When thinking of GCSEs, most people tend to automatically think of teenagers at secondary school preparing for their next steps in the educational world. But what if you’re an adult looking at returning to education to study GCSEs? Is it possible for you to go back and redo courses of your choice?
Believe it or not, more and more adult learners are returning to education to retake their GCSEs and gain better grades. With the developments and advancements of online learning, it’s quick and easy for learners to register online and get studying the GCSEs of their choice.
Do I have to go Back to School for Retaking my GCSEs?
The short and simple answer is no. No you don’t have to go back to school and sit in classes with teenagers while trying to re-learn your subjects. Instead, you can register as a Private Candidate with an online college (like Open College) and study the full syllabus remotely and what’s more, you don’t even have to do it alone, you will have a personal tutor there to help and support you every step of the way.
How Long does it take to Study a GCSE?
As a general guide, one GCSE subject takes the average student 120 hours of study. Obviously, everyone is different and so you should use the 120 hours as a rough guide for you.
Usually, students who haven’t been studying for a while find they need a bit of time to adjust to studying again and using their brains, but once they get into the swing of things, studying it nice and straight forward and even enjoyable.
How do Adults do GCSE Examinations?
So as mentioned before, there is no need for you to attend a school or college to study your chosen GCSE subject, but when it comes to the examinations, you will need to attend a registered centre and sit your exams there.
Most examination centres are local private schools or community colleges, so you will most likely end up sitting your examinations in a school or college. You will need to contact your chosen exam centre and register with them to take the exams. We advise our students to find and book their place at an exam centre in the February of the year they want to sit their exams, that way you have plenty of time to do the paper work and prepare.
So to summarise our answer to ‘can adults study GCSEs?’, yes, it’s perfectly achievable for adults to study GCSEs and achieve the grades they want and need by studying online. Once you have made the decision to take the step, then you need to get enrolled and start studying as soon as possible.