Where can I attend 1-yr GCSE Course ?

[Clover2021]

The 1-yr fast track run by the state school or college in Greater London or South England is preferable. I am focused on science stream (including physics, chemistry, biology, further math) apart from two core subjects.

Do you mean for yourself as an adult or for a child and why must it be 1 year rather than the standard 2 year course?
Sixth form colleges often offer GCSE courses in one year and are part of the state system. The subject range may be limited though as the timetable may not be able to fit in a large number of subjects.
state schools are unlikely to offer 1 year courses.
For adults FE colleges would offer GCSEs but only Maths and English language would be free from fees. You would have to pay for other subjects.

Private Cranmers

@catndogslife

Do you mean for yourself as an adult or for a child and why must it be 1 year rather than the standard 2 year course? Sixth form colleges often offer GCSE courses in one year and are part of the state system. The subject range may be limited though as the timetable may not be able to fit in a large number of subjects. state schools are unlikely to offer 1 year courses. For adults FE colleges would offer GCSEs but only Maths and English language would be free from fees. You would have to pay for other subjects.

It is for a 16-yr old teenager.

If not a 1-yr course, is there any 2-yr GCSE course at the state school / college?

Some independent tutorial colleges have a January intake for GCSEs but it wouldn't be possible to take the exams until 2022.
This would be fee paying.
There are lots of places in the London area that would offer this, but that isn't my location so am unable to recommend specific colleges.

Where are you located? Local Further education college will offer GCSE retake courses for 16+ year olds. For example: https://stcg.ac.uk/kingston-college/gcse-functional-skills/gcse-retakes

Private, try DLD, Ashbourne, MPW and more. Their websites should tell you something about the structure of their courses. They probably do iGCSEs somay be able to offer exam dates other than June.

Or perhaps there is an online provider that is cheaper.

Thanks for all helpful suggestion! That's very kind of you.

I have not decided my landing location, but am looking at Devon & Surrey etc. Good transport link is important to me as I don't have driving license.

Good transport - don't go to Devon then!

Is this for a child coming to uk from abroad? In which case why not straight to A levels/BTEC? Maybe with Maths and English GCSE if no exams in previous country taken.

@titchy

Good transport - don't go to Devon then!

Is this for a child coming to uk from abroad? In which case why not straight to A levels/BTEC? Maybe with Maths and English GCSE if no exams in previous country taken.

I do have concern to Devon due to transport. But lower crime rate compared with London.

The child is currently at yr 10. I don't think direct link to Sixth Form without GCSE result is possible. Attending a GCSE exam in our place in May 2021 seems to be unfeasible neither due to our moving departure date. That's why we need 1-yr GCSE fast track as a bridge in the UK.

I have no much idea about BTEC. What would be the reason to select BTEC but not A-level?

You probably need to tell us a bit more about your child’s academic strengths and aspirations. BTEC is more vocational. A good fir for many, but not for a child who is, say, aspiring for Oxbridge.

You could look at IB schools. It is a demanding academic qualification but because of its international nature doesn't demand GCSEs for entry. Otherwise I second pp suggestions of a crammer or a small independent school that can offer a personalised programme.

So your child is abroad then? You still haven't said! What system are they in? Will they be able to provide exam results of any kind? Transcripts? SATS scores? Have you approached any sixth form colleges to see what they'd accept in those circumstances. London ones would be more used to students with international qualifications and probably more helpful than anyone here given the paucity of information you've posted.

@ConstantlyCookingMincePies

You could look at IB schools. It is a demanding academic qualification but because of its international nature doesn't demand GCSEs for entry. Otherwise I second pp suggestions of a crammer or a small independent school that can offer a personalised programme.

Several friends of mine are big fans of IB. But we are budget type and ok for traditional path.

@Needmoresleep

You probably need to tell us a bit more about your child’s academic strengths and aspirations. BTEC is more vocational. A good fir for many, but not for a child who is, say, aspiring for Oxbridge.

