GCSE Maths Equivalency Exams could be the perfect option for you if you are looking into taking any higher education courses like QTS teacher training programmes, nursing or midwifery programmes at a university or centre. Usually, they will have minimum GCSE requirements but sometimes it is likely that your grade you do have isn’t equivalent to the requirements or you don’t have one at all. This tends to be the case if you haven’t been in education for a while or you’re wanting a career change or from abroad.
The solution to this is taking a GCSE Maths Equivalency Exam.
There are many different providers around the country who you can take the GCSE Maths Equivalency Exam with. Here at Bristol Tutor Company, the provider that we work closely alongside with and would highly recommend to you is: A Star Equivalency. A Star offers you the opportunity to take either just the exam or study for the course with them then take the exam. They are a highly commendable company since they have been a leading provider in the industry since 2002. Simply use their easy to use booking system, which uses a colour coordinated calendar, showing the cheaper days to sit your exam and the more expensive ones.
GCSE Maths Equivalency exams consist of two papers. Paper 1 will be your non calculator paper. Paper 2 will be your calculator one. Both papers are marked out of 50 which will determine your grade out of 100. You will have the option to either do foundation or higher tier, we recommend taking foundation purely because there is a higher success rate. However, just check with your provider what grade is required for your course as some require a minimum grade of level 6 which is only attainable with a Higher Tier GCSE Maths Equivalency exam.
Please see the grade boundaries below to see which tier you may think will be best for you:
Foundation Tier Maths Equivalency Exam Grade Boundaries
- Grade 4 (low C) (55% to 74%) Grade 5 (75% to 100%)
Higher Tier Maths Equivalency Grade Boundaries are as follows:
- Grade 4 (25 to 34%) 9 mark band 25 to 34 marks inclusive
- Grade 5 (35 to 43%) 9 mark band 35 to 43 marks inclusive
- Grade 6 (44 to 54%) 11 mark band 44 to 54 marks inclusive
- Grade 7 (55 to 68%) 14 mark band 55 to 68 marks inclusive
- Grade 8 (69 to 82%) 14 mark band 69 to 82 marks inclusive
- Grade 9 (83 to 100%) 18 mark band 83 to 100 marks inclusive
Once you have chosen your desired exam day and tier to sit your exam in. On your exam day, expect to sit your GCSE Maths Equivalency Exam online. Whilst doing your exam, you will be watched by an online invigilator to remain the integrity of the exam. In order to take the exam, all you will need is a computer with a webcam, strong internet connection, pen & paper for working out and a scientific calculator. Exams are available with the option for a hard copy but you would need to get in touch with the exam team in order to get this arranged for you. Results will then be emailed to you within 10 working days or within 24-72 hours depending on if you want to pay extra for fast track results.
If the GCSE Maths Equivalency Exam sounds like a viable option for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Bristol Tutor Company. We would be more than happy to help you with everything from deciding which tier to take, when you should take your exam, course content, 1 to 1 help to revision structuring and timetabling. Whatever you need to succeed, we are here to help with!