The English Functional Skills qualification takes place in three parts and has three separate exams to pass, these are reading, writing, and speaking and listening. Learning takes place online at times to suit you and you will have full tutor support with one-to-one Zoom sessions as required or needed and face to face appointments can be booked in advance.
We offer these qualifications through Pearson Edexcel at Entry Level 3, Level 1 and Level 2. This qualification is assessed with end point exams, and you receive a pass or fail there are no grades. Level 2 Functional Skills qualifications are generally accepted as an equivalent of a Grade 4-5 GCSE (formally a C grade) by universities for most courses, but please check with your university if you have a specific course in mind.
The learning takes place online, followed by consolidation exercises. These tell us how well you have understood the learning, and we can provide extra work and support as required in your learner journey. We run exam every week, but the day can change depending on room availability, as you come to the end of your course you will be offered dates by the exam’s administrator. The exam for speaking and listening requires 3 to 4 learners to run and you will be offered dates throughout your course to attend these via Zoom.
Once the programme of learning is complete, we will put you on mock exams to get you ready for the examination. You may take your exam either online or paper based, the online exams require 48 hours’ notice, the paper based a minimum of 18 days.
Results of each exam can take up to 4 weeks to arrive at busy times of the year but often come back sooner. A certificate is only issued after all three elements have been passed. Students are emailed notification of their results. If you do not pass any one element you can retake that single exam again, you do not have to retake all three. If you do not pass your exam we cannot access your actual paper, this is retained by the awarding body to ensure the integrity of the examination system, but we can obtain a report of the areas where you lost marks in relation to the curriculum to help you prepare for a retake. Retakes are chargeable, if you are outside of your course end date but re-take information prices will be sent to you should you require them.