National extension college

dragonfly2008

Has anyone used these before (particularly for GCSE), if so could you fill me in with details, course material, how exams are handled etc. Ive searched them and ive read a lot of bad reviews about them.

If not any suggestions for another way or company of doing GCSE's bar colleges, id prefer self study. Do you have to book your own exams too ?, ive no idea at all where to start, who do you even book them with, ive looked on AQA and theres no information.

Any information would be appreciated, thanks

Oldernotwiser

I've seen A level material and was quite impressed. In addition, the college I used to work with bought in their materials to use with their own distance learning students. I believe they're generally well regarded.

dragonfly2008

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I've seen A level material and was quite impressed. In addition, the college I used to work with bought in their materials to use with their own distance learning students. I believe they're generally well regarded.

Their courses sound perfect for me. I was just curious as to how things are done, what am i actually paying for, how do things work from start to finish...... etc

Maybe i should email them for information. If anyone has any info though please post or pm it please.

bettybelle

Hi - I used the NEC years ago to do home study GCSEs.

I found all the materials extremely good, the tutors very supportive and overall a very professional set up.

I would use them again.

To answer some of your questions, if I remember rightly they sent me big folders of stuff that I worked through, and the tutor set you assignments which you sent to them to be marked. They were always there if you needed help and gave good feedback. You're paying for the materials and the tutor support. Also they provided a list of places you could sit your exams but I think you did have to pay extra for this - although that's not unlike a regular night class - you pay for the exam.
I think there was also a forum where you could communicate with other users. I was very naughty though and didn't finish the courses so I can't advise on the end result but going from what I did experience it would have been very satisfactory.

00michelle00

I'm using them for a childcare course. They were recommended by the National Childminding Association, so I felt confident using them. From what I looked at, they were the best regarded of the distance learning colleges.

I have a good amount of material to work with and opted to pay in installments. If you do this, then Premium Credit will appear on your bank statement. I was quite worried and called them as I thought they were just insurance, but they also handle college installment payments! So dont worry if you opt for installments and see this appear on your bank statement!

Michelle

dragonfly2008

Thanks for the replies . I read the last exam dates are in june, im not sure thatd give me enough time or not. Sounds like a real hassle booking the exams as well.

alyth

You would be able to sit the exams at your local college as an independent student - I'm sitting highers on an access course and our tutor has said that people studying independently often just turn up to sit the exam. As long as you are following the curriculum recommended by AQA then you should be okay. Give your college a call - I'm sure they will charge you, but it's worth a try.

la.gina

Hello, I saw your question and I am basically trying to post my thoughts on as many review websites as possible to get my thoughts on the National Extension College out there.

I enrolled at the NEC last year and I asked if it were possible to do my French AS and A2 Level to sit both exams at the same time, I was told yes (on the phone I just felt as if they wanted to get my money).
It is awful, the teaching was basically non-existent, you send off your work to a 'tutor' mine was horrifically rude, would correct things with sentences that were overly long and complicated and would mark me down for not using things that I hadn't covered yet. If ever I emailed him asking for help with something he would refer me to a page in the book and not at all answer my question.
Eventually I got a private tutor who found so many mistakes in the NEC work, who would listen to the tutor's feedback with me and also find him rude, condescending and as if he wanted to show off his level of French rather than actually help me.
They "prepare" you for exams with OCR and I can only guess that their modules and advice were not relevant as I ended up getting awful grades for my AS and failing my A2, I went to a uni interview, who seemed to think I had a good level of French (I can only thank my tutor) and the only reason they could think that I did so badly on my A levels was the preparation.
Any time I tried to contact NEC I felt like the people on the phone were rude, and they basically don't care about you once you hand your money over. Also the price you pay doesn't include your books or exams. The exams are very costly. I understand this isn't ideal for everyone but I can only recommend getting a personal tutor that you can actually sit down with and talk to, get the books do the work and enter yourself for the exams privately, you may as well.

saintjammyswine

Check with your local colleges about sitting an exam independantly. As the results will go towards success rate stats, some colleges will only let students who have studied through them sit the exam there.

Ivylou

As a child I failed my GCSE Maths, so decided to give it another go as an adult. It is distance learning and it is up to the student to decide when to work during the 2 year study period, so I found it hard to motivate myself initially to study after a long day at work - once I got started there was no stopping me though! Couldn't ask for more from my tutor, he was always very polite and friendly and I got my assignments back well within the time that NEC states. The materials were really good too and explained things in lots of different ways. I did find some topics went on a bit too long and told my tutor who advised me to speak to the staff at NEC. I was a bit worried about ringing up to moan, but the lady I spoke to seemed very pleased to receive my feedback and I felt like she really cared.

Although I knew I had to book my own exams, I didn't realise how scary this can be when you don't really understand the process. I called around a couple of local centres, but in the end I went to one of their partnership centres. Everything went smoothly and I didn't have to worry. Got the grade I wanted and will use again in the future.

Would recommend!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi, the National Extension College has asked us to give a response. MSE doesn't endorse anything a company says on the Forum.

Dear La.Gina

We were very sorry to read your review and to hear how unhappy you are with the service you received from NEC. It is important to us that our students do well and enjoy their learning experience and very disappointing when we hear that this has not been the case.

In order for us to improve the service we offer it would be very helpful if you could contact your course coordinator at NEC to discuss your experience. We do hope to hear from you soon. Please feel free to call us free on 0800 389 2839 .

Kind regards

Student Support Services
National Extension College