The Online Astronomy Society Academy
GCSE Astronomy By Distance Learning 2015 / 2016
What is the GCSE? The GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education. It is the same qualifcation as many students study at school in subjects such as English, Maths, Physics, etc. What we offer is an online program where students, once enrolled are able to login to what we call a VLE, or Virtual Learning Environment.
Once logged in, students are presented with their class room. Within which they have their study planner which they are advised to follow. This outlines the course book along with recommended pages they should read. Don’t worry, we only recommend a min of 4 hours a week study time so way less than conventional school subjects. No formal classes to attend either. Students also have access to a digital copy of the book GCSE Astronomy by Nigel Marshall, who is himself one of our tutors!. Each student has an assigned tutor and a tutor group (forum) they will need to access regularly to gain updates regarding project dates (we’ll get to that shortly) and the final exam.
Screen shot of the classroom. Forums can be seen above along with course texts.
As you progress through the course (getting on for around Christmas in same year as enrolling) you will commence your project.
Projects
There are two projects which must be completed by the student. They are a) Aided b) Un aided a) Aided This project involves an Astronomy project which requires use of a telescope to undertake. It can involve anything from monitoring Jupiters moons, or work regarding our own Moon. Students collect the information and data in their own time but are required to write it up in the presence of their tutor or desigated invigilator. The outcome of this will decide if whether or not we can recommend the student should or can be entered for the final exam or not. b) Unaided Carried out WITHOUT a telescope or optical device Students have made pinhole cameras to study the Sun and such like with this. The project is completed in the run up to Easter BOTH projects need to be completed for the student to be entered for their final exam Time of the supervised writeups is reasonably flexible and is agreed between tutor and student. The tutor will look to arrange a time where their whole group is available. Once both projects are completed, it is then time to revise for the exam where the tutor might recommend tutorial meetups to offer last minute advice and guidance. The student is then advised of the examination date and venue. Cost of exam and centre fee’s are included in the price So what happens after? Subject to the student obtaining the required grade, they will be awared the GCSE in Astronomy! A formal qualification which can be added to the CV!
So why study for the online GCSE Astronomy course with OASA? Well several reasons a) We are one of the few online institutions to offer it at a price to include exams and centre fees, MANY centres expect you to seek your own b) We have a good passrate, 70% got A grades last year with noone below a C c) We are very well supported in our staff as we are comprised of Professional Astronomers and experienced amateurs. Nigel Marshall as mentioned earlier is a senior examiner for Edexcel and is on our staff! d) Our fee includes tuition*, materials (including book), exam, and centre fee’s** d) We are passionate about what we do *Tuition is offered online via the VLE, email, or Skype. Face to face meetings might carry a further cost (£180 will only stretch so far!)
**Centre and examination fees might vary from region to region, as such students might have to pay a bit extra to cover. By and large though its generally enough
Where to from here? We hope we have answered all of your questions with this brochure, although naturally more may arise. If we do not cover your area as yet it is because we do not have a tutor or an examination centre in your area What if i do not want to take any exams? Many people just want the joy of studying without the pressure of exams. Not a problem. Just complete the two projects to the required standard. Sit an ex GCSE Astronomy paper with the tutor, pass that (tutor will mark it). You will be eligable for the Online Astronomy Society Certificate of Astronomy. Get a nice certificate emailed for you to print off. Or we can arrange it at an extra charge. The boring bit Before a students enrollment is accepted they will be required to sign and return our terms and conditions. These are nothing too heavy but just service to advise the student where they stand and what they can expect from the academy. We don’t want any unpleasant suprises and while we pride ourselves on being a “no hidden charges” institution, we also want the student to be fully aware of what they can expect from us. Which areas do we cover? At present we cover much of the North, Northwest of England including Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and North Yorkshire East Midlands, Including Northampton, Oxford (commutable), Milton Keynes, Leicester and Coventry Cardiff Dorset (if unsure, please email to confirm we can cover your area).
Process of how things work
Want to join us? We are always looking for quality GCSE Astronomy tutors, if you are interested in becoming one, please contact OASAcademy@gmail.com