A-levels or other options?

[Effjas]

For context when I was 15 I got very ill ( nothing stopping me from getting a class 1 medical as I can see the requirements on the CAA website) this meant that I never did my GCSEs but I got statements of recognition for all of them. I had to take a few years to fully recover and recently tried to start just one A-level fully online and after starting I realised I am still not fully fit enough and had to stop studding for now. During the time I’ve been off, I’ve used it to connect with pilots on LinkedIn and learn more about managing fatigue and looking different flight schools. I’ve also been figuring out what to do next as if I wanted to do an A-level I’d have to wait until next year. But the doctor just told me that there is a brand new drug that will completely sort out all my illness forever and I’ve just started it.

One positive is that the place I live has a lot of aviation opportunities plenty of work experience, ground jobs, and a very tight-knit aviation community so Im completely lost on what do to next on one had I don’t want to wait a year and do a A-level that Im not really passionate about but if I just get stuck in and start my ppl and get a dispatch or ground crew work I fear that not having that exam experience and a would really negatively impact my ATPL score and when trying to get a job later not having A-levels might be a massive hindrance. Any advice or if anyone knew of a L3 aviation course or some-sort of equivalent that has accommodation nearby as I am a english speaker with Brittish citizenship but I don't live in the UK it would be greatly appreciated.

[VariablePitchP]

Originally Posted by Effjas

For context when I was 15 I got very ill ( nothing stopping me from getting a class 1 medical as I can see the requirements on the CAA website) this meant that I never did my GCSEs but I got statements of recognition for all of them. I had to take a few years to fully recover and recently tried to start just one A-level fully online and after starting I realised I am still not fully fit enough and had to stop studding for now. During the time I’ve been off, I’ve used it to connect with pilots on LinkedIn and learn more about managing fatigue and looking different flight schools. I’ve also been figuring out what to do next as if I wanted to do an A-level I’d have to wait until next year. But the doctor just told me that there is a brand new drug that will completely sort out all my illness forever and I’ve just started it.

One positive is that the place I live has a lot of aviation opportunities plenty of work experience, ground jobs, and a very tight-knit aviation community so Im completely lost on what do to next on one had I don’t want to wait a year and do a A-level that Im not really passionate about but if I just get stuck in and start my ppl and get a dispatch or ground crew work I fear that not having that exam experience and a would really negatively impact my ATPL score and when trying to get a job later not having A-levels might be a massive hindrance. Any advice or if anyone knew of a L3 aviation course or some-sort of equivalent that has accommodation nearby as I am a english speaker with Brittish citizenship but I don't live in the UK it would be greatly appreciated.

Quite a few moving parts here and questions worth asking of you. Mainly…

• Do you intend to work in the uk if you’re not flying, or would you only come back to be a pilot?
• Do you have, or have access to, £100K for training?

I’d suggest GCSEs are absolutely something worth doing. If you want a cadet scheme you need GCSEs including English and Maths, that’s pretty much a given. A Levels, not really required anymore for anything. And they’re harder to get, obviously!
If you’ve got £100K and can just pay for the training then great, no qualifications required. You do still need a job though and the lack of GCSEs can’t help but be a hindrance, there is always competition for cadet level jobs.

I don’t see why it’d impact your ATPLs all that much. The exam is the exam. If the answer is C, click C. If the answer is B, don’t click C. The study side of it i would agree, you need to have the learning strategies in place. So firing out some GCSEs as fast as humanly possible may not be a bad idea.

Accommodation wise, don’t just go down the route of pilot sausage factory for a place to live. You can just rent a place for 18 months and go modular, saving many £s.

[Effjas]

Thank you so much for replying I do have equivelant to GCSEs i did all the studying for them i just got ill a few weeks before the actual exams but i did the mock exams and passed all them but since I didn't do the exams they cant give me real GCSEs but statements of recognition basicly saying if he did the exams he would get this grade. Ive always wanted to move off island to the uk or eu ( I am a dual citizen) so I would be completely fine with moving. at the moment I have some savings and if i work for even a few months part time at my local airport I can get to the point where i can afford the PPL,night rating,ATPL costs and hour building but after that I would have to take a loan luckily there are loads of local career development type loans with good interest rates that can cover everything after the CPL.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I think that if I were you I'd go back to school or college and get GCSEs and A-levels, because it's far and away the best and cheapest way to get that level of education. In parallel try to get your fitness back and start learning to fly - a PPL being the obvious route if it's available to you locally.

The foundations you do now, will serve you well for the rest of your life, and skipping them is likely to disadvantage you in the future.

L3 have got out of the basic flying training game, but there are plenty of companies in the space, both modular and integrated (loads on Pprune and elsewhere about the differences) who will train you, and it's possible to come to the UK, stay somewhere near a school and just get on with it. That in itself shouldn't be a concern, but my advice would be not to rush.

G