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arabic gcse external students???

Hi guys... quick question.
I'm arab, I speak arabic fluently and I can easily read/write. Does anyone know where I can sit the external gcses? I really have no idea how its supposed to go... is it in my house? do i do them in a specified place?
my borough in london doesnt offer them... where should I look?
Original post by layanizzeddin
Hi guys... quick question.
I'm arab, I speak arabic fluently and I can easily read/write. Does anyone know where I can sit the external gcses? I really have no idea how its supposed to go... is it in my house? do i do them in a specified place?
my borough in london doesnt offer them... where should I look?


As far as I know, only EdExcel offers GCSE and A Levels in Arabic (as for a lot of non-European languages) - you can also do A Level Arabic with CIE, but that's another matter.

Firstly I would like to point out that if you can speak, read, write, and listen in Arabic fluently, then there's little point in doing the GCSE (unless you're doing it to gain college admissions). It's going to be far more productive and efficient to just do the A Level.

Secondly, if you want to do Arabic with EdExcel, you are going to do so as an external candidate (or private candidate as they call it) at a proctor exam centre (i.e. for your qualification to be recognised, you can't just do it anywhere you please). If you do a quick google search, you would find the following page: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/registrations-and-entries/academic-registrations-and-entries/private-candidates.html
If you poke around long enough, you would find the following page for where you can do your exams (since it's usually 100% exam based):
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/understanding-our-qualifications/where-can-i-take-edexcel-exams.html

You would then find a link to the JCQ website where it would lead you to this page: https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates/
You would need to be specific about your exam board, postcode, and level of study (ideally with the subject). Using a random London postcode, I have found the following centre:
https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates/?user-postcode=SW10-0EP&user-lat=51.4808633&user-lon=-0.1799452&qualification-type=gcse&awarding-body=edexcel&gcse-subject=27
https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates-summer-2021/tutors-exams-romford/?post_type=exam_centre&p=11907

Irrespective of which centre you go with:

You need to contact the exam officer of the exam centre to book your exams

You need to do this by Februrary at the latest to avoid late fees and by April should you avoid missing out of doing the exams this year

Bookings are usually available from Novermber in each academic year, but I think Tutors & Exams are flexible with this

You would need to pay for admin and exam fees for the GCSE (which I think is about £100 if memory serves - this includes the £49.30 exam fee, but not the admin fee; see: https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/Support/Fees-for-academic-and-vocational-qualifications/uk-general-qualifications-fees-2023-24.pdf). The fees are payable to the exam centre, not the exam board.

You would need a copy of your ID to make your submission, but this can be done by email (make sure it's secure)

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