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Original poster

DD turned down for re-doing A Level

33 replies

FarawayTreeFolk · 29/08/2019 18:22

DD has recently got her A Level results. She didn't do well enough to get to the Uni she wanted, so asked her College is she could redo the second year of the course and resit next year.

The College said they are happy for her to do a resit, but felt that with her C grade, she didn't really need to come into College to do the second year of the course again. They said she is "Over qualified" for redoing the A-Level. They said she can come in and join revision sessions at the end of the year to help get ready for the retake in 2020.

DD is upset as she wonders if they have an ulterior motive for turning her down for redoing the year.

Is this normal practice for students to be refused for redoing an A Level if they are believed to have performed relatively well in the first sitting? Any advice would be welcomed to try and make sense of it.

OP posts:
C0untDucku1a · 29/08/2019 18:23

They wont get funding for her

But also, will the uni she wants accept a resit grade?

UrsulaPandress · 29/08/2019 18:24

What is the subject? And what would she do with the rest of her time?

mrsprice84 · 29/08/2019 18:28

My guess is that this will probably be down to funding as the College won't receive any for your daughter as she 'passed' her A Levels and has obtained a level 3 qualification. (They get funding for students who do not have level 3 quals).

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AmIThough · 29/08/2019 18:34

Yeah she passed so they won't get funding for her to retake

Newgirls · 29/08/2019 18:37

Around here they wouldn’t take them back into college and they go to the private college for one term to retake

Original poster
FarawayTreeFolk · 29/08/2019 18:38

Thank you all! Looks like it is a funding issue then.

UrsulaPandress That subject is Statistical Maths that she got a C in. She is going to spend the year redoing Stat Maths and doing a distance Learning Maths A-Level with the National Extension College. She is also talking about getting a part time job.

OP posts:
areyoubeingserviced · 29/08/2019 18:53

Are then any evening classes she could attend while she is working?
When she starts part time work she could hire a tutor to help with exam papers/technique.

Original poster
FarawayTreeFolk · 29/08/2019 19:46

"Newgirls" Private College for a term won't be affordable for us at the moment, but it is a great suggestion and would certainly work well. I think that her College will allow her to attend the last term free of charge, which is a bonus.

areyoubeingserviced I will look into the idea of evening classes. I suspect that as Statistical Maths is an unusual subject, there probably won't' be any for this subject.

Hiring a tutor is a good suggestion and we will definitely pursue this.

Thank you all for all of your input!

OP posts:
smartiecake · 29/08/2019 19:51

Does she want to go to Uni? Can she do the course she wants with a foundation year? Would this be a better option? What if she doesn't get a higher grade?

Postmanbear · 29/08/2019 20:01

I work at a school sixth form and we frequently let students do this. However she would have to enrol as a full time student so would need to be taking three subjects. You can get funding for three years so she has one year left. If the college won’t let her in then have a look at sixth forms attached to a school.

titchy · 29/08/2019 20:12

A better option could well be a foundation year at a university. Then use that to start on the course she wants. Maths and Stats A levels may not both be counted as too similar.

What is she aiming for? It's an unusual path for someone with middling A level grades.

Original poster
FarawayTreeFolk · 29/08/2019 20:49

She wants to do Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science at Uni. She got an A in Electronics and B in Computer Science, so did better in the other two A-Levels.

I will look to see if any local Sixth Forms do Stat Maths. That is a very good idea. I will also investigate the possibility of a degree with a foundation year. That's another good suggestion. Thank you!

OP posts:
titchy · 29/08/2019 21:27

Maths rather than stats would be far better for CS. Why didn't she do Maths at college?

If you and she are very quick she could be on a foundation year to start next month - but you've obviously left it very late for some reason so many places will have gone.

