GCSE equivalency testing for non-BCU applicants

The process for applying for the tests is:

1. Email GCSE.Equivalency@bcu.ac.uk with the following information:
• Name
• Email
• Applicant ID
• Course applied for
• Which equivalency test they want
• The university you have an offer from
2. When we receive your email, we will send you a link to pay for the course.
3. Once you have paid, send your payment confirmation and photo ID e.g. pdf or jpeg image of driving licence or passport to  GCSE.Equivalency@bcu.ac.uk.
4. On receipt of this, we will send you the link to the online course platform

The fees for these tests are made up of an admin fee and subject fees as follows:

• £30 admin fee (this is a one off charge regardless of the number of subjects you are taking, or if you have to re-sit a test) plus the fees for each subject you are taking
• English Language:  £120 support sessions and test
• Mathematics: £100 support sessions and test
• Science: £100 support sessions and test

The cost for English is higher because, while Maths and Science are mainly marked via the software, English will need to be marked entirely by staff.

Please make sure you have checked the eligibility criteria outlined on this page before paying the admin fee as it is non-refundable.

Once you have paid for you test, you need to email the GCSE enquiry address at GCSE.Equivalency@bcu.ac.uk with your payment confirmation. In your email you must include:

1. a copy of your photographic ID.  Photo ID must be a driving licence or passport and sent in pdf or jpeg format. 
2. a copy of your receipt of payment for the course(s) you wish to complete

As per the above, you must provide:

• your completed application form
• a copy of your photographic ID which matches the name on your application
• your receipt for the course fee

You will need to bring photographic ID, such as a passport or driving licence, on the day of your test, if you take your test(s) at our assessment centre at our City Centre Campus. If you take your test(s) is taken online, you will be required to show your ID to the camera.

The fees for these tests are made up of an admin fee and subject fees as follows:

• £30 non-refundable admin fee (this is a one-off charge regardless of the number of subjects you are taking) plus the fees for each subject you are taking
• English Language:  £120 support sessions and test
• Mathematics: £100 support sessions and test
• Science: £100 support sessions and test

The cost for English is higher because, while Maths and Science are mainly marked via the software, English will need to be marked entirely by staff.

If you wish to take more than one subject, the package you choose on our online shop will reflect the full cost, e.g. if you were to take English and Mathematics, you would pay £30 admin fee + English Language fees of £120 + Mathematics fees of £100 = £250.

You pay for your support sessions and test(s) package once you have submitted the online form.

No. You will only need to pay one fee, even if you are taking multiple subjects and/or you need to take a re-sit.

No.

These online tests are only available to people holding offers for specific courses with a select number of institutions this September. Your institution must have referred you to us for equivalency tests for you to be eligible for the support and test(s), and for your test(s) to be accepted. If your institution has not referred you to this webpage and recommended you sign up for GCSE equivalency testing then do not sign up and pay fees as there is no guarantee your institution will accept the result of your tests(s) for entry onto your course.

Yes you can.

However, we would like to emphasise how important it is that you focus on your GCSE(s) if you are still working towards them as GCSE qualifications are recognised across the UK by academic institutions and employers.

No.

The paper is written by our academic staff so will only be valid for your offer for the specified course at our University and any other institutions who have agreed in advance that they will accept our test for particular courses (and have, therefore, you referred you to this webpage).

Please note, our staff are keeping a list of institutions who have agreed to accept our equivalency tests and what courses they will accept the tests for, so if your institution is not on the list, we will not take your application for testing forward and book you on to our support sessions. As mentioned previously, fees are non-refundable so do not pay for testing with us unless your teacher training provider has referred you to us specifically. 

Study sessions will run weekly from 4 - 6pm. Once you have made your application for an equivalency test you will receive confirmation of a link and password for the Xoodle portal. The subject tutor will make contact with you to explain the day of the week your support sessions will run on, and to arrange a start date.  

No.

You are only able to study for and sit one test at a time as all subject classes and tests run simultaneously.

Students are usually required to take the test within two months. In exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the GCSE Equivalency Course Lead, the test may be taken at a later date.

For each subject there are two papers of 1 hour 30 minutes each (so 3 hours in total). Information about what's covered under each subject can be found on the subject FAQ pages for English, Mathematics and Science. Links to these pages are also available at the bottom of this FAQs page.

The tests for Maths and English Language do not relate to any particular exam board. The exam papers ask GCSE-level questions designed by our academic staff. We recommend using BBC Bitesize for revision purposes.

The Science support sessions and test are based on the AQA exam board. Further details are available on each of the subject FAQ webpages, which can be found at the bottom of this page.

In order to give you the best possible chance of passing the assessment, we strongly encourage you to attend a minimum of four online study sessions. This will ensure you cover each area of the test paper. Although you are able to take the assessment without engaging with the online study sessions, we do not recommend that you take this approach.

Although you are able to take the assessment without engaging with the online study sessions, we do not recommend that you take this approach.

We would recommend to visit www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize. You will also be supplied with reading material when you attend your first support session.

To pass you must achieve a minimum of 50% on your test (average across the two papers).

During the 2019/20 academic year, 92.6% of people who took our GCSE equivalency test achieved a pass.

You will be notified of your result as soon as possible after the 10-day window which our tutors have to mark your paper.

Tutors will email you directly of your result as soon as possible following the 10 working days they have to mark your paper. Please note GCSE Equivalency tests can only result in a pass or fail, you will not be issued with a graded mark. 

You are only able to take one re-sit of the exam test per year.

You will need to contact the institution with whom you hold an offer to check how long they will continue to accept your test result after you have successfully completed the test. For some institutions, the test result may only be valid for September 2024 entry on your chosen course. However, the approach varies across institutions and it is important that you check with your institution before applying to Birmingham City University for GCSE Equivalency tests.

If you have a question that isn't covered in this list please email GCSE.Equivalency@bcu.ac.uk Please note, if your question is covered in this list, you will be referred back to this webpage for the answer.