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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To want to complete "pointless" GCSEs?

57 replies

ChickenSkin · 20/04/2012 09:18

I'm at university at the moment doing a degree. When I qualify however I want to do an English GCSE just for the hell of it. I know it's pointless and won't mean anything (I already have an English GCSE at a grade C) but I want to do it to prove to myself that I can get an A. Obviously I would be paying for it myself and intend to do it over distance learning as I'll be working.

So it won't effect anyone else. It's just for my own personal ego I think! Am I being ridiculous?

OP posts:

TroublesomeEx · 20/04/2012 10:27

Really musicposy?!

Our GCSE essays were 400 words and A Levels were 800 words.

Even with planning time, it looks like they're expecting more than that nowadays!

noblegiraffe · 20/04/2012 10:29

One of my teachers at school used to do GCSEs and A-levels as a hobby. I think he had ten A-levels!

TroublesomeEx · 20/04/2012 10:37

Although it does make me feel better about my desire to do History GCSE (with DS in a couple of years - nothing like a bit of healthy competition ) or A Level. I've never done anything history related (outside of music history) and so it would be really interesting.

BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte · 20/04/2012 10:38

I can see why you want to do it.But as others have said, why not try for one better and go straight to A level?

musicposy · 20/04/2012 10:39

English Lit spec. We are studying the 2012 syllabus (because she takes it this summer). You'd want the 2013 - you'd easily do it in a year.

DD1 is doing Paper 4 for which she is studying Death of a Salesman, Tennyson's poems and Wuthering Heights, and Paper 5 for which she is studying 1984. We went for these because they are closed books (not allowed them in the exam), which meant there was nothing unseen on the paper (no texts she hadn't studied) and she has a pretty much photographic memory. Most people, however, do papers 1 and 2. You can take texts into the exam for this, there is one less text to study but there is an unseen text to answer questions on. There are loads of texts to choose from - we just liked the ones she's doing. Past papers in their millions here.

English Language spec I realise one literature is cambridge and this one edexcel - we are very lucky with our exam centre who will let us enter for either so we just pick which specs we like best. We chose these two based on the resources available. This spec has great books to take you through the whole thing English language coursebook. They have a good literature book for the edexcel spec too. But past papers are harder to get hold of.

Any questions, just ask. it looks daunting at first but it's extremely do-able!

musicposy · 20/04/2012 10:40

Folkgirl I think it could be because they are IGCSEs. They're counted as the same, but we've long suspected they are harder....

TeWihara · 20/04/2012 10:46

I'm sure my GCSE essays were supposed to be 1200-1500 words? Am I imagining that?

OP, a friend and I want to do AS maths together, she dropped out of school early and I am aggrieved because the way my school choose to teach maths at that level meant I did all the work but haven't got the qualification!

TroublesomeEx · 20/04/2012 10:49

musicposy quite possibly then!

Bit disappointing for your daughter that they're counted as the same.

musicposy · 20/04/2012 10:50

No, that sounds more like it, TeWhihara, though I only have limited and recent experience to go on. My English GCSEs were O levels, I'm so old, and were in the now dim and distant past....but I'm sure I wrote pages and pages - must have been way more than 400 words an essay.

TroublesomeEx · 20/04/2012 10:53

Well I'm sure that ours were 400. It was 400 at GCSE, 800 at A level and then 1500 - 3000 at university.

Although I did do my GCSEs 20 years ago so my memory might have faded somewhat

Shanghaidiva · 20/04/2012 10:57

I didn't think you could take igces in the UK. We live in China and ds will take igcses.

BrigitBigKnickers · 20/04/2012 11:04

I know what you mean. I took o'levels and they were all C grades.

I am at present in the hell that is the parent of a DD taking GCSEs.

She struggles with science (due to crap teaching at her old school ) and doing iGCSE to boot which is seriously harder than her friends GCSEs at other schools (no course work, practicals or modules- just a terminal exam where you need to know everything and in more detail. Fine if you want to take A level science but not great for a struggling science student.)

In order to get her through my DH and I have basically taught ourselves the physics chemistry and biology from the text books and the internet in order to tutor her through.

I feel I could pass the biology with flying colours and DH has said the same about the other two sciences. Very tempted to put my self in for it just for the hell of it.

tethersend · 20/04/2012 11:05

I say do it.

Jake and Dinos Chapman, professional artists loved by Saatchi, decided to sit an art GCSE at the height of their fame. They got a B and a C respectively IIRC...

Psammead · 20/04/2012 11:10

I have a similar desire to take a GCSE or A-Level German exam

I did actually take German GCSE but I couldn't give a damn about it. Since then I have moved to Germany and speak the language quite well. I'd totally ace it.

DamselInDisgrace · 20/04/2012 11:11

Might it be more interesting for you to try to take an extra English language module at your university instead. It'd be harder than a GCSE but you'd still be able to prove to yourself that you can get a good result.

