News from UK Open Learning

What are IGCSEs?

IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education. It does not indicate, as some believe, an internet alternative to conventional GCSE subjects or assessment.

Why has UK Open Learning chosen the Cambridge and Edexcel IGCSE syllabuses for its courses?

We at UK Open Learning have selected the Cambridge Board as the awarding body for most of our IGCSE subjects as they have the most recognisable status in the UK and in other countries. Widespread 'recognition' – or official acceptance - of a qualification is essential. Universities and employers worldwide recognise Cambridge qualifications. Cambridge IGCSE is the world's most popular international curriculum for 14 - 16 year olds. It develops successful students, giving them excellent preparation for their next steps in education, including progression to Advanced and AS Level.  It also lends itself perfectly for those adults who are returning to study when the accompanying course is developed by the staff at UK Open Learning.

As well as Cambridge, we have also developed some courses around the Edexcel syllabuses where these are the favoured choice of the tutor. Edexcel is also one of the leading awarding bodies in the field of academic and vocational qualifications.

Why have we switched from conventional GCSE courses?

In recent years the UK government has become increasingly concerned about the coursework element of GCSEs and A Levels. Rightly or wrongly, they have thought that in some cases parents and others have helped too much in the students’ assignments, which can make a considerable contribution to the final mark. In order to check on the authenticity of students’ work, schools and colleges have had to introduce what are called controlled assessments where students have to undertake their ‘coursework’ under supervision. This has meant for UK Open Learning students that they would find it very difficult to find centres willing to take on this responsibility as there would be too much expense and administration time incurred to make it worth the centres’ while.

So, to make things as simple as possible, we have converted our main courses to IGCSE where there are only exams involved. This will mean that you will not be doing coursework for submission to the board, but will be concentrating through a combination of self-assessment tasks and tutor-marked assignments for the exams that you will take through your centre.

Do IGCSEs have the same status as conventional GCSEs?

Yes. This status has very recently been enhanced by the acceptance of the UK government of an initial 16 IGCSE subjects for funding purposes for state schools. Previously this was not the case, and it was largely the private sector that offered IGCSEs. That has now changed, and more and more state schools and colleges will be offering this very attractive alternative to a coursework-based subject.

Cambridge IGCSE is recognised by employers as a reliable record of a student’s achievement. Cambridge IGCSE is accepted by UK universities as directly equivalent in standard to UK GCSE – one of the key qualifications needed to meet the entry requirements for some universities and many vocational higher education institutes.

Cambridge IGCSE is listed in UCAS publications which state: 'The qualification is equivalent in standard to the GCSE and may be considered acceptable at Grades A*, A, B or C in lieu of GCSE on a subject for subject basis.'

Is coursework possible through IGCSE?

Yes, it is, but not through our courses. If you look through the specifications on the CIE and Edexcel websites (http://www.cie.org.uk/  and http://www.edexcel.com/Pages/Home.aspx),  you will see that there is an option for coursework in some subjects. However, for the reasons explained above, we will not be offering these alternatives.

Due to the changes in the way GCSE course work is marked UK Open Learning is developing a range of IGCSEs for September 2010.

IGCSEs are internationally recognised and are equivalent to GCSEs and the advantage for distance learning students is that it is all exam based. Your assignments will be marked by your tutor to prepare you for the exams.

To register your interest or if you are a course author please email enquiries@uk-open-learning.com

Train your way out of a recession

http://business.timesonline.co.uk

We are often asked are there any hidden charges, the answer is no our prices include all the accreditation fees unless otherwise stated.

UK Open Learning now runs an affiliate scheme so please visit our home page and join today!

UK Open Learning Ltd has now been approved as a NCFE centre under an IIQ Licence http://www.ncfe.org.uk/

UK Open Learning is delighted to announce it has been approved by Edexcel to offer BTEC qualifications.

We currently offer BTEC courses in Construction and Surveying and will shortly be adding more courses to the range.

Centre number 42785

We have a full range of GCSE and A Level courses.

UK Open Learning has opended a second office in Scotland to offer hands on training for Beauty and Nail courses.

