A levels, GCSE's

[Dreadlocked]

i am a 23 year old construction worker in Sydney and never comlpeted high school. i am moving to the UK in june and hope to go to university to study engineering,or possibly political science. i know that i will have to get my A levels and GCSE' s before this can happen. however, i can't find any BASIC info on what they actually are, how they work, and how i would go about getting them. it would be much appreciated if anyone has any advice or knows of any helpful websites on this matter. thanks heaps.

[saxy_jag]

Kids take GCSE exams in a number of subjects just before they leave school at 16+. The courses are usually two years, but you can take one-year, part-time GCSE courses at community colleges and further education courses, either daytime or evening.

A levels are taken in two parts, AS and A2. Each part is a one year course, and an AS is worth half an A level. Kids tend to do them if they stay on at school after 16. Again, as an adult you can take them as part-time courses.

A route you might want to consider is that of an Access course. These are usually run by colleges in collaboration with universities and designed to prepare mature students (which is what you would be) for university entry. They can either be part-time or full time, and usually 12 to 18 months in length. Success rates are quite high. You'd need to contact the individual universities about them or, as above, ask at the local FE colleges what's available.

Another idea, longer but more practical if you need to earn, is the Open University. These are modular, distance learning courses, but you get plenty of support, either online, by telephone or in regional tutorial groups. You can start at a very basic level and still earn points towards your degree:

http://www.open.ac.uk/

[mycats]

I left school at 14 with no exams lo
I wanted to do a degree so I did an access course ( 3 highers) and am now doing an HNC. My access course only lasted a year (bit less actually) and I really enjoyed it, good luck