Welcome to our functional skills page. Here you will find information about functional skills from entry level 1 all the way up to level 2.

The Levels

Math and English functional skills are accepted by universities if you have achieved the level 2 which is the GCSE equivalent qualification. There are 5 levels that you have to progress through to achieve level 2. These levels are entry level 1, entry level 2, entry level 3, level 1 and level 2.

Exam Boards

For the functional skills exam, there are different awarding bodies and exam boards that provide them. Some of the largest exam bodies there are Edexcel and City and Guilds. There are different functional skills courses that you can choose from however the curriculum that most exam boards use has been set by the government so there isn’t much difference between them all. Even though the government has set the curriculum, the City and Guilds functional skills level 2 qualifications are still the most popular every year.

The following questions have been asked previously about the functional skills qualifications and we thought answering them will be beneficial for you.

FAQs

What is a functional skills qualification?
The level 2 functional skills qualification will help the learn to achieve a GCSE equivalent qualification as well as improving their knowledge.

Is there any difference between functional skills and GCSE?
There are not many big differences between GCSE and functional skills but one that impacts what exam people choose to take is the amount of contents the GCSE exam has compared to functional skills.

Is functional skills easier than GCSE?
Everyone has a different opinion on which one is so if you prefer less content and questions that you can relate to then functional skills might be easier for you.

How long will it take until I have completed the functional skills qualification?
Every learner completes the functional skills qualifications at different times so there isn’t a set length that it takes to complete it. A programme and customised for each person.

Can functional skills qualification get me a Job?
This qualification is recognized by employers so yes you can.

What is the pass mark that I need to achieve for the functional skills exams?
The pass mark varies since some of the papers are more difficult but on average it’s between 50-60% but that doesn’t mean it won’t change.

Is there the option to get a free functional skills exam?
If you don’t get funding, MME is the cheapest exam provider especially if you want to sit the online English functional skills exams. But there is funding for some people but you have to fit the criteria that the government has set. If you don’t fit the criteria and want to know if there is other routes that you can take then you can apply through apprenticeships programmes to try and get funding.

Am I able to take an online functional skills maths level 2 exam?
Yes there is an online maths functional skills level 2 exams and MME is one of the suppliers for it.