how to take an external a-level

I'm in Y11 right now and want to take Film Studies A-Level. It is not offered at my school's sixth form but I am deeply interested and passionate about the subject. I don't want to change sixth forms though as my school's one is very good and not many others appeal to me that much.
I therefore am considering how I might take it externally and am drawn to the WJEC course, but I don't know how to go about applying to take it externally or what it will be like to do so.
Could someone tell me about how to go about this, and what it will be like to do an external A-Level?
Thanks so much! 😊

Reply 1

Trigger Nemesis

6

Original post by x-wing_pilot

I'm in Y11 right now and want to take Film Studies A-Level. It is not offered at my school's sixth form but I am deeply interested and passionate about the subject. I don't want to change sixth forms though as my school's one is very good and not many others appeal to me that much.
I therefore am considering how I might take it externally and am drawn to the WJEC course, but I don't know how to go about applying to take it externally or what it will be like to do so.
Could someone tell me about how to go about this, and what it will be like to do an external A-Level?
Thanks so much! 😊

Hi again! Out of curiosity, Is film studies a completely different subject from Media?

Reply 2

x-wing_pilot

OP

15

Original post by Trigger Nemesis

Hi again! Out of curiosity, Is film studies a completely different subject from Media?

Media Studies has some film as one component but yes, it is pretty different. I'm only interested in film. Besides, if your suggestion is that I just take Media Studies at my school, they don't offer that either lol
I actually felt quite annoyed bc when I asked my head of year about taking film studies she told me to 'look elsewhere' because 'it's a less academic subject'. ??? i was mad. she really sucks
But anyway, my school doesn't offer either of those things.

Reply 3

Trigger Nemesis

6

Original post by x-wing_pilot

Media Studies has some film as one component but yes, it is pretty different. I'm only interested in film. Besides, if your suggestion is that I just take Media Studies at my school, they don't offer that either lol
I actually felt quite annoyed bc when I asked my head of year about taking film studies she told me to 'look elsewhere' because 'it's a less academic subject'. ??? i was mad. she really sucks
But anyway, my school doesn't offer either of those things.

The head of year definitely sounds like a scum, who gives an advice to a student like that! Anyway I guess it's safe for you to proceed with an external A-level Film Studies. I'm not sure where to buy/get lessons for WJEC course, so I can't provide any links, but I'm open if there's anything I can help with. I'm sure you'll do great and where your ambition lies.

Reply 4

x-wing_pilot

OP

15

Original post by Trigger Nemesis

The head of year definitely sounds like a scum, who gives an advice to a student like that! Anyway I guess it's safe for you to proceed with an external A-level Film Studies. I'm not sure where to buy/get lessons for WJEC course, so I can't provide any links, but I'm open if there's anything I can help with. I'm sure you'll do great and where your ambition lies.

She really is, my entire year hates her lol.
Thanks for the encouragement!

Reply 5

study23!

Study Forum Helper

16

I have no clue about taking exams exterally of film studies, but as someone who has done m y GCSEs and now a-levels with WJEC, there are little to no resources. Since we're only for wales normally they haven't created many good revision resources especially at A-level, so I'd guess you might struggle in general with revision if you are doing it externally as it may be hard to actually find what you need to know! Maybe there's more out their for film studies, but in general wjec needs to be better at this 😂

Reply 6

username6069954

0

12

Original post by x-wing_pilot

I'm in Y11 right now and want to take Film Studies A-Level. It is not offered at my school's sixth form but I am deeply interested and passionate about the subject. I don't want to change sixth forms though as my school's one is very good and not many others appeal to me that much.
I therefore am considering how I might take it externally and am drawn to the WJEC course, but I don't know how to go about applying to take it externally or what it will be like to do so.
Could someone tell me about how to go about this, and what it will be like to do an external A-Level?
Thanks so much! 😊

Not sure about external alevels but I am a yr 13 currently taking WJEC film studies, you can ask me questions if youd like! I can also find resources to help your chosen films :3

Reply 7

x-wing_pilot

OP

15

Original post by study23!

