Will I be able to apply for a college in the UK with a Polish qualification

Hi there.

I'm 15 and have a very confusing life. I went a year to a polish school in Ukraine, then 3 years to a school in London, then 2 years in Ukraine, again 2 years in London where i started my gcses and now its been 6 months since I'm in Poland. Although I hardly know the language I somehow seem to catch up and just have the most problems with polish and history (2 subjects which i don't plan to have anything in common with in the future) So apart from that i seem to be doing fine, I'm planning to go to college in the UK since I have no intentions of staying here. And I'm just wondering if I'll be able to get into a decent college (i.e Leeds City College) with polish qualifications (Świadectwo ukończenia gimnazjum). Will I have to take an English GCSE?

I shouldn't imagine you would have any problem as long as you get your Matura. However despite your years spent in England you may have to do one of the standard ESOL exams so that you have a certificate of proficiency in English. Most colleges require that of international students. Also you may have to satisfy other requirements specific to the degree you want to take, for example if it's a science degree, you'd need to have those subjects to the same level as A level. As you have a particular college in mind you should go to their website and they probably have a section for prospective international students. If you can't find the information you want, send them an email. You've already had an amazing variety of experience, you should start to write down some of your memories while they're still fresh and if you don't keep a diary already, start now! Good luck Sally!

Just thought of something important. Don't forget to check out the situation about fees or eligibility for grants/student loans.

You will need to convince your College that you can study 'A' levels. Geneally colleges ask for good GCSE (they may accept your swiadectwo gimnazjalne) if the results are such that they would normally accept you as a student. But chances are that you will need to take the GCSE and then after 16 you would study A levels.

Well Sally, I took a look at Leeds City College website because it annoys me, the way people on this forum answer queries with a lot of speculation instead of facts. LCC say that they assess all applications from international students individually, for both your English skills and your educational qualifications. They will take into account your grades in Matura and expect them to be high enough to indicate that you can study at the appropriate level; they generally expect you to have the IELTS English qualification or equivalent. For some courses you may need higher grades on the English test, than others.

Sally for the future, as a teacher, let me give you a piece of advice: whenever possible, instead of asking questions on forums, do the research yourself. All the information is out there and it just takes a bit of creative 'googling' to access it! People, often with the best intentions, can give you misleading or inaccurate information so go to a reliable source when you need facts.

Guys I am not doing matura!!!!

There are many 15/16 years like you Sally, they move from one country to another due to their parents job placements. The Świadectwo ukończenia gimnazjum results will not be enough to admit you to a UK university you will need to attend lyceum or enter a school that offers the IB program which is taught in English, if you are in Warsaw I can suggest a few schools here. The other alternative is to discuss with your parents about a UK boarding School to complete the IB program or A levels. Good luck.

Please read once again my post.

People are getting confused here. The 15 year old girl has NOT sat her Matura exam which is available in Poland for 18 year olds.
The asker (if she moves to England) will have to attend normal college offering A levels.
If the college does not accept her previous results from Poland, she will need to sit her GCSE and get sufficient marks for the college to accept her. Simples.

Only after gaining A levels can she even consider University.

and you could always sit at least say English and Maths as an external candidate, GCSE, or iGCSE, have a google, yahoo has some answers

Also, some colleges offer a one year GCSE course, which while it would delay you for a year, might be the way forward.

Or the IB program

Well Sally, if you're not doing Matura and your family intends to return to the UK in the next year or two, that's a different matter. Leeds City College which you want to attend is not a university; it's a college of further education, which has slightly lower entry requirements than a university. Many people start out by getting a qualification from such a college and then progress to university where they top-up to a degree. So, as I understand it, you want to know if your certificate of having completed Gymnasium will be enough. Well, once again, I would say, ask the college directly. If they consider it equivalent to GCSEs - you're sorted. If not, they'll advise you what to do.

an FE college does GCSE and A level courses, obviously, so your 'slightly lower' comment is a bit odd.
As OP has been educated in the UK, I am sure she has good knowledge of the system, unlike some people who in addition have evidently not even read her question properly.

I would imagine Sally is referring to doing a post-secondary school course. Courses offered in colleges of further education generally require only GCSEs, whilst university entrance requires A levels.

Nope, University requires access points,these can come from a weird selection of qualifications.

Basicaly OP, you speak and write English,will be living here with your family, you shouldnt have any problems getting into a UK college as lots depends on an informal interview rather than paper qualifications.