A level resits

[Harryyy]

I have just received my results and achieved BBC and i am planning to resit.

On the 16th of January 2024 my grandma passed away, who i was very close to, and it took a toll on my revision & motivation for around 2 months. (It wasn't the sole reason for my poor grades but definitely a factor). Can i use this as extenuating circumstances as a reason for resitting?

I am asking because it wasn't during exam period so don't know if its justifiable. And the universities i am planning to apply for don't usually accept resits unless their is extenuating circumstances.

If so, will they need death certificates for evidence? Thanks for the help.

Congratulations on your A level results- you should be really proud!
I'm afraid that I don't know much about resits- but I don't think that you need any justification at all- it's ok to just want to resit.
What are you planning next- moving on from the A level? Do you need to resit them?
Sorry about your grandmother by the way.

Congratulations, those are good grades. You're obviously keen to go to a particular university/degree route and need higher grades to go there, so you would be wise to talk to their admissions tutors and find out whether your circumstances would be considered. You might even be able to get them to state what you need to acheive to be accepted next time around.
Do also talk to your college/school about this. It is a big decision and there might be another way in (foundation year, related first degree and then transferring). HTH and good luck

Congratulations! BBC are solid grades and should give you a wide choice of courses. It sounds like you had your heart set on a particular course, but have you looked at clearing to see if anything appropriate is already available? Often the entry requirements are lower through clearing than originally published.

If you decide to resit, you’d need to speak to your sixth form or college, presumably to ask to resit Year 13? Some will let you do it; others won’t. I wouldn’t suggest trying a different setting; the courses are usually different (or teach different units, or in a different order).

When you apply through UCAS, there is a section of the reference that asks about extenuating circumstances. If you reapply for next year, ask whoever writes the reference to explain your situation and why you resat.

I’m sorry about your grandmother

BBC are great grades, well done!

In terms of resitting, the decision as to whether you can is up to your Sixth Form or College. They may not allow it as you have a full complement of Level 3 qualifications, it’s a funding thing. They may ask you to pay, but it’s up to them, and their policies whether they would take your extenuating circumstances into play.

For universities, policies will vary around accepting resits, and how much they’d consider extenuating circumstances when deciding how flexible to be with this policy. So you would need to contact the ones you’re interested in to get their take.

I can tell you that at my institution, unless there was a lot more to it (documented mental health issues after her death, or you’d lived with her and had to move mid A Levels after her death for example), we wouldn’t be able to take it into account.

Your energy would probably be better placed trying to find an alternative plan to your goals - because also there is no guarantee of improvement on resit! If you want to tell us abit more about your plans there are lots of posters who could give you really good advice.

These really aren't poor results. What were you predicted?
What university/courses did you apply for?
Really have a good think about whether you want to go through the stress of resits and reapplying to uni or trying to get a place through clearing now?
What do your school think?

There are lots of options here. If you tell us more, mn is very good at advising.

Honestly, those are good grades and will open doors to many good unis, courses and jobs. You probably won't get funding to resit. Did school apply for special circumstances at the time, although it does not get you much tolerance. What do you hope to do next?

As a teacher I would never recommend a resit with those grades. They are good enough for many Russell group unis. If you are thinking about Oxbridge, I doubt you will jump from those grades to the A*s you need. I am sorry your granmother passed away, and no offence but Oxbridge calibre students would probably be expected to get As anyway and I know they dont like resits. Please dont wasye a year chasing those colleges, they are not worth it. IMHO

What russell group unis accept BBC?

It depends which course - can you say what you’re interested in?

Economics

there were a few in Clearing that went that low, so you could wait for clearing next year. Otherwise, I would imagine most would take resits for economics (the RG i work at would) if your college will allow you to resit.

But, there are plenty of great unis that would take you for economics at BBC, is there a reason you wouldn’t consider this?

There are still courses today with vacancies for Economics at BBC. Aston, Birkbeck, Aberystwyth… literally hundreds of options…

In the kindest possible way I have had students we put in for extenuating circumstances for exams, and there are strict criteria and a maximum of 5% of the entire raw marks awarded. It's really tough and the exam boards are pretty unsympathetic.

For eg, I had a student whose sibling committed suicide in the January of Y13. He was awarded 2% as a death of a close relative needs to be recent (defined as less than 4 months) to achieve 3% extra marks.

I also had a student whose father died of cancer during his A level exams. He got 5%.

If you are looking at unis who only accept resits in extenuating circumstances then it is doubtful whether the death of a grandparent would count as 'extenuating'.

Have you checked with your school/ college that you can do resits? After you have completed your Alevels then your level 3 funding is finished, I don’t think there are exception once you have successfully finished the courses.

You might have to do resits as a private independent candidate studying at home, which is very hard and often doesn’t lead to improved grades.

Have a look in clearing and see if anything is there that suits you. Or take a gap year and apply with your grades in hand.