The child is taking challenge at science stream including further math, physics, chemistry, and biology. A big fan of Minecraft and architecture.

I suspect you would need to find a state school that can let them go back a year and start year 10 in sept 2021, or a private crammer that would take them to sit gcses in summer 2021.
I suspect going into year 11 to do gcses that year could be tough and that schools might be unkeen.
I doubt there are any non-private accelerated courses.

A bright child can normally catch up relatively quickly if they go straight to A levels. However they need to be prepared to work hard at the beginning and you might consider some additional one-to-one help to fill in any gaps.

Others will know more, but my observation is that Universities are normally understanding. One option that is often available is sitting English GCSE in the first year of sixth form. It can be a key qualification so worth having.

Some state schools offer IB.

@titchy

So your child is abroad then? You still haven't said! What system are they in? Will they be able to provide exam results of any kind? Transcripts? SATS scores? Have you approached any sixth form colleges to see what they'd accept in those circumstances. London ones would be more used to students with international qualifications and probably more helpful than anyone here given the paucity of information you've posted.

Not abroad. The child will study as a home student till 19. I only reached out to one or two grammar schools last year about their possible vacancies, but oversubscribed. Given the embarrassing school age and incompatible application date, I intend to go for college than a secondary school.

Unless said child is already studying for gcses and so has covered a fair bit of the curriculum, in which case it might well be feasible to join year 10 in May when you move here.

There certainly would be no point in trying to skip a year straight into year 12, and I don't think any state school would allow it anyway.

@Needmoresleep

Some state schools offer IB.

Could you please provide more information about this?

@Needmoresleep

A bright child can normally catch up relatively quickly if they go straight to A levels. However they need to be prepared to work hard at the beginning and you might consider some additional one-to-one help to fill in any gaps.

Others will know more, but my observation is that Universities are normally understanding. One option that is often available is sitting English GCSE in the first year of sixth form. It can be a key qualification so worth having.

Good to know. No harm to knock the door at this way.

How many GCSEs are they wanting to take? Typically pupils take 9 or 10. Each GCSE requires approximately 150 hours of study to cover the course content.

@Revengeofthepangolins

Unless said child is already studying for gcses and so has covered a fair bit of the curriculum, in which case it might well be feasible to join year 10 in May when you move here.

There certainly would be no point in trying to skip a year straight into year 12, and I don't think any state school would allow it anyway.

Actually, I am fine with step by step. In the first year of relocation, settle down is important too.

Regarding back one year request, is it approved by the council or the school?

What educational system is your child in at the moment?

If they are currently in Year 10 and you are planning on coming to the UK next year you have possibly chosen the absolute worst time to move with regards to the UK educational system.

You could either enquire as to whether a local state school would allow entry into Year 10, so in effect repeating a year, or enquire into private provision, possibly doing a reduced number of GCSE's. Some further education college offer support for home educated or foreign educated students but you would need to contact them on an individual basis.

You also need to watch out for age. I helped a friend moving back from France with a child who was 17, and in turn received good help from the much missed Boho his. The Lycee was extraordinarily unhelpful.

The solution was for him to start an A level course from scratch. He was lucky that a good state school was willing to let him start a year below his normal year group. Not all will. He also had to work hard to plug gaps and get to grips with a different learning culture. It worked out well. He settled quickly helped by starting at a natural break point, and got three good A levels (from memory A,A,B) as well as an A* in French. And this was a boy who had become seriously disengaged with the French system. (One reason why they returned at such an odd point.)

There were a few options, including private which can offer more flexibility. The boy made the final decision. It was his future and he needed to do the work.

Ditto a family we know returned from Italy when their son was 15, in part because he wanted to attend an academic UK university. They spent a year in London where he went to a private crammer and worked astonishingly hard, having accepted this was necessary in order to establish himself in a new system. I think he wound up with 9A*s and one A. Sixth form was then pretty straight forward... and a lot more fun.