Guest Blogs

Passion and Academics: How Izzy Balances Full-time Musical Theatre Studies with Studying A level Physics

Earlier this year we introduced Izzy who was embarking on a journey to fast-track her A level Physics studies with NEC. In the second…

My Experience as a Marketing Intern with the National Extension College

As an intern with the marketing team at the National Extension College (NEC), I had the chance to dive into a variety of tasks,…

The economics of political parties

By Roy Bowden Roy, a tutor on NEC’s A level Economics explains how A level Economics students can use the manifestos of political parties…

Embarking on a journey: My decision to ‘Fast-Track’ A level Physics with NEC

We’re delighted to share the first in a series of guest posts by Izzy an NEC learner who is sharing her learning journey with…

Homeschooler Andrew’s experience of studying IGCSE Chemistry

Last year, we shared Andrew’s experience of how homeschooling was helping him to balance education and family commitments. We caught up with Andrew to…

National Extension College: Bringing education to you

For over 60 years, National Extension College (NEC) has worked towards the goal of transforming lives and opening up new educational possibilities for people…

Why study Classics as a teacher?

The Classical Association is offering five bursaries for state sector teachers to study A level Classical Civilisation flexibly with NEC. Bursary recipients will be…

The benefits of offering Classics to your students

The Classical Association is offering five bursaries for state sector teachers to study A level Classical Civilisation flexibly with NEC. Bursary recipients will be…

Is education the answer to social mobility? The contribution of the National Extension College.

All political parties talk loudly about their commitment to social mobility and levelling up, but progress over the last decades has been dire and…

Why study A level Geography?

To celebrate the launch of NEC’s online interactive A level Geography, we spoke to lead tutor Alison Leadbetter about why she loves the subject…

Other articles...

NEC’s Art Techniques course

This post was originally published on Friday, 4 May 2018 and updated on Friday, 29 March 2019. This week’s blog is written by Jane…

Getting it right on exam day

You’ve spent months preparing for exam day and it’s almost here. We’ve put together some top tips on how to approach these final hours…

Writing the perfect essay

The word ‘essay’ is also a verb meaning ‘to attempt’. It still retains something of that meaning in it’s commoner sense of ‘a piece…

Who are the science and technology stars of tomorrow?

For years employers have warned that the UK faces a skills shortage in many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) roles. For example, EngineeringUK…

Get ready for exam success

This post was originally published on Friday, 17 February 2017 and updated on Friday, 10 May 2019. It’s exam season! Maybe you have meticulously planned and…

‘Teachers shouldn’t confiscate pupils’ phones: they’re vital for learning.’

This week’s blogger is former NEC GCSE English student Naila Din. Now a freelance arts advisor and business coach, Naila turned to teaching as…

A lesson in innovation: Ángela Ruiz Robles

“Ángela Ruiz Robles with her Mechanical Encylopedia” by ITU Pictures / License: CC BY 2.0 As a distance learning provider, the NEC was founded on the…

What can we learn from Finland?

A Finnish Education No inspections, no tests, no uniforms and no fees. A valued teaching profession, shorter school days and starting school at seven….

Learning barriers facing prisoners

Today’s NEC Blog is written by Wendy Monaghan, who has considerable experience of working with distance learners in many different contexts and is currently at…

Ignite your love of learning this Valentine’s day

It’s Valentine’s day, so we thought we’d talk about our biggest love at NEC: learning! There are so many reasons to love learning, these…