Late Education

securityguy

All your O Level subjects would be on one certificate, so the cost is (for AQA, and I think the others are the same) forty quid in total (£25 search, £15 for the document).

margaretclare

Well done to you. I cracked this problem a few years ago now. All through my lifetime the words 'oh she can't do sums' resonated in my head and in my 70th year I determined to silence those voices once and for all.

I excelled more on the literary/linguistic/arts side of education, although I later qualified in nursing and midwifery, and later still, did a BSc(Hons) course in behavioural sciences which included statistics.

I was therefore in the odd position of understanding statistics but still having difficulty with basic maths! I was in an even odder position when I applied to do a teacher training course, to teach midwifery (this was the early 1980s). I sat with approx 200 other candidates and listened to the head of college telling us that we all needed GCSE or 'O' level in English and Maths 'unless of course, you have a degree which includes statistics'. I couldn't stop myself shouting out 'YES!' He obviously thought that would be so unlikely as to be impossible.

Fast forward to the present century. I contacted our local adult education centre and took both stages of Basic Numeracy', following which, I did GCSE Maths. I got a 'D' grade so not brilliant, but it did have the desired effect. I no longer hear those voices 'oh she'll never, oh she can't, oh she's no good at...'

RAS

deannatrois wrote: »

. I think I scored 65-50% on what they called the level 2 questions (different sections). Not quite sure what that means but I know I wasn't doing too well lol! I guess I forget easily or something!

DO you have any idea how good you are????????????????

Level 2 tasks are GCSE equivalent.

And without any teaching of the specific course material you got 50%!

RAS

Any idea what level the BTEC was at?

If it was a BTEC National, that meets the basic entry criteria for university. BTEC First was supposed to be GCSE equivalent (Bliar) but was really GCSE D/E.

Re GCSEs, it is worth getting the statement of results for English and Maths but do not worry to much about any other which was not taken with the same board.

[Deleted User]

There is a further problem with GCSE results (getting a certificate. My parents divorced when I was 11. I was registered at senior school under my stepfather's surname (it was never done by deed poll). I had that surname all the way through senior school so my O level results are under that name.

I returned to my original surname soon after leaving school.., again no paperwork.., I just started using the name again.

The link above http://www.aqa.org.uk/help-and-contacts/past-results - they want ID.., and of course my birth certificate doesn't show the surname I took the O levels under!

Only happens to me lol.

It was a BTEC National.., but I have lost this as well, and no idea which board I took it under.

I think I will just have to do what I can to re-establish my education levels by taking what courses I can. Bit shocked when I saw that universities won't always accept Maths equivalency as proof of Maths GCSE pass grade. I hope employers differ.

I have a vague idea of doing an access course next September.., too late to apply now as I will need to apply for funding too. I am trying to build myself up a bit first but may just go straight into employment. Its going to be a long road though either way I think.

maman

barba wrote: »

Just pop a B or a C on your CV and if someone asks you about Pythagoras theorem just remember that "the old Arab sat on his camel and hiccuped"

I hope this was meant as a joke.


Good luck Deanna. You often see those revision guides for sale quite cheaply and there may be some online that might help you get some practice. And you could work through the KS3 (12-14 year olds) or even lower if you want to go back and rebuld your confidence.


What about this


http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zymtsbk

RAS

deannatrois wrote: »

There is a further problem with GCSE results (getting a certificate. My parents divorced when I was 11. I was registered at senior school under my stepfather's surname (it was never done by deed poll). I had that surname all the way through senior school so my O level results are under that name.

I returned to my original surname soon after leaving school.., again no paperwork.., I just started using the name again.

The link above http://www.aqa.org.uk/help-and-contacts/past-results - they want ID.., and of course my birth certificate doesn't show the surname I took the O levels under!

Only happens to me lol.

Sadly, it happens to a lot of kids. You may have seen my little rants whenever mums decide to change the kids names because they are in a new relationship? This is why.

Note - you also need to declare this for DBS checks.

I suggest you contact them and ask if a copy of your birth cert, mum's second marriage certificate and ANY evidence that you can find about the reversion would suffice?

deannatrois wrote: »

It was a BTEC National.., but I have lost this as well, and no idea which board I took it under.

ALl BTEC National cert should be obtainable from Edexcel

https://www.edexcel.com/i-am-a/student/replace-certs-secure/Pages/default.aspx

InsideInsurance

maman wrote: »

I hope this was meant as a joke.

Whilst clearly people should be advocating lying on their CV the reality is that it is highly unlikely that anyone would ever ask the OP to produce copies of their GCSEs given that they are presumably in their 30s.

Claim to have a PhD in astrophysics and it may raise some questions, especially if you are applying for a job as a dish washer but not having a couple of GCSEs

Education is a great thing, and if the OP is doing it to better themselves then I'd whole heartedly support them. If they are doing this to be able to put it on their CV and thinks theyll get a better job as a result then personally I'd question that and whilst never advocating lying on the your CV.......

I did A Level maths and further maths, plus S level maths (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholarship_Level before asking what S Level is as seems a bit rare) and despite all that I probably couldnt remember off hand how to do trigonometry or calculus etc

Tropez

I know this isn't really what you're looking for but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway, if not for now, for the future so that you can plan ahead if it is relevant.

The Open University do some basic maths courses, including a short free course - http://www.open.edu/openlearn/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-statistics/mathematics-education/numbers-units-and-arithmetic/content-section-0

And it's always worth remembering that the OU don't give a hoot about whether you have GCSE's or not. In fact, most of their level 1 courses are designed assuming that the person taking it knows nothing about the subject.

It might be something worth considering at some point. It's just a shame that a lot of the financial support for people in your position is now unavailable and you have to take out a student loan for degree courses.

The downside is that it might not be very social for you. All courses have forums, most have tutorials (but these can be as infrequent as once every few months, some have fortnightly tutorials though) and most have Facebook pages that you can join. Perhaps if you're nervy about meeting new people though, getting to know them over the course itself could be good for you? That way you're not being thrown into the lion's den.

Good luck to you though with improving yourself! And I hope what you're currently doing goes very well indeed

snowleopard61

Well done deannatrois. I took my GCSE Maths in my thirties with a view to possibly doing a PGCE (I had the degree in English, just nothing at all in Maths!). I found it horribly difficult even then, but scraped a C. From what you say, it sounds as if you will do it without much difficulty at all. Hope it leads to good things for you.