This is a really stupid question about A levels

[PercyAndPenny]

But here goes. It's anonymous, nobody knows me 😂

I was doing my youngest's history homework with him the other day. He was dragging his heels and saying he couldn't understand it - hes year 9. In exasperation I said ' I can do this without having looked at anything GCSE related in 35 years!' and scribbled out two pages on the relevant subject - telling him to now get on with it

Next day, he received his mark back. Top of the class. He'd only gone and submitted my bloody work! In error (yeah right!) Anyway, I informed the teacher and he was made to do it again. All fine

BUT it got me thinking ... I quite enjoyed it and I failed it at GCSE I believe. Can't remember as so long ago

Sooo , just for something to do, can I take an A level in history? Paid for and online of course

I've googled but nothing is immediately clear

I did an A level in my mid forties for “fun” at my local FE college. 2 two hour lessons a week, cost around £800. I loved it even though try classmates thought I was insane!

@VanCleefArpels this is what I'm thinking. Just to do something? Prove to myself I can?

I work from home with my own business and I don't have any career type aspirations!

yes of course you can!

there are online courses etc.
i think you need to have access to a tutor, so that you know what they are looking at wrt questions etc.

Yes you can for sure!

When looking at courses ask what periods in history they will cover as that might help you puck which course to choose, different colleges or exam boards may teach different topics, I imagine some will appeal to you more than others.

You could either ask local colleges, or look at online courses.

Go for it, I'm sure coming back to it as a mature student you'd get so much from it.

Pick not puck?!

How about this? (As an example) I did this in the first lockdown out of interest, and to keep my brain active. There are other courses, too. You can actually pay something like £58 later on to get a certificate - but I didn't bother. I enjoyed the course though and it was free.

www.futurelearn.com/courses/the-tudors

@NovemberR that looks good! I'll certainly consider that I think - maybe I just want my brain to learn something?

DS's homework was about the public health reform in the 19th century - something I knew little about.

Within half an hour I'd got a decent ish grasp on it and the next day I was top of the class So it's making me think about other periods of history I'd be interested in

Depending on cost you might find an Open University history module suits your needs. They cover a wide range of options and in my experience are more interesting than the A level content

@Failingbettereverytime ah, now I'm no slouch in the intelligence department but I'm also perhaps not the most academic. I'm not sure I have the commitment or brain capacity to produce a degree!

I failed all, bar 2, of my GCSE's. Not because I'm stupid but because I really couldn't be bothered. Two A's in English language and literature and the rest, a handful of D's and below.

Honestly I would say take a look at the OU anyway. The courses are taken by a huge range of people with very varied backgrounds in education and you can pick courses at different levels. The entry level courses are very comparable to A level and so well designed for distance learning.

I started with one course and ended up with a degree!

You can study A-Level History with the National Extension College. I actually did it with them (over 10 years ago now). They are good, but expensive, and you'll have to pay to sit the exam at an examination centre separately.

www.nec.ac.uk/courses/history-a-level/

I would agree that OU might suit you more.

I suspect most FE colleges don't do history A-level as an evening class, so you'd have to commit to attending classes during working hours. OU is designed so that people can fit it around work.

You also don't have to study for a degree with the OU, you can just do individual modules for the fun of it.

You can enter the exam at a local college and teach yourself from a book/the Internet if you like, you don't have to do a course. I'm doing an economics a level just because it's interesting but I knew if I wasn't entered for an exam, I'd stop motivating myself to study.

Some great ideas here thank you

And yes - I'd need to know I was taking an exam I think. That'd be crucial to my motivation.

Knowing me though I'd probably end up swotting up on the wrong thing

I should have mentioned that the National Extension College is a distance learning provider. It's like the OU, but for A-Levels/GCSEs and some shorter courses.

@PercyAndPenny there is a huge variety of A Level history courses, covering every period of history from Tudors onwards, including French Revolution, Russian Revolution, US civil war, so do your research and find the best one for you!

Dd is really enjoying Britain 1957-2007!

You could also look at Wolsey Hall, they are well known for home-schooling courses, but also do courses for adults.

Tudor's would be good. Victorian period good. I'm interested in British history I think, learning about the third reich isn't calling me