I have no clue about taking exams exterally of film studies, but as someone who has done m y GCSEs and now a-levels with WJEC, there are little to no resources. Since we're only for wales normally they haven't created many good revision resources especially at A-level, so I'd guess you might struggle in general with revision if you are doing it externally as it may be hard to actually find what you need to know! Maybe there's more out their for film studies, but in general wjec needs to be better at this 😂

right, thanks for letting me know! i'll definitely take this into consideration since i haven't firmly decided on wjec yet

Reply 8

x-wing_pilot

OP

15

Original post by rowan_willow

Not sure about external alevels but I am a yr 13 currently taking WJEC film studies, you can ask me questions if youd like! I can also find resources to help your chosen films :3

thank you!
looking at the film lists i will say im gutted that inception has been taken off. its my favourite film of all time and i was so ecstatic to see it until i read "up to and including 2024" 🥲

Reply 9

MegaTutor

9

Original post by x-wing_pilot

I'm in Y11 right now and want to take Film Studies A-Level. It is not offered at my school's sixth form but I am deeply interested and passionate about the subject. I don't want to change sixth forms though as my school's one is very good and not many others appeal to me that much.
I therefore am considering how I might take it externally and am drawn to the WJEC course, but I don't know how to go about applying to take it externally or what it will be like to do so.
Could someone tell me about how to go about this, and what it will be like to do an external A-Level?
Thanks so much! 😊

Search for exam centres near you.

Speak to them - ask them if they offer this A level and are certified to take examinations for the A level. Then check if they can do the WJEC exam board.

When you find an exam centre that offers this A level and exam board you can sign up to sit the exams for the year of your choice. There is usually a deadline to register by but you should be good for your actualy A levels.

There is obviously fees involved. Payment for exams, as well as predicted grades for UCAS ( if you want one ) , as well as any other help and a registration fees.

On top of this if you want any tuition then that will cost you too.

Reply 10

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

22

Original post by x-wing_pilot

I'm in Y11 right now and want to take Film Studies A-Level. It is not offered at my school's sixth form but I am deeply interested and passionate about the subject. I don't want to change sixth forms though as my school's one is very good and not many others appeal to me that much.
I therefore am considering how I might take it externally and am drawn to the WJEC course, but I don't know how to go about applying to take it externally or what it will be like to do so.
Could someone tell me about how to go about this, and what it will be like to do an external A-Level?
Thanks so much! 😊

I've checked the WJEC specification for film studies, and it unfortunately requires you to do an NEA. The alternative exam board for film studies is OCR.

See:
https://www.wjec.co.uk/media/3akhzux0/eduqas-a-level-film-studies-spec-from-2017-e-14-08-2023-2.pdf
https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/316666-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-film-studies-h410.pdf

There are essentially 3 steps to doing an A Level externally:
1) go to the private candidate section and look through the approved exam centres for the specific exam board
2) contact the exam centre (you might need to go through a list of these as not many would reply) and liaise with the exam officer for the centre
3) book your exam

1) if you go to the WJEC webpage for private candidates:
https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/student-support/private-candidates/
...you would find that it would point you to the following website:
https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates

This is a similar story with OCR: https://www.ocr.org.uk/students/private-candidates/

If you search by postcode and ideally filter out film studies, you should find a list of exam centres closest to you. This is the easy part.

2) The problem you have with film studies is that you have the NEA. Not many exam centres would offer you to do the NEA component, so you would need to look through more exam centres than usual. It's also likely that you would pay a hefty sum for the NEA e.g. £1000, but if you look for private centres, they might be able to lower it to £800 on top of your other exam fees.

3) Typical deadline for booking the exams are in January of the year that you want to sit the exams with the opening cycle starting in November. Any time after January and you would need to pay late fees all the way up until April. Booking for the NEA is a bit more complicated, and you should book by November at the latest, ideally enquiring about it by September (earlier if possible).
There are typically 2 fees other than the fees for the NEA that you need to be look into: exam fees (typically set by the exam board) and the admin fee (set by the individual exam centre). The admin fees can vary depending on location, with the more urban locations being more expensive.

In terms of course material, I haven't seen an online college that offers this. However, I have found the following:
https://www.jqslearning.co.uk/a-level-film-studies-distance-learning/

If you don't otherwise want to do a course, you can always pick up the official textbook by the exam board to self study. I don't recommend this per se, because you won't have any tutor support and it's an A Level i.e. it's challenging and has steep learning curves. If possible, I would rather go through an online course with plenty of tutor support.

Just for the record though: you don't need A Level film studies to go into film at degree level or to go into the film industry. If you are just doing it for your interest, then it's a long way round of doing it; I just hope it's worth it for you and you can get a high grade from it.
Personally, if I wanted to study film, I would study it outside of academic studies or join a film society/production group. At the most, I would consider teaming up with people from an adult college that do film studies as a course (not A Level though).

how to take an external a-level

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