Self studying an alevel

Hello! Ive always seen people say they are self studying alevel subjects, especially whilst they are already taking 3 other alevels at school. My main question is how do you go abouts actually doing the exams? Do you just tell your school you want to be entered for an exam or do you have to enter privately and pay? Every time i try and search up anything about it i only see entering privately or people providing resources for studying 😭 im considering maybe doing physics alevel but i dont know how to even do it... and seeing prices like £300 makes me want to not bother 💀

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Ratara2883

they are self studying alevel subjects, especially whilst they are already taking 3 other alevels at school.
Yeah, it's a little crazy. However, there are only a handful of situations where it makes sense for them to do more than 3.

My main question is how do you go abouts actually doing the exams? Do you just tell your school you want to be entered for an exam or do you have to enter privately and pay?
This can depend on your current school. If they are willing to let you sit the exam at a fee, then you should be able to do it at your school.
If not, you would have to find an appropriate exam centre to do it at, pay the extra fees (admin and exam - usually total around £350-400 per subject, if you're lucky). Do note, if your subject includes practical assessments or NEA, you would have to find a centre that would do the assessment on top (which can cost £900-£1500 per subject) as a private candidate. If your school or sixth form college allows you to do it, they might be able to offer a discount (I don't know what that is).

Every time i try and search up anything about it i only see entering privately or people providing resources for studying 😭 im considering maybe doing physics alevel but i dont know how to even do it... and seeing prices like £300 makes me want to not bother 💀
Education is free for people up to 18 years old - fully funded by the government. After that, or any subsequent lower qualifications (e.g. further GCSEs, A Levels, Level 1-3 courses, etc.), you would need to pay for yourself. It's not cheap. Do thank Tony Blair and Gordon Brown for this; they implemented the ELQ policy back in 2010.

Physics is a subject where you are offered the practical assessment as an option under AQA and Edexcel. It's mandatory under OCR. If you want to apply to specific unis, they would expect you to have completed the practical assessment i.e. skipping it will not be an option.

I think the more appropriate questions are:

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Why do you want to do Physics?

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What do you intend to use the A Level for?

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Which specific degrees do you intend to apply for?

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What A Levels are you currently doing?

I would also check to see if your college would be willing for you to do Physics as an extra A Level. It can save you from the exorbitant costs.

Reply 2

jlkmkol

Original post by Ratara2883

Hello! Ive always seen people say they are self studying alevel subjects, especially whilst they are already taking 3 other alevels at school. My main question is how do you go abouts actually doing the exams? Do you just tell your school you want to be entered for an exam or do you have to enter privately and pay? Every time i try and search up anything about it i only see entering privately or people providing resources for studying * im considering maybe doing physics alevel but i dont know how to even do it... and seeing prices like £300 makes me want to not bother 💀

I took my Alevels as a self studied student. Sciences can be extremly expensive to take as it requires a practical elements so would always advice if possible to do these through school environments. As a self study student you are classed as a private candidate and to take the exams you need to find a school/college or tutorandexams to accept you and allow you to take your exams at their facilites. It can be quite expensive in some cases