How Grace Completed Two A levels in One Year Through Distance Learning

Can You Complete Multiple Online Distance Learning A levels in One Year?

Choosing her A levels wasn’t just a matter of selecting the right subjects for Grace. It was also about choosing the right provider. One who could support how quickly she needed to complete her studies and achieve the grades she needed for university.

Grace’s university plans, which she discusses in Part 1 of her story, meant that she needed to complete two A level courses – English Language A level and English Literature A level – in one year. 

“As my academic timeline looked quite different from lots of other people, I had to complete two full two year courses in one year,” explains Grace.

At the same time as studying her A levels, Grace was continuing her career as a professional actor and performer. As she didn’t have a study schedule based on a traditional classroom setting and structured timetable, it was important to manage her own time and fit her study around her professional commitments.

Grace achieved a Grade B in both her English Language and English Literature A levels; securing a place at her first-choice university to study for a degree in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre.

She explains how the National Extension College’s (NEC) flexible distance learning online A levels helped her get there.

Creating a Flexible A level Study Routine as a Distance Learner

Grace’s professional life made following the same timetable every week unrealistic. As a professional actor since the age of 12, auditions can arrive with very little notice.

“(As a professional performer) Every aspect of my work is unpredictable and hinges on spontaneous, time-sensitive emails.” – Grace

Preparing for an audition might mean Grace needing to learn a script by heart, research and rehearse a role, record and edit an audition tape, or travel to an in-person audition anywhere in the country.

She needed to be able to fit her study around these commitments.

Tracking Grace’s A level Progress Using NEC’s Online Course Structure

NEC’s online courses are designed for learners who need to study flexibly and to fit their learning around their lifestyle and other commitments.

“The course materials being downloadable made it perfect for studying on the go, during my commutes to London for training.” – Grace

Adding:

“The system being clean, clear and streamlined in a vertical timeline made it easy to track where I was, as well as being able to mark my progress (which) was rewarding and allowed me peace of mind and to have a clear head so I always knew what I had covered.” – Grace

Being able to fit her study around other commitments, and to even study on the move to training or auditions, meant Grace felt in control of her own learning.

“The unpressurised system for assignments truly made me feel like my studies were in my own hands, and that I could take the course at my pace, as and when I needed and deliver my best without stressing about deadlines. It really was a life saver!” – Grace

Preparing for Exams: Building Revision Into Grace’s A level Study

With her tight study schedule, Grace found the fact that NEC’s online courses don’t leave all the revision until the end of the course a particular benefit. Regular quizzes at the end of each section ensured she had a good grasp of a topic before moving on.

“The quizzes at the end of each section were great. That revision early on really helped test me continuously, so that before I had even begun to make flashcards I had drilled them in and had them refreshed before embarking on an assignment.” – Grace

The quizzes that form part of NEC’s course materials ensured that retrieval of what she had learnt became part of Grace’s study routine; rather than something that only happened immediately before her exams.

Using Example Answers to Learn A level Exam Techniques

The end-of-section quizzes are just part of the way that NEC’s online A level courses prepare students for their exams. 

Grace also needed to understand how to turn her learning into structured answers that would meet what was required in her A level English Language and A level English Literature exams. Having examples throughout the course ensured Grace developed a sense of how to structure her answers to exam questions.

“I adored the dissections of example answers and the continuous reference to mark schemes throughout the course. Having clear, direct examples constantly as you are studying kept me on track for what my responses should look like in exams and helped me build the rhythm and tone that was required in my writer’s voice.” – Grace

Those examples became useful even when she found herself stuck during an exam question.

“Even during exam questions, if I was stuck, I found myself referring back to sentence structures or individual words which could get the ball rolling on what I was trying to say or what I really wanted to talk about.” – Grace

Why Supportive Tutors are Important for Distance Learners

Although she was studying independently, having help available when she needed it was important to Grace who says the support provided by her NEC tutors was one of the things that her final A level grades were hinged upon.

“As a remote student working from home, that connection and feedback from tutors was truly what my grades hinged upon, especially when I thought that what I had done was exactly what I needed and my marks came back to tell me otherwise.” – Grace

When her assignments came back with a lower mark than she’d expected, the tutors’ expert feedback was particularly valuable and helpful. 

“The tutors were able to take me through, explain to me – often doing so multiple times at my request – and break down what I needed to do to improve.”

“Without that feedback, if the system was merely a receipt of numbers, I am certain I never would have achieved my final grades.” – Grace

Grace’s Experience of Completing Two Online A levels in One Year

Completing two A levels in one year meant that the responsiveness of her tutors was really important to Grace.

“The incredibly diligent and hard-working tutors were able to give me detailed and thorough feedback within a day of my sending my assignments, so I could progress with my work accurately and confidently as soon as possible.” – Grace

Due to fitting her studies around her work as an actor and performer, Grace found that questions she had about her coursework would happen at irregular times, meaning having tutors on hand to reach out to, and who responded in a timely manner was invaluable.  

