The Student Room Group

I dropped out after my GCSEs because of mental health and now I'm 19

I (technically) did my GCSEs in 2021. I say technically because I hadn't actually gone to school since December 2020 due to my mental health rapidly declining. I didn't take the exams but I did get results, I think based off mocks and the like.

I was planning on going to sixth form in September 2021 but I didn't get the 6 in maths that I needed to do psychology like I wanted to, so I put it off and decided I'd do my A-Levels online that September instead. But my mental health was still getting worse, and I was eventually diagnosed with autism in 2022, so it wasn't really a priority for me for a long time.

Now I'm 19, and 20 in December, and slowly but surely getting back on track mentally, but so far not education wise. I want to do A-Levels online in English Literature, English Language, and Psychology (or sociology, I'm not 100% sure) and eventually go to university for English.

However, because it's been so long since I've been in school and I have nobody to ask about taking A-Levels online or what it will encompass, I'm feeling incredibly anxious over the whole thing. If I do take them, it will almost definitely be online because of my anxiety but I'm not sure what it even really entails at all since I didn't go to sixth form or college. I desperately want to do it, even just to have the qualifications in general and not solely for university, but I have a lot of questions and it's really overwhelming not knowing which answers are the right ones.

I'm also planning on moving to Ireland with my family early next year, I'm not entirely sure but I think that will be fine for online A-Levels, so long as I find an exam centre, which I've already looked into and should be able to do. I'm going to list my GCSE results and my myriad of questions down below, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll also try to answer any questions but I've never posted on here before (or heard of it until today) so I'm slightly worried about any negative reception to this post and my situation. Please be nice!

My GCSE Results:

8 - English Language
7 - English Literature
7 - Drama
5 - History
4 - Maths
4 - French
4 - Chemistry
4 - Biology
3 - Physics

Questions:

1. Which online service is the best for A-Levels, whether that's subjective or objective, and specifically for english?
2. Is it possible to do 3 online A-Levels in one year? I have a lot of anxiety abour being older than everybody else doing them and would really like to get it over with as soon as possible. Any perspective on this time frame from people with Autism and/or ADHD would be greatly appreciated but not necessary.
3. Is that a good mix of A-Levels to take? I'm obviously very English-minded by the subjects I'm planning on taking and my GCSE results but I'm not sure if two different English A-Levels is overkill or typical.
4. Do people usually (or ever) take A-Levels later in life if they didn't when they were younger? I have this impending doom nonsense in my head about how I've wasted my life before it's even started and I'd love some reassurance or just insight on this.
5. Is there a better or easier solution that I haven't thought of, other than taking my A-Levels now?

Apologies again for the amount of annoying and somewhat repetitive questions, but I'm not sure where else to ask them all, and I'm certain I'll have more floating around my head in the next hour or so. Thank you for your help or even for reading this far!
Original post by chappellroaned
I (technically) did my GCSEs in 2021. I say technically because I hadn't actually gone to school since December 2020 due to my mental health rapidly declining. I didn't take the exams but I did get results, I think based off mocks and the like.
I was planning on going to sixth form in September 2021 but I didn't get the 6 in maths that I needed to do psychology like I wanted to, so I put it off and decided I'd do my A-Levels online that September instead. But my mental health was still getting worse, and I was eventually diagnosed with autism in 2022, so it wasn't really a priority for me for a long time.
Now I'm 19, and 20 in December, and slowly but surely getting back on track mentally, but so far not education wise. I want to do A-Levels online in English Literature, English Language, and Psychology (or sociology, I'm not 100% sure) and eventually go to university for English.
However, because it's been so long since I've been in school and I have nobody to ask about taking A-Levels online or what it will encompass, I'm feeling incredibly anxious over the whole thing. If I do take them, it will almost definitely be online because of my anxiety but I'm not sure what it even really entails at all since I didn't go to sixth form or college. I desperately want to do it, even just to have the qualifications in general and not solely for university, but I have a lot of questions and it's really overwhelming not knowing which answers are the right ones.
I'm also planning on moving to Ireland with my family early next year, I'm not entirely sure but I think that will be fine for online A-Levels, so long as I find an exam centre, which I've already looked into and should be able to do. I'm going to list my GCSE results and my myriad of questions down below, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll also try to answer any questions but I've never posted on here before (or heard of it until today) so I'm slightly worried about any negative reception to this post and my situation. Please be nice!
My GCSE Results:
8 - English Language
7 - English Literature
7 - Drama
5 - History
4 - Maths
4 - French
4 - Chemistry
4 - Biology
3 - Physics
Questions:
1. Which online service is the best for A-Levels, whether that's subjective or objective, and specifically for english?
2. Is it possible to do 3 online A-Levels in one year? I have a lot of anxiety abour being older than everybody else doing them and would really like to get it over with as soon as possible. Any perspective on this time frame from people with Autism and/or ADHD would be greatly appreciated but not necessary.
3. Is that a good mix of A-Levels to take? I'm obviously very English-minded by the subjects I'm planning on taking and my GCSE results but I'm not sure if two different English A-Levels is overkill or typical.
4. Do people usually (or ever) take A-Levels later in life if they didn't when they were younger? I have this impending doom nonsense in my head about how I've wasted my life before it's even started and I'd love some reassurance or just insight on this.
5. Is there a better or easier solution that I haven't thought of, other than taking my A-Levels now?
Apologies again for the amount of annoying and somewhat repetitive questions, but I'm not sure where else to ask them all, and I'm certain I'll have more floating around my head in the next hour or so. Thank you for your help or even for reading this far!

