Hi everyone,

I’m going through IQAS for my ECA and I’m trying to see if anyone has had experience with this situation:

• I have 4 GCSEs at grade C (Religious Studies, Product Design, English Literature, Maths re-take).
• I also have 2 GCSEs at grade D (First Language English, Computing).
• Plus, I have BTEC Level 2 First Awards – one at Level 2 Distinction and one at Level 2 Pass (and one at Level 1 Pass, which I know won’t count).

IQAS’s guide says they want “5 GCSE passes” for Canadian High School Diploma equivalency. My question is:

Has anyone here ever had IQAS accept D grades as part of the 5 passes?

Or has anyone had BTEC Level 2 First Awards counted as equivalent to GCSE passes by IQAS?



Trying to figure out if my package is enough for “Comparable to Canadian High School Diploma” or if it’ll come back as “secondary school, incomplete.”



Any firsthand experiences would be hugely appreciated.



Thanks!

Grade D’s are a pass, so they should count, but how long were the BTEC courses? Because Canadian secondary education doesn’t finish until age 18 GCSE’s aren’t usually enough, but if you did your BTEC’s between ages 16-18 you might be ok.

Is this for a visa application or employment purposes? If the former, which visa route?

Thanks for the quick reply. The BTECs I did were the Level 1/2 First Awards in Applied Science, all taken between ages 14–16 alongside my GCSEs. Out of the three I got one Level 2 Distinction, one Level 2 Pass, and one Level 1 Pass.



So if IQAS treat the Level 2 ones as GCSE equivalents, plus my 4 C grades at GCSE, that should hopefully be enough. I was worried the D’s wouldn’t be counted at all, but good to know they might still be considered passes.



Appreciate your help!

If they were all done before age 16 they may not count as completing high school - as above, often unless you've done A Levels or some kind of education up to age 18, then it won't as Canadians are in high school until age 18.

What's it for, is it a visa application? I'm not asking out of nosiness, I'm asking because you may not need to do it at all depending on the visa route, so could save the hassle and cost. Obviously if it's for a job then it's a different thing entirely though.

[QUOTE=christmasoompa;13321744]If they were all done before age 16 they may not count as completing high school - as above, often unless you've done A Levels or some kind of education up to age 18, then it won't as Canadians are in high school until age 18.Yes, it’s for a visa application. I’m going through the Manitoba PNP stream, and for this route they require proof of Canadian high school equivalency. The only way to show that with UK qualifications is through an ECA. Both IQAS and WES state they look for the equivalent of 5 GCSE passes (C or above) to confirm Canadian secondary completion. I’ve got 4 plus some vocational, so I had to submit everything to see if IQAS will accept it as enough. Unfortunately there’s no way around it for this visa route

Interesting. While it’s true high school is until 18 in Canada, school starts at 5 years old in Canada vs 4 years old in the UK.

So I guess it’s just one year diff.

UK is from the term after the 5th birthday, although many parents choose to send their child earlier, so still 2 years difference for compulsory education.

You're right, there isn't. I was hoping you were doing the IEC visa or something instead (I was just guessing from your GCSE subjects that you were well under 35!).

Good luck.

Interesting, explains why they now require two additional years to bring it up to international standards.