turned ddown for a fast track cookery course

[dmax]

today i am very angry, i tried to enrole for a fast track intensive cookery course funded by government and , it was nvq level 2 and next year level 3 , i was turned down because i hadnt got a gcse in maths ! i left school with 3 gce,s 25 yrs ago but no maths, even though im a mature student 39 and have all kinds of different skills in engineering and city in guilds in various things. im very dissapointed today. i really wanted to do this course, it would of done loads for my self esteem and confidence and a change in career and something which i would of enjoyed. now my only option is start in september in a class with a lot of school leavers and i dont want that , the fast track was aimed at mature students

[redman41]

It is frustrating and disappointing when you have set your heart on a new career, but maybe it was not meant to be after all dmax ! What type of work have you done since leaving Education?
Other than working as a Chef, what type of work would be of interest in order to make a good Career out of it ? Everyone is good at something and if you concentrate on your strong points it may point you in a different direction.

[factor-fiction]

I have taught maths in secondary schools and sadly too many students don't see maths as relevant/important and don't realise until it's too late. So many careers require a reasonable grade C in maths. You may want to consider studying for it now.

[factor-fiction]

Sorry- sounded a bit blunt. I meant to wish you luck. You could always try appealing to the course provider

[dmax]

well i should have lied on my application, im gutted now, next time i will tell lies !!

[dothawkes31]

It was compulsory to take GCSE maths or an equivalent, what course did you take and what exam did you sit? It may have been an equivalent like a CSE as it used to be.

[dothawkes31]

have a look at this:
http://www.bath.ac.uk.../gcse_equiv_quals.pdf

[tamborine]

In my day - eons ago - everyone had to do Eng & Maths as first subjects for GCEs.

[factor-fiction]

Maths is relevant to cookery- e.g. being able to convert beween metric units, understanding ratio and proportion, being able to read scales
It's not too late to study maths GCSE or an equivalent Numeracy course now- it will be of use in whatever you do.