Improving qualifications

[00dave]

During our somewhat heated debate on students recently I mentioned I was unfortunate enough to attend a pretty poor secondary school, one of the worst in Lincolnshire but not the one where the girl burnt her fingers off in plaster.

Well it got me thinking, I have shit loads of experience in a variety of jobs but very few decent qualifications and these days employers want both and if the only thing holding me back is my education or lack thereof then I should probably do something about it.

Question is which is best, night classes or these work from home packs?

Does anybody else have any experience in this or have any advice? I'm looking to redo my GCSE maths as thanks to a monumental fuck up by my school I was given the 'coursework included' paper when I had no coursework to include and ended up with a D Also perhaps something in history now that it's a subject I'm interested in.

 

[chipper]

id say it largely depends on your available hours, i think id go with night classes at a college personally. probably alot cheaper and uses an official exam board that the schools use.

ive heard some of these home taught courses can be more than a little bit dodgy plus its easy to just slack off and theres no tutor on hand when your doing your coursework.

 

[Chilly]

wonder if I could still do a maths gcse?

I've got half a physics degree but il be fucked if I can remember any of it.

 

[Bugz]

GCSE Maths is easily accessible through home studying (textbooks etc.) and taking the exams as a private candidate at the local college.

 

[chipper]

what so you can just ring college up say i wanna sit the exam end of term etc and they will let you? and you can get a GCSE? what about coursework?

 

[tris-]

discussing this today and the problem with history in school, is that it is simply a case of remembering names and dates. its not interesting like time team is or looking at how people used to live etc.

 

[Scouse]

Since they've added A* and A** that D's prolly worth an B now anyway Dave so I wouldn't worry about it

 

[00dave]

well I did get my GCSE grades under a conservative government so you're probably right Scouse.

Believe it or not I also have an NVQ something in driving lol.

 

[00dave]

discussing this today and the problem with history in school, is that it is simply a case of remembering names and dates. its not interesting like time team is or looking at how people used to live etc.

This is where I have a problem with the current system. History and English are such varied subjects that really need to be broken down into options.
The biggest two options would be boys and girls, boys want to learn about wars and read the violent shakespeare books like Macbeth or Hamlet whereas girls would find the suffragettes and Romeo and Juliet more appealing. Unfortunately for me again I was lumped with female teachers for both history and English so it was Romeo and Juliet followed by the home front of world war 2. I left school not knowing what D day was or how the Great war started, and to this day have yet to read any shakespeare other than Romeo and flaming Juliet

 

[Bugz]

what so you can just ring college up say i wanna sit the exam end of term etc and they will let you? and you can get a GCSE? what about coursework?

AFAIK Yes.

Only certain colleges allow external (private) candidates and afaik, you are charged quite a fair amount but you get the qualification etc. at the end.

My missus is about to enrol in such a thing for her gcse maths re-take funnily enough.

 

[kirennia]

AFAIK Yes.

Only certain colleges allow external (private) candidates and afaik, you are charged quite a fair amount but you get the qualification etc. at the end.

My missus is about to enrol in such a thing for her gcse maths re-take funnily enough.

Interesting. It just so happens the college at the top of my road (ish) has an open day next wednesday so shall be dropping in. Have been considering taking A-level physics/maths and GCSE spanish in my time away from uni...probably too late for january enrolment now but maybe next year during my masters...hmmm.

 

[SilverHood]

Go speak to your local college and see what they offer.

Also, have you considered the Open University? Start off with a foundation degree in your spare time and see where it takes you?

 

[00dave]

I think I'm probably pushed towards the home course rather than night classes tbh, I work nights every other week so I'd only get half the classes anyway.

Also on the history aspect are you allowed to choose your subject or are you forced to take what they give you? World war 1 and 2 I would ace but victorian age or something like that would bore me to death.

 

[mooSe_]

I think I'm probably pushed towards the home course rather than night classes tbh, I work nights every other week so I'd only get half the classes anyway.

Also on the history aspect are you allowed to choose your subject or are you forced to take what they give you? World war 1 and 2 I would ace but victorian age or something like that would bore me to death.

Most courses would have a set curriculum I expect, but there will be some kind of course overview that you can see before you start so you can tell what kind of history you would be doing if you signed up.

 

[tris-]

youre not going to be picking modules untill degree level im afraid.

 

[Bugz]

Some A-Levels let you pick and choose modules - or atleast they did on the old syllabus.