FAQs about A level retakes

We’re in the midst of big changes to A-level specifications and exams (see our article on new A-level exams), and the class of 2018 have taken most of their exams in the new linear A levels, but some in the old (= ‘legacy’) modular A levels. You probably know what sort of exams you took (and you might have sat a mixture of ‘legacy’ and ‘linear’ exams). If in doubt, look at the lists in our article on the new A level and GCSE exams.

You can retake any of the A levels sat in summer 2018, whether they were new linear, or old modular ones.  If you sat a modular A level this summer you can retake the same modular exam in summer 2019. If you sat a new linear A level, you can retake that too. If you want to retake an A level you took earlier than 2018 life is a bit more complicated: you may find you can only retake the subject in its new linear form (see more on this later).

You can only retake in the summer (January exams disappeared years ago), but you can retake just the modules you need to rather than having to redo the whole exam.

If your modular A level was in a subject being examined for the last time in summer 2018 (ie it is an ‘Other subject’ – see ‘new A-level and GCSE exams‘ article for a list of these) summer 2019 is the very last time any retake module papers will be set, and only retakers who took the full modular A level before can enter for the summer 2019 modular exams.

The exam boards will recalculate your modular A-level 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 retake and what to leave.

You are perfectly entitled to switch to a new linear exam for your retake if you want to, but you will of course have to take the entire linear exam in summer 2019.

If you took a new linear exam in summer 2018 you can retake it in summer 2019, but you have to retake the whole exam. The only exception to this is coursework, which you won’t be forced to redo – you can ask for your old coursework mark to be ‘carried forward’.

If it was a ‘Phase 1’ or a ‘Phase 2’A level subject  (see ‘new A-level and GCSE exams‘ article for a list of these) you can now only take the new linear A level in that subject. Your old module marks won’t count towards the linear exam, and you will need also to redo any non-exam components such as practical work. All other modular A levels will still be available in summer 2019 (but only if you sat the whole modular exam in the subject before), and you can carry forward module marks even if they are several years old.

The main reason is to get onto a degree course which requires better grades than the ones you’ve got. Going to university is expensive and it’s important to make sure that the money you have to pay out for three years of higher education gets you the best possible degree. Students often comment that pride is involved too: “I don’t want to compromise my plans and I want to prove that I’m better than the grade I got”.

Retaking A levels is 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. Our page on retake courses gives a detailed guide to how to work out whether retaking makes sense in your own case.

Changes in the rules let universities admit more students with high grades. If you can get those grades your prospects of getting a place at a very good university have never been better, and the benefits of retaking become greater.

Yes, in almost all cases. A few will increase their standard offer, but most appreciate that students who retake are highly motivated and, because they have overcome disappointment, will work harder on the degree.

Getting an offer as a retaker is tougher for very competitive courses – medicine for example, or law at Russell group universities. cife colleges can give you objective advice on what is and isn’t possible, and on how to submit an effective new UCAS application.

As a first step, ring up the admissions officers for the degree courses you want, and ask them whether they would consider you with retakes. Be ready to discuss why you missed the grades and why you know you can do better. They should welcome your enquiry and give you an honest answer.

Most students who retake A levels improve, and it’s not uncommon for a student to get several grades higher. Our page on retake courses goes through how to work out whether retaking will bring you better grades.

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.

There are pros and cons to asking for a remark (now called a ‘review of results’): you might upgrade, but you might go down as well, and even priority remarks take time. Visit our page on getting a remark of an A-level or GCSE exam for full details of how to decide whether to get a remark. You’ll also see how to get copies of your exam scripts. If you decide to retake it is definitely worthwhile doing this: the marked scripts will help you sort out what went wrong, which is the first step to improvement.

Joining a cife college course specifically designed for retakers is likely to be a better option that just repeating your last year at school. School is not an option at all if the subject you want to retake is a modular subject because the school’s final-year class will be studying the new linear A level. On a specific modular A-level retake course you can be sure of covering everything you need rather than just working at A2 units. Furthermore, in a new environment, with different teachers, you will see your work through fresh eyes and feel you are moving forward again. That is what cife colleges are all about.

If the exam you took was a linear one, you should find that a retake course will take you back through all parts of the linear exam, not just the second-year work.