“As a performer, my professional work and studies outside of A level meant my learning schedule was quite irregular, so it was invaluable to know that I had tutors on hand that I could really reach out to, and receive answers without worrying when I might hear back.” – Grace

Her tutors, says Grace, “saved me more than once” when last-minute questions arose.

“The compassion and flexibility of the tutors to extend deadlines at times was invaluable as a remote student.”

“One of the biggest reasons many choose to study at home is the ability to feel you can work at your own pace whenever you need to – that support is what I was given through the NEC.” – Grace

The flexibility and support that allowed Grace to work at her own pace didn’t remove the need for commitment or hard work to gain the A level grades she needed for university. 

But the flexibility did give her the peace of mind that she could rearrange her schedule to keep her studies on track if the sudden and unpredictable demands of a professional performer meant a change of plans.

Completing English Language and English Literature NEAs as a Distance Learner

Grace’s A levels in English Language and English Literature both included Non-Exam Assessment (NEA). The NEA gives students the opportunity to undertake independent, research-led study on topics and texts that interest them and accounts for 20% of their overall A level result. 

Grace’s NEA results were good as she achieved

• A level English Language NEA: 82/100
• A level English Literature NEA: 54/75

Alongside her final examinations, those results contributed to her achieving a Grade B in both A level English Language and A level English Literature.

“The courses at NEC have enabled me to take control of my own path and not be left behind and lose out on opportunities simply because of a timeline; while also not forfeiting my passions and work.” – Grace

Grace’s Advice for Distance Learning Students

Having completed two A levels in a year, what would Grace say to anyone considering online distance learning as a route to gaining the qualifications they need for their next steps?

“Go for it!”

“I would say wholeheartedly that if you have the opportunity then it is a fabulous resource, whether you are looking for qualifications or want to explore a new subject. The NEC is a supportive and expansive learning hub.” – Grace

Her advice is to make full use of support available and to be sure to ask questions whenever something doesn’t make sense.

“My advice would be to keep in good contact with your tutor throughout your course. They are so friendly and want you to achieve your best, especially if you do not understand something or are unsure.”

“Their expertise is wonderful. Sometimes just a simple rephrasing of something you’re struggling on is all you need to unlock a whole new concept.” – Grace

What Would Grace Change About Her Distance Learning Experience with NEC?

Grace describes herself as “extremely happy” with the service she received from NEC and says she would “most definitely” consider studying another course.

But there is one thing she would have valued more of, “optional, in-depth live webinars from the tutors, even before revision time”.

Distance learning worked extremely well for Grace, and enabled her to achieve her goals, her way. She benefited from the independence and flexibility of online distance learning. But hearing what she would have liked more of is important – her comment demonstrates the value she placed on the opportunities she had for interaction with her subject specialist tutors.

Would Grace Study With NEC Again?

That’s an emphatic ‘yes’. 

“NEC has been more than perfect for my studies throughout all my changing circumstances, goals, ambitions, moods and further learning.”

“The course materials have been extremely thorough, insightful and introduced me to a vast range of other studies and interests such as journalism that I never would have considered before.” – Grace

As a result of these new interests, journalism is something Grace is now looking into pursuing alongside her career as a performer.

There were, says Grace, “many highs and lows” during the year. But importantly, completing her A levels has succeeded in extending her opportunities and enabled her to progress to her first-choice university Urdang, part of, City St George’s, University of London, to study Professional Dance and Musical Theatre.

Good luck to Grace in the next step on her journey.

Looking to Gain an A level in One Year?

Completing her A levels in a year required considerable commitment from Grace, and may not be for all learners.

But, if like Grace, you are looking to fast track your learning, the flexible approach of completing A levels via distance learning that you can fit around your existing commitments could be the answer. 

NEC’s standard online A levels combine flexible independent study with structured course materials, regular assignments and support from specialist subject tutors, enabling you to enrol at any time and extend your opportunities.

If you are looking for more structured support, with regular live seminars, and a virtual shared Common Room – allowing you to interact with your fellow students and tutors – we also offer Structured Fast Track A levels in selected subjects, and available to enrol on between May and October.  

An A level in One Year Not for you? Don’t worry, we’ve still got you covered

You can enrol on our standard online A levels at any time and start studying. 

You set your study timetable to suit you and we’ll be here to support you. 

The suggested completion time for a full A level qualification in most subjects is 250-300 hours. A level Maths has a longer estimate of approximately 300-360 hours.  

Speak to our friendly Course Advice Team who will be happy to help you find the right course for you.

Read Part 1 of Grace’s NEC Story

Discover Grace’s journey from home education to university.

In part 1 of her story, Grace shares how she progressed from being home educated, to studying A levels from home and securing a place at university to study Professional Dance and Musical Theatre. All whilst working as a professional actor and performer.

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