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Teaching myself an A-Level course from home (Oxbridge Home Learning)

Has anyone on here completed an A-Level course with Oxbridge Home Learning? What grade did you get?
I am currently doing Sociology A-Level through Oxbridge Home Learning and need to get an A grade for uni, however due to the course being completely self taught I am worried that the resources provided will not be enough to give me the knowledge and understanding needed to get an A. I have three A-Levels (grades ACC) which I achieved through in-person teaching at a college, and am doing Sociology as an extra level in my gap year so I have better grades to apply to unis with.
I am worried that due to not doing the frequent in-class tests that I did with my other alevels, I will be inexperienced and not perform well in the actual exam. I am also worried that the resources i am using to learn the content through Oxbridge Home Learning isn't sufficient on its own and I need to be using other resources (eg textbooks and private tutoring) to cover all of the content.
Can anyone here reassure me that a high grade is achievable through home learning/self teaching? If i dont get an A the whole course would've been a waste of time and money for me so I am being extra skeptical and don't want just rely on the online course on its own. I am afraid I will complete the course and think i am ready for the exam only to get a nasty shock when i finally sit the exam by realising I don't know the course and how to answer the questions as well as i think i did.
I have to do one essay at the end of each topic (therefore 6 pieces of marked work for the whole two year course) and there are no mock exams so I'm finding it hard to trust my own abilities without being able to test my skills in exam conditions. I plan on doing practise tests in timed, exam conditions, but even then I am worried my self-marking will be inaccurate and i will not truly know what grade my abilities can get me to.
I could be overthinking it, and to be honest there's nothing I can really do no as I've already payed for the course and can't back down now. But it would be useful to know if I can put all my trust in what the course provides, or if i have to learn from additional sources to ensure I will be okay for the exam.

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by ee-ee

I did A Level Maths with Oxford Home Learning, and got an A in it. I had something like 10 assignments because I cover more topics.

The main disclaimer with any course is that you would need to put the work in before you can get any results. I don't know how they are with sociology, but it was good for maths (further maths wasn't as good).
I am not entirely sure whether you can ask them to mark extra exam papers that are not part of their tuition packages - definitely worth asking.

Of course, just because you have their tuition and guidance, it doesn't mean that you should use other resources on top e.g.

•

past papers from 2-3 exam boards

•

revision guides

•

exam practice books

The material you have received would only cover the contents of the textbook and some recent exam papers, if your subject was anything like mine. It's not much more from what you would get if you went to college and did the A Level there. The other things you would need to go the extra mile for.

If you are going through them with a minimum expectation of getting an A, that's going to be a tough call. Nothing is guaranteed, and you don't have a lot of leeway in terms of achievement.