Student Stories

Guest Blogs, Home Schooling, Student Stories

Homeschooler Andrew’s experience of studying IGCSE Chemistry

Last year, we shared Andrew’s experience of how homeschooling was helping him to balance education and family commitments. We caught up with Andrew to…
Home Schooling, Student Stories

Mia’s NEC experience and her pursuit of knowledge

There are a number of reasons why students decide that distance learning is a suitable form of education for them and their needs. In…
Home Schooling, Student Stories

Andrew’s experience: How homeschooling helps balance education and family commitments

Arguably, one of the biggest benefits to online and distance learning is the freedom it allows students to study at a time and place…
Student Stories

How homeschooling is helping Amelia work towards a medical career

You may have seen us share a recent story about the benefits of distance learning as a mature student. In this post we explore…
Student Stories

Distance learning as a mature student working abroad: Chun’s Experience

As distance learning has grown in popularity as an effective alternative to traditional learning, the benefits of this type of study for mature students…
Student Stories

Sharon’s positive experience of distance learning leads to an A grade in her English Language A level

There’s no denying that distance learning is rapidly gaining popularity as a successful educational platform outside of traditional schools and colleges. With this in…
Student Stories

Martin’s story: From no qualifications and working in a factory to a long academic journey and a professional career

With NEC celebrating our 60th birthday in 2023, we have been asking students for their stories of studying with NEC. Throughout our 60 years,…
Student Stories

Jeremy’s stepping stone to studying Natural Sciences at university

NEC has been working with our partners to provide a series of free webinars on our YouTube channel for anyone interested in studying a…
Lifelong Learning, Policy and Campaigns, Student Stories

Meet the recipients of the Russell Kane Scholarship

In July 2022 NEC launched the first annual Russell Kane Scholarship Programme.  Russell Kane, now a multi-award winning comedian, TV and radio presenter, actor,…
Student Stories

What happens when there aren’t enough students to fill a classroom?

Every summer there are dismaying articles about the decline in modern foreign languages in schools. Not to mention the drop in language learning during…
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Lifelong Learning, Our Courses

NEC’s top courses for classics connoisseurs

The crowdfunded return of Time Team proves support for our interest in hidden histories. Although there has always been an interest in ancient history,…
Student Stories

Changing keys: from jazz guitar at a conservatoire to an engineering degree at the University of Sheffield

Toby left school with a string of A*s at GCSE, but the experience of suffering a bereavement during his exams led him to abandon…
Student Stories

National Work Life Week 2021: finding time for professional development 

National Work Life Week, established by the not-for-profit Working Families, takes place every year between the 11th and 15th of October. It is a…
General

NEC moves house: bigger premises and a brighter future

The National Extension College (NEC) is delighted to announce its expansion and relocation to new premises in the village of Sawston, Cambridgeshire.  Since its…
Guest Blogs

National Poetry Day 2021: a whistle-stop tour through NEC English tutor Colin’s favourite poets and poems

Thursday, 7 October is National Poetry Day. To celebrate, we challenged NEC English tutor Colin to pick a favourite poem…  Phew! This is the…
Home Schooling

The STEM home educator’s guide to navigating Biology Week and World Space Week

STEM educational weeks are only marginally better than buses: you wait for one and then suddenly it’s both Biology Week and World Space Week…
Student Stories

Rediscovering self-belief through A level History of Art

When NEC student Rosa decided to give herself a second chance at further education, it was not for lack of success the first time…
General

Why study A level Economics?

In March 2016, we published a blog post outlining the benefits of studying Economics or Business at A level. The points we made remain…
General

Common misperceptions of distance learning

One common misperception is that distance learning students teach themselves, simply watching videos online. However, our courses, whilst flexible in the time that you…
General

How to stand out on LinkedIn as a student – NEC’s ten-step guide

Logging on to LinkedIn as a student can feel daunting. As the self-described “world’s largest professional network” with over 774 million members dotted across…
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