GSCEs online?

Conrad_Hart

Hi guys. Merry Christmas and I hope you are all doing ok.

Can anyone recommend an official place to be able to do GCSEs via distance learning?

As Covid has pretty much ended my ´career´. I have a plan to go back to education in September (hopefully).  But one of the entry requirements for the course is a GCSE that I am missing (Science or Biology). So I was hoping I could study that (probably Biology)as a, coughs, mature adult at home rather than as a teen back in the day turning the gas taps on, lighting the bunsen burners and chucking bits of that poor frog around the room with the rest of the D-formers. LOL!

Hopefully I will be able to get up to speed in 6-7 months since I won´t be distracted by football, smoking and my first love, behind the bike sheds of course, *sighs*.

Also does anyone know how these distance learning things work? I presume I will take the exam at a physical location somewhere, but what about any practical stuff? (this of course may have changed with the virus thing).

Thanks

TadleyBaggie

No recommendation. However reading FAQ of the various institutions offering online GCSE courses, it seems that the exam must be taken at the same time as every other student in a physical location.

AskAsk

Conrad_Hart said:

"rather than as a teen back in the day turning the gas taps on, lighting the bunsen burners and chucking bits of that poor frog around the room with the rest of the D-formers"

this really brings back memories as to when i was at school.  the kids in my class were really stupid and this idiot ate the sheep's heart that we had to disect and got thrown out of class! 

i understand why you wouldn't want to go back to that!

i found biology very difficult as a subject.  have you thought about college for adults as going to class will be easier than studying online.

strawb_shortcake

Science was always fun and full of idiots. One boy in my science class used to suck on the gas taps then set fire to it as he breathed it out

Alter_ego

I invigilate GCSE, we often have home educated students sitting the exams in school with school students.

Brynsam

The NEC is generally well regarded: https://www.nec.ac.uk/course-categories/gcses/

This free course might also help you decide if distance learning really is for you: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/am-i-ready-be-distance-learner/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

[Deleted User]

Online learning can be good but you do need the motivation and need to be organised. 

Barny1979

You'll have to attend the exam and often have to book a room and invigilator in a location local to you, so take these extra costs into consideration.

ginger_chocolate

I second the Natuonal Extension College - a number of people I work with have taken GCSE's and A-Levels with them (usually when they needed something specific to get onto another training course) and it gets the job done with minimal fuss. Usually if there is an exam involved rather than a course work based assessment you do need to take an exam at a centre local to you - but with Covid restrictions, many distance learning organisations are now starting to move towards online exams (with facilities such as using webcams to check identity) so this may be he way they go in the near future.

Conrad_Hart

Thanks.

I note there seems to be a 200 GB pound difference between some of the courses. I would have thought it would be a standard price.

Anyway. It´s all looking a bit ropey now that all GCSE exams have been cancelled. So there goes my GCSE by September plan.

Brynsam

Conrad_Hart said:

Thanks.

I note there seems to be a 200 GB pound difference between some of the courses. I would have thought it would be a standard price.

All GCSE courses are the same price at £495, save for double science at £795 - but it's equivalent to 2 GCSEs, so that's not unreasonable.