It’s true that the exams are only available in May / June, but it’s entirely possible to take time out for a few months and then start studying in 2019. That will cost you less and enable you to enjoy some GAP year benefits, but you’ll be short of time to do the thorough overhaul needed for a substantial improvement. You will lose knowledge and study habits during the layoff, and getting back into study-mode will take at least a couple of weeks. Easter 2019 is likely to be too late to get back on track and make the improvements you want.

Each person’s case is different, and the pros and cons of retaking can be difficult to work out. cife colleges are happy to talk options through to help you map out your best strategy.

One thing is really clear: you need to come up with a plan as soon as possible after you get results. As mentioned below, UCAS applications need to be made well before Christmas 2018, even if you’re not starting study again until 2019.

If you join a cife college, 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 mid February 2019 for the summer session. You may be able to enter later than this, but it can get very expensive.

When you retake a linear exam you’ll get a new grade which is decided entirely by the marks you get in the retake exam – there’s no ‘carry forward the best mark’ option as there was for modular A levels. You can ask for internal asessment marks (eg practical endorsement grades) to be carried forward so you that you only have to redo the written exam papers when you retake a linear a level.

When you have finished taking all the units required by a subject specification, the best marks you got for each unit were ‘cashed-in’ (or ‘aggregated’) to give you an overall grade. Your old school will have requested that cash-in for you automatically. When you retake units and want to get a new and improved grade, you simply get the college you retake 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 rules about your best result for each module counting have not changed. The new A-level grade replaces your old one.

That depends if you sat a modular A level or a linear one. In modular A levels AS counts for 50% of the A-level grade,  so it makes sense to get the highest AS marks you can, especially given that AS exams are gnerally easier than the second year modular A2 exams. Retaking AS modules may well be a good idea in this case. Even so, you need to go through the ‘should I’ process described on our retake courses page. You will need to study for the AS retakes alongside the A2, and take the exams in the same summer session. That’s an extra load you need to be confident you can cope with.

In linear subjects, AS doesn’t count towards your A level result at all, so retaking it won’t help improve your eventual A-level grade. The new linear AS exams do count towards university entrance, but not if you’ve already got an A level in the same subject. All in all, the case for retaking linear AS exams is thus pretty difficult to justify.

If you have taken AS exams at the end of the first year, and the results are a mess you face a real struggle in upper sixth, and you may even find that your school insists you change your programme in ways you’re not happy with. In that case you might have to consider restarting the sixth-form, or changing to a college which will provide the extra support you need (see our page on final-year A-level entry to cife colleges).

To be effective your UCAS reference needs to cover your past, to explain why the grades you got were not the best you can do, and it needs to justify better grade predictions for the future. It may be that your old school can do all this for you, but the most effective reference is one in which your old school and your retake college co-operate in writing a new reference with information from them both. cife colleges are very experienced in facilitating this, and it’s certainly something to ask them about if you visit to discuss retakes. Check out our ‘Six top tips for an outstanding UCAS form‘ for more about references.

Obviously your new college can’t write a reference if it hasn’t taught you at all. This poses a particular problem for students who want take time out and start retake work at their new college sometime in 2019. Putting in a late UCAS form isn’t a good idea, so you will still need to apply for university in autumn 2018, using your old school for the reference. It’s vital to know that the reference they give will be supportive and that they are happy to predict the grades you need. Do discuss this with a cife college if you’re worried about it.

There’s no in-principle problem with taking a linear A level in one academic year, and there are quite a few subjects you can study from scratch alongside retakes. It’s difficult to do this in less than three terms though. For further details look at our information on one-year courses. Our pages on individual A level subjects includes information about taking a subject from scratch in one year

You can resit GCSE exams in November 2018, but only in English Language and Maths. If you want to retake any other GCSEs you will have to wait until summer 2019 to do so.

All GCSE subjects became linear years ago, so you will have to take the whole GCSE exam, not just the bits you need to improve. Re-submitting old coursework is possible, subject to conditions.

Just to complicate matters further, GCSE exams are also being changed to introduce new grading systems, less coursework etc (see our article on the new A-level and GCSE exams). The government has promised one last retake opportunity in a limited range of legacy GCSE specifications, which (except for Maths and English) will be in the summer following the last ‘legacy’ exam session..

Check out our page on GCSE courses for more information about GCSE retake courses.