Would this work for retaking A-levels (+coursework advice)?

[lindaandrews]

I want to retake my A-levels by sitting the exams at my old school but I want to teach myself privately and not go back to school for another year.

Is this likely to be possible (do you have any examples of this from your own personal experiences)?

I think this would be cheaper to do and would also mean I didn’t need to go back to school which I don’t want to do.

Do you have any advice for how I’d deal with A-level history coursework - ie if I could resubmit the same work from last year or if I could change it to make it better while using most of the same work? This is specifically for edexcel.

At our sixth form you couldn’t take exams if you didn’t do the course for a year.

You'd have to ask your school, it varies from place to place so no one can say what's possible in your case. The site below lists the various options...

www.studentcrowd.com/page/how-do-i-retake-my-a-levels

How Do I Resit My A-Levels?#
Enquire with your school to find out the process for resitting your A-Levels, you can choose to re-enroll and join classes for another year, or simply take the exam and revise in your own time.
The deadline for entries for summer exams is around February each year. Check with your school to find out when the deadline is for your year group.
Do I Have to Retake My A-Levels at College?#
Most students retake their A-Levels at the same college they completed their first set of exams in. This is because the process is much simpler, and can cost less.
You can privately retake your A-Levels, where you are not enrolled at college, but this requires you to be disciplined with study, and you may not receive further teaching before the exam. There are online tutors, but you will need to pay for the teaching, as well as the exam and entry fees.
What Options Do I Have For Retaking My A-Levels?#
You can retake your A-Levels in a number of ways:
At your current school, college or sixth form - this way you may have the choice to join lessons for part or the entire year, which could help you stay motivated to study
With an online private tutor - you can receive 1-2-1 lessons to prepare you for the exams, as well as being entered into a local school for exams as a private candidate
Private candidate entry - If you want to, you can study at home in your own time for the year, then enter as a private candidate in a local school for the exam

If you have already sat and got a grade for your a levels you can't get state funding to retake.

So a state sixth form will not accept you.

If you were at a private school they might but even they don't like it.

You can enter independently and study yourself, or you can go to a private retake specialist (often known as crammers). They cost ££££

Being honest it's going to be difficult for you to get an improved grade doing it all yourself.

I can understand not wanting to go back to school but could you go to a college instead? Or even a different school for a fresh start?

What grades did you get in your A levels and what are you hoping to get if you resit?

Won't the coursework be different? Surely they change the question/topic each year?
Why do you think you will get better results self learning than you did with proper teaching?

That’s the first I have ever heard of this - do you have any proof?

I thought everyone was entitled to free education until age 19 ie the ability to retake a year of A-levels or take a gap year after GCSEs and continue until you were 19.

I was predicted 3A*s but got BBB because I was diagnosed late with autism so didn’t get the extra time I should have.

You’ll have to ask the school if they would accept you. Nobody here can tell you for sure. Have you got the special conditions that you need agreed?

It would be a risk for them as you would appear on their stats but they would have had no input into the teaching and your preparation.

I assume you’ve checked the Edexcel website. Has the curriculum or coursework requirements changed since you sat the course?

But you aren't wanting the free education? You're just wanting to resit the exams, a school is entitled to say no to that and you can pay as a private candidate (at certain schools).

Just having autism doesn't give you extra time. You'd need to be assessed to see how your autism affects your processing to see if extra time was needed - and you'd need school or college to do that.

Kindly, I realise coming out with 2 grades lower than you expected must have been a shock, but 3 B grades are good results and should enable you to proceed to the next stage of your life, uni or work.

I think you only get the 3rd year at 6th form if you haven't got your Level 3(A level, T level, BTEC) passes by then. You have your A levels, I don't think you qualify.

Oh.

So, I can’t use this as extenuating circumstances for universities? Would they expect confirmation that I was entitled to extra time or would they just accept the autism diagnosis?

You have no idea that you’d have been entitled to extra time, or that it would have made any difference (you clearly did well enough in mocks without any adjustments to have been given higher predictions), so no.

3Bs is good though, you could get on to plenty of courses at good universities with those grades.
This might be a better way forward for you, once you have your degree nobody will care much what you got at A level

Actually, the mocks were done in class not exam setting due to really low class sizes. In one subject there were just two people and so our teacher let us continue writing until the bell rang which was 10 minutes extra.

Also, the universities wouldn’t know about my past high predictions.

Where did you get the diagnosis of autism? NHS or privately?

was the senco at the school that you sat the A levels at aware of this and if not why not?

It’s sounding to me like you’re not happy with your results so are trying to find an excuse. You have had your ‘free’ education, anything more in terms of teaching or exams will need to be self funded.

why not look at which university courses you can get into with your BBB and go from there?

Some of DDs friends who retook had to pay for additional tuition (if needed) and enter themselves as private candidates for the exam. There was no provision for free retakes at her 6th form college and I imagine that most if not all schools and colleges will be the same.

Surely you weren’t diagnosed with autism after sitting A levels?
Your insistence that you should have had extra time and that this would have automatically earned you higher grades is based on absolutely nothing.

If it's the same as when my DD did A Level History, you pick your own topic. (Subject to various criteria, but you can pick just about anything with 2 viewpoints, original source material and historical context).

It's a valid question to ask whether OP would be allowed to use the same topic but improve their existing coursework, or would have to start again from scratch.

A person is entitled to three years of funding for an a level or equivalent course.

Many students who do badly at the end of year 12 retake year 12 and thus have three years of funding (year 12 twice and then year 13)

You have a levels. You therefore have that level of qualification.

You might find a state school to take you but most won't because you won't be funded and it messes up their year 13 timetables.

When you get to I think 19 you are eligible for a free access to higher education course that many colleges offer.

Actually, the mocks were done in class not exam setting due to really low class sizes. In one subject there were just two people and so our teacher let us continue writing until the bell rang which was 10 minutes extra.

Also, the universities wouldn’t know about my past high predictions.

If the mocks weren't run like proper exams surely the predicted grades are possibly unrealistic and not really reliable in predicting actual grades?

Oh this is quite different. Three Bs is a good result, no way would I retake for that. Just go to a uni that takes BBB and don't look back.

Did you actually apply for Uni this year, op?

Even if you did get A's on the retake, which is no guarantee at all, you'd lose a year and the fact that it's a retake balances out the A achievement anyway. Lots of people don't get the A on the day and still do fine in life with a B. If you're truly A tastic, then you can put that energy into a degree and aim for a First, but I wouldn't be resitting at this point. You haven't done badly at all and maybe you are a BBB student regardless. The mocks/predicted grades don't sound watertight.

(sorry the A*'s made some bits go unintentionally bold there!)