FAQs about A-level retakes
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What's the point of retaking A levels?
The main reason is to get onto a degree course which requires better grades than the ones you've got. Students often comment that pride is involved too: "I don't want to compromise my plans and I want to prove that my grade isn't a true reflection of what I can do".
When is retaking a good idea?
Retaking A levels has to be a serious option if you haven't got the grades for the course of your dreams, and you are confident you can improve on the results you've already got.
Do universities accept A-level retakes?
Yes, in almost all cases. A few will increase the standard offer, but most appreciate that students who retake are highly motivated and, because they have overcome disappointment, will work harder on the degree. Ring up the admissions officers for the degree courses you want, and ask them whether they would consider you with retakes. They should welcome your enquiry and give you an honest answer.
Will I improve my A-level grade?
Most students who resit A levels improve, and it's not uncommon for a student to get several grades higher. If you know why you didn't get the grade you wanted (for example, you were ill, or you didn't work hard enough, or you panicked during the exam) you can make sure that doesn't happen again when you retake. If your teachers tell you you've got the ability to do better, you probably will. Take examples of your work to a CIFE college to get a frank and independent view of its quality and potential.
Do I have to resit all the AS / A2 units?
No, you can just resit the units you most need to improve. The exam boards will recalculate your grade taking the best marks you have achieved for each unit, no matter when or how often those units were taken (so long as all the units came from the same exam specification). You might think it better to retake all the units anyway, but bear in mind that you'll still have to work hard to improve a unit you have already done well in. CIFE colleges have a lot of experience in helping students work out what to resit and what to leave.
When can I retake A level units?
There are two exam sessions each year, in January and in June. All AS and A2 units are set in June, but not all are set in January. Your school (and any CIFE college) should be able to tell you whether a particular unit is available in the January exam session. Before you ask, make sure you know the exam specification (a 'specification' consists of the name of the exam board, and the title and number of the exam subject), and the title and number of the exam units you want to find out about.
You may find it better to retake some units in January and some in June. That will depend on how many units you want to retake, when units are available, and how much improvement is needed in each. Get advice if you want to talk through the issues.
Where can I retake A levels?
Joining a CIFE college course specifically designed for retakers is likely to be a better option that just repeating your last year at school. In a new environment, with different teachers, you will see your work through fresh eyes and feel you are moving forward again. This is what CIFE colleges are all about.
What about entering for the exams?
If you join a retake course, the college providing it will deal with exam entries for you, but if you are studying on your own you will need somewhere to actually take the exams. You can't enter for the exams just by contacting the exam board: you must enter via a ‘recognised centre'. Your old school may be willing to enter you for the exam (but don't just assume they will!), and most CIFE colleges can help by entering you as a ‘private candidate'. Exam entries need to be made early, by late September in the case of January exams, and by mid February for the summer session. You may be able to enter later than this, but it becomes increasingly expensive.
What happens to my old A-level result when I resit?
When you finished taking all the units required by a specification, the best marks you got for each unit are 'cashed-in' (or 'aggregated') to give you an overall grade. Your old school will have requested that cash-in for you automatically. When you resit units and want to get a new and improved grade, you simply get the college you resat with to ask for a new cash-in.
When that happens, the exam board will issue you with a new grade based on the best results you've got for all the units taken , irrespective of when you took them. The new grade replaces your old grade without you having to do anything specific to decline it. This is a recent change - not so long ago you had to officially 'de-cash' your old grade before you could ask for a new one. Now you don't have to.
What's the difference between ‘legacy' and ‘new' A levels?
In all subjects except Maths, A-level syllabuses changed in 2008. Teaching the ‘new' AS-level syllabuses started in September 2008, and teaching the ‘new' A2 syllabuses in September 2009. Pre-2008 syllabuses, which are called ‘old' or ‘legacy' or ‘curriculum 2000' syllabuses (here we will call them ‘legacy'), have been phased out: summer 2009 was the last major session for ‘legacy' exams. Resitting ‘legacy' units is described in more detail below.
In Maths, ‘legacy' syllabuses will continue unchanged for the next few years.
How can I tell which sort I took?
If you completed A levels in June 2009 or before, you took a ‘legacy' syllabus. You can double-check this via the official syllabus number of the exams you sat: ‘legacy' units have different numbers from ‘new' units.
How does this affect resitting an A level in 2011?
If you took an A level in 2009 or earlier, in any subject other than Maths, you can't retake that same exam, though you can take a 'new' syllabus in the same subject - see below. In Maths the 'legacy' syllabuses carry on for a while yet.
All ‘new' AS and A2 unit exams will be set in June 2011. Some will also be set in January 2011. CIFE colleges can tell you exactly what is available in January 2011
Can I mix marks from ‘legacy' and ‘new' units?
No, unless it so happens that the ‘legacy' and ‘new' specifications for the unit are identical. This is very rarely the case and only the exam board can tell you if this is possible.
Can I take all the units for a ‘new' A level in 2011?
Yes you can, and this makes it possible to do a ‘new' syllabus A level from scratch in one year. This is your only option if you need to resit a ‘legacy' syllabus in June 2011. If all the units for your particular subject are available in January 2011 and the syllabus is pretty similar to the one you took, there's nothing (apart from the big workload) which says you can't resit in the winter. But get advice on this!
Is changing A-level syllabus difficult?
Changing syllabus for a January 2011 retake may not be realistic, but changing for summer 2011 is unlikely to be a major problem. Although some of the content may have changed, most of it is the same. The pattern of assessment may have changed too, but there's plenty of time to get used to that.
CIFE colleges can give you detailed advice on how much change you might face, and you may well find that a 'new' syllabus suits you better than the 'legacy' one did.