GCSE retake - over 25

gemz700

Hi,

I have recently been made redundant prior to my maternity leave and when I return to work I would like to get a job in the public sector. The only problem is, it seems to be important to have GCSE Maths but i only got a grade E.

I would like to retake my GCSE Maths but am not sure how is best to go about it - Ideally I would like to just put myself in for an exam and learn on my own as my husband can teach me as he is an accountant and v. good at maths. Can I just register myself for an exam?

I did start to retake my GCSE Maths at college and was predicted a grade B but unfortunately had to leave the course due to financial difficulty. I know I can do it without the tuition.

Thanks

LittleVoice

Contact a local college, school or adult education office and ask them whether they allow external candidates.

If they do, establish which examination board they use and get practice example question papers from there.

You would pay for the examination board's fee and an administration fee to the educational establishment.

PS I have just realised that there will be assignments that are needed to be undertaken and marked by a tutor as well as the examination papers. So you will need to check out the arrangements for that - the cost will be higher than where there is just an examination paper or two. It may be that it would be as cheap to enrol for a course, even if you do not attend many class meetings. It would also give you access to help in passing the specific GCSE aspects rather than relying on someone who is simply good at maths themselves.

Coupon-mad

If you are still in the same area of the school or college where you took your GCSEs, you could ask them first if they will accept you as an external candidate, as you are a previous student of theirs.

I work P/T in the local Senior School and their exam office will allow ex-students to register for a re-take, even years down the line. You would have to pay for the Exam Board's Fee but you may not be charged any admin fee by the school if it's your old one.

As LittleVoice says, ask the school you are registering with, which Exam Board they use for Maths, then go to the Exam Board's website for further info including practice papers.

gemz700

Thanks guys, I know the college where I would like to study use AQA but I had a look on their website and I couldn't find anything. I suppose it might be an idea to contact the college and ask them how I can go about it.

Oldernotwiser

AQA offer a modular GCSE Maths with no coursework; it would be worth your while to find a centre that offers this as it'll be much simpler for you. Good luck.

savingpennies

I work in a college which has several hundred candidates every year re-taking their GCSEs in Maths and/or English and we would not accept an external candidate. This is because you would be included in the overall achievement rates and we would not want to risk what may be an unknown quantity. Unfortunately, colleges, like schools, are also conscious of their league table/achievement status.
Although your husband may be able to teach you, don't forget to take into consideration that he/you may not know what the examination board are looking for specifically and you need to know how the mark scheme in particular is applied. You also need access to recent past papers/mark schemes to practise on which are not always widely available.
As for enrolling and then not attending, the college would be within its rights to remove you from their registers and withdraw your entry.
Your best bet would be to enrol at a local college and follow the course. Another alternative would be to find a distance learning course which may have its own arrangements for examinations.
Good luck and I hope you find somewhere that can help you.

Volcano

savingpennies wrote: »

Another alternative would be to find a distance learning course which may have its own arrangements for examinations.

I did this a few years back. You get your text books posted to you, can work at your own pace and have a tutor at the end of the phone if needed. Posted off a couple of assignments, then sat 2 exams. I do second the advice that past papers and subject-specific tuition should not be under-estimated.

I know I'm pretty good at maths but having to familiarise myself with long-forgotten maths subjects still surprised me.

Apolonation

What kind of public sector job do you want? I just went through a recruitment process for dwp and they are all competency based they don't care what qualifications you have

Oldernotwiser

Apolonation wrote: »

What kind of public sector job do you want? I just went through a recruitment process for dwp and they are all competency based they don't care what qualifications you have

I doubt you'd even be considered without the basics!

Apolonation

Yes you would they don't ask so have no way of knowing. They conduct their own basic english and maths test. Which consists of checking a letter for errors, and cross referencing a couple of tables for information.

I have been to uni but none of it came up. Didn't even ask what school you went to. I've got the job and just waiting for checks to complete before starting, not once was I asked if I had one single GCSE

silvercar

I work in a college which has several hundred candidates every year re-taking their GCSEs in Maths and/or English and we would not accept an external candidate. This is because you would be included in the overall achievement rates and we would not want to risk what may be an unknown quantity. Unfortunately, colleges, like schools, are also conscious of their league table/achievement status.

Some colleges have arrangements with the exam boards that allow people to sit exams under their supervision as external candidates. External candidates, as the name suggests, are not included in the statistics for that college.