Original poster
FarawayTreeFolk · 29/08/2019 22:03

Titchy She wanted a Gap year, so always planned to start Uni in 2020. She wanted to do Maths A - Level, but didn't get a high enough grade at GCSE, so College suggested that it would be better to do Statistical Maths instead. She got grade 6 at Maths GCSE.
She wasn't really focussed on academic work when she did GCSEs or even in the first year of A-Levels. In fact, until the second year of A-Level and she did no work/revision at all outside the classroom , even for the GCSE exams. She started to knuckle down in the last two terms of the second year of A-Level when realised that it would make a big difference to results.
Because she has now had a change of attitude and is prepared to do the work needed, I feel that she would have a good chance of doing well at Maths A-Level. I think that now she is prepared to put the work in, she has a good chance of success.

OP posts:
titchy · 29/08/2019 22:22

Fair enough. If she's really motivated now I'd suggest spending the time doing Maths rather than re-doing Stats then. It's the Pure Maths they do in Maths A level which is really important for CS at higher ranked universities, obviously stats doesn't include that.

If she is happy applying for a lower ranked uni place she'll probably get unconditional offers if she applied this Autumn. One with a placement year may well be better preparation for work than a higher ranking place anyway. One to think about!

YanTanTethera01 · 30/08/2019 00:40

The college will get funding until she's 19. So, if she's just doing the final year again, I can't see the problem unless she has a very early birthday. DD going back to re-take classes in 2 out of 3 subjects to get into uni of choice but will also self-study to re-sit the 3rd subject and take the exam again subject to doing well in the mock.

Original poster
FarawayTreeFolk · 30/08/2019 05:30

Twitchy The idea of a placement year is good.

YanTanTethera01 D is 19 in November. Does funding stop dead on their 19th birthday?

OP posts:
Tigerwhocamefortea · 30/08/2019 05:43

Maths is a very difficult A-level and with only a 6 at GCSE I would avoid it.

I would get her to resist the stats course but also choose another A-level to do as a distant learning course so that she has another chance of getting a higher grade in something else. Plenty of work experience in the field during the next year will help her chances of getting in too.

bigvig · 30/08/2019 07:13

Colleges get funding until 19 but don't get funding if a student has passed A levels and then retake them. The college is being generous offering access to revision lessons etc most don't.

smartiecake · 30/08/2019 07:29

She would get funding for one more academic year of FE. Your big problem is that A levels are now a 2 year linear course. Its not AS and A2 any more. Lots of places may not let her resit unless you pay privately and she won't be able to do a whole new A level in one year. Get onto UCAS and look at degrees with a foundation year and see if there are any she could apply to

titchy · 30/08/2019 08:07

She would get funding for one more academic year of FE.

No she wouldn't. Although kids are funded for three FE years, that's only where they don't achieve a full Level 3 qualification. The dd in question has achieved that and her FE funding has finished.

I still think applying this Autumn for either lower ranked CS, or higher ranked with FY is a better route than redoing stats which isn't much use in CS.

achangeisgood · 30/08/2019 08:11

I'd find a foundation year somewhere locally ,then she can either stay or move to another uni course.

Iamnotamom · 30/08/2019 08:52

Last year I got my A-Levels and didn't get high enough in Stats to get into the university I wanted, so I resat on my own this year after studying at home and got into university. I wasn't able to get a tutor but I'd definitely recommend you get your daughter one.

Drdarko · 30/08/2019 15:01

I teach maths and stats. Go through clearing and find a university course that will accept her. I tend to find pupils who resit a year later end up waisting a year.

Original poster
FarawayTreeFolk · 30/08/2019 16:22

Thanks again for your posts. DD was going for a gap year in any case as doesn't feel ready for starting this year. I think based on what you have all said, she will apply in January and see if she gets offers for 2020. York is preferred option at present. Then if she gets no offer from York, she can go through Clearing. If she does get A Level Mathematics via the NEC (distance learning) then it should help things along hopefully. Ultimately, if doesn't get into York, there are other Unis she can get into for 2020 on basis is existing grades.
Thanks all for your input.

OP posts: