From the list below choose one of our FAQs topics, then select an FAQ to read. If you have a question which is not in this section, please contact us.
|
|
We do not set entrance exams but we do provide assessment tests in maths, English and Spanish which can be found in the Info Centre on the NorthStarUK trial site. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Although NSUK does not claim to follow the National Curriculum in precise detail, our courses do broadly shadow the National Curriculum. This means that our courses often cover material that is not included within the National Curriculum as well as covering the material that is. This would enable a child who has completed a year's study with NSUK to enter secondary school in the following year. |
|
'Yes' is the very simple answer! Our pre-GCSE courses have been specially written to ensure that our students are fully prepared to undertake GCSE and IGCSE studies when they have completed Year 9. |
We do not feel able to provide much advice on this since parents are best placed to understand the gifts and talents of their own children.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
All of our courses are based around readily available textbooks and other resources. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Generally parents should guard against enrolling in too many courses. Some parents enrol their daughter in all of our courses - others only enrol in one or two. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Some parents may wonder whether it is possible to enrol students on Edexcel and CiE IGCSEs. Now that NorthStarUK has begun offering CiE IGCSEs parents may wonder how they know which exam board they should opt for. As far as the examination boards are concerned, it is quite possible to prepare students for exams from more than one board. This is indeed what happens with most schooled students in the UK. However, parents are likely to face a number of logistical problems if they choose to enrol for courses with both Edexcel and CiE in the same exam sitting. The reason for this is simple - it is quite possible that your son/daughter will have an exam with one board in the morning and an exam with the other board in the afternoon. Unless a parent is able to locate an exam centre that is registered with both Edexcel and CiE, it is likely that it will be impossible for the student to sit both exams. If parents plan to enter children for different exam sittings (e.g English Language in the May sitting and Mathematics in the November sitting) these logistical problems are unlikely to appear. In this situation, it is possible to enrol for subjects with differing exam boards. The key issue is always to locate a suitable exam centre as early as possible, ideally before enrolling with NorthStarUK. |
|
Now that NorthStarUK has begun offering CiE IGCSEs parents may wonder how they know which exam board they should opt for. It is important that parents (and students) read the Scope and Sequence Documents that we prepare in all NSUK courses. This will give a clear indication of the differences between exam boards. It is true that the same subject may be more demanding with one board than another - in Physics, for example, the CiE specification has around 15% more work to cover than the corresponding Edexcel course. For most parents however, the choice of exam board will be greatly affected by the availability of exam centres. We strongly advise parents to find a suitable exam centre BEFORE commencing studies with NSUK. Most overseas families are likely to find it easier to locate a CiE exam centre. We are able to give general advice on specifications but and we may be able to give some guidance with regard to the location of exam centres in the UK. |
Both GCSEs and IGCSEs are qualifications offered by British examination boards. Parents often ask 'what's the difference?'
GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education while IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education. The similarity of name indicates just how similar these two qualifications are in practice. GCSEs are qualifications that are mainly examined within the UK whilst IGCSEs are mainly examined outside the UK. Some independent schools in the UK are now offering IGCSEs and there are a small but growing number of examination centres within the UK able to offer exam facilities for IGCSE students.
The biggest difference between GCSEs and IGCSEs has traditionally been that IGCSE exams do not involve coursework (except ICT) whilst most GCSE examinations do require coursework to be submitted. For this reason alone, IGCSEs have become popular with UK-based home educators.
For overseas home educators IGCSEs are popular because they often mean that students can sit exams without the need to return to the UK. AQA, the exam board that NSUK uses to provide GCSEs requires that all of their exams take place within the UK.
IGCSEs are regarded as being comparable in standard to GCSEs by employers and universities. If anything, there is a view amongst some colleges and universities that IGCSEs may be a grade harder than GCSEs.
NSUK's advise to parents considering GCSEs and IGCSEs is to start with the question of exam centres. Can you locate an exam centre that is willing to provide exam facilities for your son or daughter? If you are overseas this is will be an Edexcel or CiE IGCSE centre. In the UK this may be an IGCSE exam centre or it may well be a local school or college offering AQA exam facilities. In reality, it is most likely the availability of exam centres that will largely determine your choice of GCSE or IGCSE. |
|
NorthStarUK does offer English in Year 6. For all other courses, parents with children under the age of 11 who wish to enrol in Year 7 courses should contact the Educational Director to discuss their needs. We do offer assessments in English and maths to help determine whether or not a student is able to commence Year 7 study. Please note that the Educational Director's decision is final in matters relating to the acceptance or refusal of student applications. |
|
NorthstarUK is primarily orientated towards helping parents meet the educational needs of their children. We also help small schools broaden their curriculum options by introducing our courses. Ordinarily we are not able to accept students over the age of 18 on any of our courses. From time to time, at the discretion of the Educational Director, we do accept older students but, in order to ensure that our child protection policy is fulfilled we restrict access of these students to only course-based areas of NSUK. Please note that the Educational Director's decision is final in matters relating to the acceptance or refusal of student applications. |
|
Typing or keyboard skills are important for all students these days - indeed, most university lecturers require work to be submitted in word processed form and will not accept handwritten assignments. We do not expect our students to be great typists! However, most work on NorthStarUK is submitted in word processed form and therefore good keyboard skills will help a student reduce how much time it takes to produce work. There are lots of comptuer programs that students (and their parents!) can use to learn to type better. There are also lots of web sites that offer this facility. Although we do not officially recommend any, you may like to take a look at some of these - http://www.typeonline.co.uk http://www.goodtyping.com/ http://www.typing-lessons.org/ http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/ http://www.typingsoft.com/all?typing?tutors.htm? |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 2 |