Here is a link to excellent articles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/adult_learning.shtml

News Update

UK Open Learning is delighted to announce that it is linking up with Community Action Nepal, UK registered charity 1067772. This means that for every completed sale of one of its courses and the student pays in full, UK Open Learning will donate £1 to CAN to enable it to develop its work providing Education, Health services, clean water supplies, teachers and nurses to the wonderful people in the mountains and foothills of the Himalayas. As a student of UK Open Learning, you will not notice any increase in costs as the donation will simply come out of our income. You will, however, be able to see how the contributions will help change the lives of those who get very little support from their government and who often have to rely on trekkers’ gifts to pay the teachers’ wages. We will be posting regular updates about specific projects that UK Open Learning’s contributions have helped fund so that you know how the money is being spent.

Founded by the mountaineer Doug Scott CBE, CAN has as its patron Sir Chris Bonington CBE.

You can find out more about CAN and its offshoot Community Action Treks Ltd at: www.canepal.org.uk and www.catreks.com

CAN/CAT were recently given the Responsible Travel Award 2008.

In the meantime, here is its philosophy:

Our Philosophy

Our work is totally driven by the needs of the mountain people of Nepal.

When we agree to undertake a project it is at the request of the communities themselves - we don't impose our ideas; we just listen and then help them achieve what they feel they need.

We aim to ensure that all of our projects are fully sustainable and we maintain an ongoing and indefinite commitment.

Local people are involved from the design stage, to completion and then beyond.

To avoid donor dependency and to encourage a sense of ownership and responsibility for all projects we insist on the active involvement and commitment from the villagers. We ask them to contribute the equivalent of one third of the project's needs through the provision of labour, expertise and local material.

We try to not only help the people of Nepal, but to also help them to help themselves - an example of this is the work of our commercial arm - Community Action Treks Ltd

Wherever and whenever possible we will always work in a spirit of cooperation with other organisations seeking to assist the people of Nepal - for example; Surgery in Nepal, Porter’s Progress and the International Porter Protection Group.

Fundamentally, we feel strongly that all of our projects are a joint effort between the mountain people of Nepal and CAN - we believe we are one community

We hope that you will agree that this is a worthwhile initiative from UK Open Learning particularly as you will understand the life enhancing value of education.

Distance Learning or 'Home Study' has come a long way since Isaac Pitman taught shorthand via correspondence courses in the 1840s. However the huge benefits of studying from home, or from the workplace, remain the same.

First of all, with a Distance Learning course you enjoy the freedom of being able to study in your own time and at your own pace. That's because Distance Learning courses are carefully designed to fit in with your life.

Whether you wish to improve your life, increase your job prospects or simply study a hobby that you are interested in, more and more people are choosing to study from home as it fits in comfortably with their lifestyle.

There are many fully-accredited Distance Learning providers in the UK today (type 'distance learning' 'home study' or 'distance education' into Google.co.uk and you'll find most of them), offering a huge range of interesting, educational courses available for study.

Distance Education courses available for home study can include anything from Graphic Design to Art Studies,to A Level, Book-keeping to Business & Management, Counseling to Child Care and Writing to Web Design. You will find courses on things like Wedding Planning and Event Management, Nail Technician, Animal Care and Behaviour...even courses such as Diet & Exercise, Forensic Science and How to Start Your Own Business. On some vocational courses you may even qualify for a career Development Loan from the government.

But you are not alone when you study from home. Distance Learning providers (or Home Learning agencies as they are sometimes called) employ professional student advisors and fully qualified tutors to mark and help you with your coursework. Most Home Study courses provide learners with an accredited diploma which helps them increase their job prospects, change their lifestyle or even start their own business.

Many Distance Learning providers offer interest free credit schemes to help students spread the cost over a period they can afford. Also look out for special discount offers.

In my experience students who gain extra qualifications can earn on average an extra 30% and it proves to employers that they are willing to work hard and make a better future for themselves.

In the UK we have found that career changers have been very successful especially when they have retrained in subjects such as web design and bookkeeping.

These are very popular as on completion you can work at home and give up the day to day drudgery of going to the office.

So by taking a distance learning course you could gain the skills to either work for yourself or obtain better employment.

Looking for a better job, a better future, a better life? Then take up a Distance Learning course today and change your life forever!
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