there are any easy GCSEs to sit as a private candidate ?

As during 2020 I was underpredicted by teachers at this period I was facing medical problems .

As a result I wasn’t able to meet GCSE requirements of my desired course .


You are able to resit any GCSEs that the exam centre is willing to enter you for.

The key ones for A Levels/colleges are Maths and English Language (you can resit these for free at your local adult college). The other GCSEs aren't as key.

However, I would like to know what you intend to do with the GCSEs. If you were supposed to have graduated secondary school in 2020, you should be 19 by now. In other words, you are not likely to be accepted into 6th form colleges this following September and will require to look at alternative means of doing A Levels.
If you are looking to sit GCSEs for degrees, you're only really looking at Maths and English Language (unless there's a specific degree course that I haven't come across before requiring specific GCSEs)
If you are looking at adult college courses, the usual courses are in BTECs, Access, vocational courses, and most of these would at most be asking for Maths and English Language.

Whether certain GCSEs are easy or not would depend on more on the individual. I could easily say maths, sciences, and languages are easy for me. To someone else, they would be the worst subjects to pick. On the other hand, I could say English literature, music, and textiles are difficult, but to someone else they're easy. It's very difficult to generalise.
Reply 2
Original post by MindMax2000
You are able to resit any GCSEs that the exam centre is willing to enter you for.

The key ones for A Levels/colleges are Maths and English Language (you can resit these for free at your local adult college). The other GCSEs aren't as key.

However, I would like to know what you intend to do with the GCSEs. If you were supposed to have graduated secondary school in 2020, you should be 19 by now. In other words, you are not likely to be accepted into 6th form colleges this following September and will require to look at alternative means of doing A Levels.
If you are looking to sit GCSEs for degrees, you're only really looking at Maths and English Language (unless there's a specific degree course that I haven't come across before requiring specific GCSEs)
If you are looking at adult college courses, the usual courses are in BTECs, Access, vocational courses, and most of these would at most be asking for Maths and English Language.

Whether certain GCSEs are easy or not would depend on more on the individual. I could easily say maths, sciences, and languages are easy for me. To someone else, they would be the worst subjects to pick. On the other hand, I could say English literature, music, and textiles are difficult, but to someone else they're easy. It's very difficult to generalise.

No sorry what I’m trying to say is that I’ve done a-levels but I need to fix my GCSEs to meet the criteria of the course I want to go onto do
Original post by 12XYZ123
No sorry what I’m trying to say is that I’ve done a-levels but I need to fix my GCSEs to meet the criteria of the course I want to go onto do


Oh right. Then I would still check the GCSE entry requirements of the specific course that you want to do. Most would just be asking for sufficiently high grades in English Language and Maths. I can't see any reason why you should have to sit 5 GCSEs when you don't really need to (unless it's for a sense of personal achievement, even though I don't think it's warranted).

Still to sit your GCSE exams, you would need to go to the respective exam boards' websites, go to private candidate sections, and find the accepted exam centres for those exam boards. Contact those exam centres and speak to the exam officer at those centres to arrange your bookings.
Personally, I would do the GCSEs with 100% exams to avoid unnecessary complications.
I don't know which exam boards you are with for which subjects, and I don't know which subjects you are good at. This can complicate things further.

Nevertheless, I would still try to do the Maths and English Language GCSEs at an adult college if they are less than 4/5. This would be cheaper and quicker than doing it as a private candidate.

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