I'm Scottish, so never did any GCSEs. Essay for my standard grades were 6-800 words long. It appears that 800 words is still the upper limit (and essays must be at least 100 words in length, but that's only mentioned for the lower grades as there's no way you'd be writing that little if you were doing the credit exam). Looking at the guidance for GCSEs on the internet it seems 500 words is a reasonable length for a coursework essay. That seems sensible to me. 1500 words is a lot to ask a GCSE student to produce. We only ask for 1500 word essays from our first years at university. You can demonstrate the qualities the markers are looking for in fewer words than you think, and it shows skill to write a good essay within a tight word count. More =/= better.

theDevilHasTheBestMNNames · 20/04/2012 11:17

It is why I started studying with the OU - I felt I perhaps should have done a History or English A-level - both teachers tried to get me to.

I let my family focus on my problems with spelling and hand writing, subsequently dx as dyslexic with possible dispraxia, and steered me more towards maths subjects. I didn't get great results at A-level.

So I understand the need and I do feel better for having dealt with it.

I'm not sure I could do it now though as OU prices are set to rise a lot soon.

So YANBU

TeWihara · 20/04/2012 11:19

I may well just be remembering wrong, but my school was also a tad over-zealous so we were probably all encouraged to write the maximum (whatever that was)

DamselInDisgrace · 20/04/2012 11:21

OU prices are different for existing students than new ones, so you may well be able to keep going at more sane prices (depending on when you last studied with the OU and whether you graduated).

musicposy · 20/04/2012 11:21

BrigitBigKnickers tell me about it! I never did Biology or Chemistry at school but I've learnt more about them than I ever wanted to know .

Yes, all the IGCSEs are no coursework. DD1 is taking just 4 this year (she has 6 already) and for those 4 alone she has 11 exams, some of them nearly 3 hours long . We've just paid to amend her Chemistry to core because she was so upset and stressed over it. The GCSE websites don't even cover half the stuff and we have to go on A level sites. The extended Chemistry was doing my head in. DD1 has a friend doing triple science GCSE at school who is predicted an A* so DD1 took it to her - and friend couldn't even begin to help. She just said "we haven't done any of this stuff". DD1 will definitely get the C on core and she doesn't want to carry on with sciences so we decided it was better to drop down than compromise the others which are potential As. But so much stress! And, yes, it does seem unfair.

Yes,Shanghaidiva you can take IGCSEs in the UK. DD1 has 4 IGCSEs and 2 GCSEs so far, so I knows

theDevilHasTheBestMNNames · 20/04/2012 11:31

DamselInDisgrace -yes I qualify for the sane prices and only have one course left till I can get a foundation degree.

If I was looking to start studying the new prices would be a deterrent. I'd probably look a G.C.S.E and A-levels.

DamselInDisgrace · 20/04/2012 11:37

Oh yes. The new prices are bonkers and will definitely put people off. Lots of the artsy courses have historically been very popular with retired people, but many of them will be deterred by the new pricing structure. It's a shame.

HawthornLantern · 20/04/2012 12:06

No, I don't think you're unreasonable. Back in the dark ages I got a C in my O Level - also supposedly my best subject. So I really do sympathise.

In my case I ended up taking A level English and then a degree in it so I got over the "failure" that way. But if I hadn't....then yes I might still have a hankering to prove that the result wasn't the real me or my real potential. And it's certainly not unreasonable to put ghosts to rest.

It is quite possible that other courses (maybe something with creative writing?) /diplomas/A level Eng Lit might be more fun - so I would think about whether there other options that might reassure you that yes, you are good, you can do it, you have flair for it and might find it more rewarding that way. But if the GCSE is stepping stone on the way to getting your confidence back, then go for it. Good luck :)

GoEasyPudding · 20/04/2012 13:23

This sounds like such a fun idea. Its like getting revenge on a rubbish set of circumstances and setting the world right. It will be like time travel!

I had some terrible family stuff to deal with at A Level time and I got an E for my Art A Level which still annoys the hell out of me 20 years later! I often think about taking it again. Is there a way of doing it without having to spend any studio time with teenagers?

My friends did A Level photography and they all flunked it and I some times imagine what that would be like to take as I know it would be a huge challenge.

BrigitBigKnickers · 20/04/2012 13:53

I didn't even get my art A level even though my work was easily a B grade standard- the teacher we had told us what we needed for our course work and then when it came to submission she realised we had all missed a huge section of coursework- of course it was all our fault as we should have looked it up! (Still feel bitter- and it was 30 years ago)

DH found my A level folder under the stairs the other day and was amazed I hadn't even got a grade- two of the sketches are good enough to frame and put on the wall. It still grates now.

musicposy I have found that the revision sites don't even touch the depth of knowledge needed for iGCSE science- lots of the additional is also nowhere near the same standard either. Some of the AS levels are closer to the mark.

It annoys me that she will probably get a double C or B (if she can keep it together on the day) the same as her friends at the local high school who have taken endless modules (and retaken adnauseum ) will probably get the same results with half the work or knowledge. Future universities or employers won't know the difference- so unfair.

DeathMetalMum · 20/04/2012 14:32

YANBU When I was applying for graduate jobs in my final year of uni not long ago there were a number of online applications that wouldnt even let me past the registration stage because I 'only' had a grade C in English.

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