I don't think I can help you with your other questions but for your final one, you might want to look into Access to Higher Education diplomas instead of A levels. This seems like it might be a better and far less intensive route and you could study one online in English if you want. Universities recognise these and are more than willing to help mature learners access university. It also means that you aren't 100% assessed based on your exam performance, so if that's something you think might benefit you, I would look into it. Here's one I found for English from an online provider:

https://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/course-search/Course?QAACourseCode=QAA59983650&searchCurrentPage=1&searchCourseName=english&searchLocation=&searchDistance=TenMiles&searchDistanceLearning=False&searchClickedLinkPosition=#

Wishing you the best of luck and I hope others may be able to provide you with more information!
Original post by bibachu
I don't think I can help you with your other questions but for your final one, you might want to look into Access to Higher Education diplomas instead of A levels. This seems like it might be a better and far less intensive route and you could study one online in English if you want. Universities recognise these and are more than willing to help mature learners access university. It also means that you aren't 100% assessed based on your exam performance, so if that's something you think might benefit you, I would look into it. Here's one I found for English from an online provider:
https://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/course-search/Course?QAACourseCode=QAA59983650&searchCurrentPage=1&searchCourseName=english&searchLocation=&searchDistance=TenMiles&searchDistanceLearning=False&searchClickedLinkPosition=#
Wishing you the best of luck and I hope others may be able to provide you with more information!

Hi! I'm going to look into this because I had no idea it was a thing, thank you so much for replying!
Reply 3
Original post by chappellroaned
I (technically) did my GCSEs in 2021. I say technically because I hadn't actually gone to school since December 2020 due to my mental health rapidly declining. I didn't take the exams but I did get results, I think based off mocks and the like.
I was planning on going to sixth form in September 2021 but I didn't get the 6 in maths that I needed to do psychology like I wanted to, so I put it off and decided I'd do my A-Levels online that September instead. But my mental health was still getting worse, and I was eventually diagnosed with autism in 2022, so it wasn't really a priority for me for a long time.
Now I'm 19, and 20 in December, and slowly but surely getting back on track mentally, but so far not education wise. I want to do A-Levels online in English Literature, English Language, and Psychology (or sociology, I'm not 100% sure) and eventually go to university for English.
However, because it's been so long since I've been in school and I have nobody to ask about taking A-Levels online or what it will encompass, I'm feeling incredibly anxious over the whole thing. If I do take them, it will almost definitely be online because of my anxiety but I'm not sure what it even really entails at all since I didn't go to sixth form or college. I desperately want to do it, even just to have the qualifications in general and not solely for university, but I have a lot of questions and it's really overwhelming not knowing which answers are the right ones.
I'm also planning on moving to Ireland with my family early next year, I'm not entirely sure but I think that will be fine for online A-Levels, so long as I find an exam centre, which I've already looked into and should be able to do. I'm going to list my GCSE results and my myriad of questions down below, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll also try to answer any questions but I've never posted on here before (or heard of it until today) so I'm slightly worried about any negative reception to this post and my situation. Please be nice!
My GCSE Results:
8 - English Language
7 - English Literature
7 - Drama
5 - History
4 - Maths
4 - French
4 - Chemistry
4 - Biology
3 - Physics
Questions:
1. Which online service is the best for A-Levels, whether that's subjective or objective, and specifically for english?
2. Is it possible to do 3 online A-Levels in one year? I have a lot of anxiety abour being older than everybody else doing them and would really like to get it over with as soon as possible. Any perspective on this time frame from people with Autism and/or ADHD would be greatly appreciated but not necessary.
3. Is that a good mix of A-Levels to take? I'm obviously very English-minded by the subjects I'm planning on taking and my GCSE results but I'm not sure if two different English A-Levels is overkill or typical.
4. Do people usually (or ever) take A-Levels later in life if they didn't when they were younger? I have this impending doom nonsense in my head about how I've wasted my life before it's even started and I'd love some reassurance or just insight on this.
5. Is there a better or easier solution that I haven't thought of, other than taking my A-Levels now?
Apologies again for the amount of annoying and somewhat repetitive questions, but I'm not sure where else to ask them all, and I'm certain I'll have more floating around my head in the next hour or so. Thank you for your help or even for reading this far!

1.

idk, but to me i feel like language and lit would compliment eachother? haven't done english in a-level or anything so couldn't talk about the workload but it seems like taking maths and science, maths definitely helps in science etc.

2.

You've probably already seen some stuff already, but there are loads of people in a similar situation to you (taking exams 'late') - like this one https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388596

sorry if this is too late and you're doing the diploma instead of a levels! but good luck on everything <333
(edit: sorry the numbers got messed up, but i was trying to respond to 3 & 4)
(edited 6 months ago)

Quick Reply