Our adult education provider, ACL Essex, is celebrating the results of GCSE learners this Results Day.
Alongside students, ACL learners across the county have opened their GCSE results. This will help them continue onto further courses and step into new career pathways.
ACL Essex learner, Imogen, has been trying for her GCSE Maths since Year 11 in school, and finally achieved it this year.
Imogen said:
“I’m a Teaching Assistant in a primary school, and my next steps are to train as a teacher but I couldn’t start the training without a GCSE in Maths.
“I tried twice in college and two to three times in university, and I came to ACL for a last chance at getting it. It made a difference having adults around that want to learn.
“I really gelled with my tutor and felt more supported, and now I can start teacher training as of next September.”
Another ACL Essex learner, Kathleen, is a grandmother who wanted to prove to herself that she could achieve top marks in GCSE Biology.
Upon receiving the top mark of a 9, Kathleen said:
“Having retired, I was getting worried about my memory, so I decided to do a course and get my brain working again.
“I was hoping for a 9 and I got a 9. I’m really, really pleased that I’m still capable of achieving such a good grade.”
Melanie, another ACL Essex learner, has three children and has now achieved her GCSE English with ACL.
Melanie said:
“This means so much, it’s fantastic. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at school and my daughter’s now starting her GCSEs.
“It was hard to get back into the swing of things and restarting it again. I’m hoping to go into teaching, so now I’ve got this one, I’m going to do my GCSE Maths in September.”
ACL Essex offers a range of GCSE qualifications, including in English, maths and various sciences.
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said:
“GCSE and Access to Higher Education qualifications can increase employment opportunities, help people to build essential skills, and enable people to take the next steps in their learning journey.
“I’m proud that ACL Essex can offer a range of opportunities for the people of Essex. Not only does ACL Essex offer a wealth of GCSE and Access to Higher Education courses for residents, but they also advise learners of the progression opportunities that are available to them.”
ACL Essex will offer a range of GCSE and Access to Higher Education courses from September 2023. Courses include GCSE English and Maths, as well as Computer Science, Psychology and more.
GCSEs in English and Maths are free with ACL Essex if learners do not currently hold a GCSE grade C or 4 (or above). If residents do not achieve their GCSEs, ACL Essex also offers the chance to retake exams and complete further study at their centres.
Residents who achieve their GCSEs can progress and onto an Access to Higher Education course. ACL Essex supports learners to take this next step and aims to get them into university within 33 weeks to a year.
A series of taster workshops will also be held during their Festival of Learning: Have A Go Week (6-14 September). Residents can speak to teams at ACL Essex, sign up for tasters and receive guidance about their next steps.
Find out more about how to sign up for GCSE qualification tasters during ACL Essex’s Festival of Learning.