Adult Learner Maths and English GCSEs - I would appreciate your advice.

[getthefeckouttahere]

Who would have thought all of those teachers and my parents were right. I do actually regret completely wasting my education! I have no formal education thanks to a chaotic childhood and going absolutely off the rails in my childhood.

I am 48 and fortunate enough to be retired. I would very much like to go to university but i will need a maths and english a-c even to go on an access course.

I can go for free at my local colleges but their courses only start every september, and they don't accept late starters. So are the following options reasonable/possible/riduculous?

1. Self teach, buy appropriate GCSE books, wade through them complementing with appropriate websites. Sit exam next spring.

2.As above but with the aid of a private tutor. I could probably just about afford this but would appreciate views on the amount/frequency of tutoring required.

1. Distance learning, there are a number of companies offering distance learning for GCSEs They work out at about £240 for each course.

I understand that i would then have to apply for and sit the exams as a private candidate. Whilst it may seem that i am taking on a lot, i do have ample free time to commit to this and i do tend to be pretty focussed when i set my mind to a task!

I would be really grateful for anyones advice or experience.

Are you sure you need Maths and English at grade C to get on an Access course? I did one prior to my degree and whilst I did have them, there were many on my course who did not. Part of our Access course included level 2 (GCSE level) modules in Maths and English. We also all had to do a basic literacy/numeracy test prior to enrolment to show that we had the potential to do the course.

Some do some don't, but i want to try and keep my options wide open and ensure that when i enrol on an access course i can focus upon that and not on the Maths and English aspect.

Another option

You can also do numeracy and literacy for free at wither your local FE college or via another provider such as charity. You could self study GCSEs and at the same time enroll for numeracy and literacy which would give you access to a tutor.

It might be worth finding out which syllabus your nearest high school follow and asking them if you can be entered as a private candidate there.

I'm reasonably sure Maths GCSE doesn't include coursework, so you can study at home and just pay to take the exam at an approved exam centre. But I think English GCSE does include coursework, so you'd need to find a way to submit that as a private candidate.

If you're looking at distance options, again, check with your uni. A lot of the distance options seem to be IGCSEs, rather than GCSEs, so make sure that's okay with your uni.

I'm trying to sort this out myself at the moment.. Please accept my deepest sympathies.

Have you tried your local library learning centre? They will probably offer free maths and english qualifications through learn direct. I'm not sure if they offer GCSE or if it would be a functional skills qualification, in which case you should check your chosen access course will accept it.

If they don't offer it then they should be able to signpost you to other options.