WHEN TO START AT UK TUTORIAL COLLEGE?

Singapore and Malaysian students can enter a UK tutorial college like Concord College on 3 possible entry dates, namely:

i. In September of Sec 4 or Form 5 for the 2-year A-levels course. Such students are usually Singapore's IP students. Increasingly, Many Sec 4 students doing O-levels are skipping their O-levels and joining this course. The advantages are such students will join university one year earlier than their Sec 4 cohorts and will study the normal full 2-year course.

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ii. In January after their O-levels and for the special 5-term or 1 1/2 year course. Such students will complete their Year 1 studies in 2 terms, i.e. from January to end June. They too will start university 1 year earlier than their Sec 4 or Form 5 cohorts. The advantages are they will save one year and save one term's fees. But they must be strong students as they are compressing 3 terms' work into 2 terms. The College will however give them extra lessons and also will not let them take all the AS or Year 1 units at the end of their Year 1 studies. JC 1 students can join this course if they miss joining the previous year's September course.

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iii. Join in September during JC1. It is recommended that such students should stop their JC1 studies at the end of the second term in June, and spend the next 3 months doing job attachment, job shadowing or doing voluntary work Increasingly, university professors are looking for applicants with this sort of background. The advantages are that such students will do very well in their A-levels, especially for their A-levels Year 1 or AS exams, which are used by universities to gauge students' academic abilities, as they are revising their Year 1 work. They will also have the time to do job attachments. They do not lose out to their JC cohorts although they are re-starting theri A-levels Year 1. This is because they join a UK university immediately after their A-level studies whereas Singapore/Malaysian students waste 9 months after finishing their A-level studies waiting for the UK university to start in September.