GCSEs and equivalency requirements

The English GCSE equivalency test consists of three sections. You will have 1hour 30mins to complete the test. Candidates must answer all questions in all three sections.

Sections A & B: Reading (you are advised to spend 35minutes on each section):
There will be two extracts, one from a fiction novel and one from a non-fiction novel. You will need to read these at the start of each section. After reading, you will answer a series of questions to show your understanding of the extract. This will assess comprehension and inference skills.

Section C: Writing (20mins):
You will be required to complete an extended piece of writing. You will plan, write and edit the task. We strongly recommend that candidates make a plan before and leave time for proof reading and editing.

While you cannot 'revise' for the English paper, it is still possible to prepare and practice. We would recommend looking at a page from a novel (or at a newspaper article) and seeing if you can pick out words or techniques that have been chosen deliberately because of their meaning or the effect they have on the reader. You might want to brush up on key terms like noun, adjective, verb and adverb so that you could say something like, "the writer's use of the noun 'catastrophe' is a strong word choice that tells the reader that the accident is very serious". It could be helpful to familiarise yourself with key techniques like simile, personification, metaphor and repetition. Looking at the BBC Bitesize revision website for GCSE English Language (any exam board) would be useful preparation.

The Maths GCSE equivalency test consists of two papers, each 50mins long. One test must be answered without a calculator, and another where use of a calculator is recommended.
Candidates are advised to bring their own calculator and to be familiar with how to use it.

You are aiming to attain a GCSE grade 4 standard (old grade C).

Currently, the University is unable to provide tuition, this is the candidate’s responsibility, but we can offer the following advice and do recommend that you revise sufficiently before sitting the test, especially if you have not attempted GCSE style questions for a while.

Maths - GCSE exam papers can be downloaded from the internet. The following are direct access to the different exam boards as well as some additional exam papers and revision and practice material.
• https://corbettmaths.com/
• https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/
• https://www.draustinmaths.com/

When going through practice exam papers it is important that you use the relevant mark scheme to find out what areas you need to work on.
This is so you can feel confident on any questions that come up on the exam day.

The Science GCSE equivalency test consists of one paper, 1 hour 45minutes long. Candidates must answer all questions in all sections.

The test consists of GCSE standard questions which are used to sample candidates’ recall, knowledge and understanding of the Biology, Chemistry and Physics, where each have equal weighting.

There are a mix of question types, including long written-answer questions, short-answer questions and multiple-choice questions. Some questions are standalone questions, whereas other questions consist of multiple parts and can require using the answer to a previous part of a question, or not. These part questions may vary in the level of demand.

The test also assesses candidates’ knowledge, understanding and application of ‘working scientifically’ (the development of scientific thinking; experimental skills and strategies; analysis and evaluation; scientific vocabulary, quantities, units, symbols and nomenclature).

Candidates are advised to bring their own calculator and to be familiar with how to use it.