Functional Skills

[magentadreamer]

DD came home yesterday and mentioned that in May she will be sitting Functional Skills exams in english. Apparently they are certificated tests as DD had to check all her details were correct on an external exam entry form. Does anyone know what these actually are? Should DD be revising for them? DD is sitting GCSE Statstics and Geography exams in June and those are obviously going to take prority. The cynic in me must also ask are they "worth" a GCSE? DD's school would award a BTEC in Breathing if they could!

web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gcse/functional_skills.php

States:

Schools are strongly encouraged to enter students for both GCSE and separate Functional Skills assessments to ensure students' functionality is guaranteed and they are best prepared for progression to further study and employment.

Functional Skills are applied qualifications that allow learners to gain the most of life, learning and work. Learners will demonstrate their skills through real-life assessments set in every day situations.

These courses lead to recognised gateway qualifications for learners who may not have achieved a GCSE grade 4 or above. Functional Skills are widely used in adult education.

Here is a bit more info:-

www.learnnow.org.uk/functional-skills.html

It's an 8 year old thread.....