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.

Thing is to get the extra time you will need to be assessed to need the extra time and show that it is your normal way of working-which will be hard if you aren't in school.

It's not a ASD diagnosis = any specific adaption in exams.

It's showing a need of a way of working in exams to level the playing field = the adaption.

For example, my ds was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. He was assessed as needing to type, but not extra time. His friend with the same diagnoses, was assessed as not typing nor extra time, but needing breaks during the exams.

My dd, who has no diagnosis, looking back, we should have asked for her to be assessed for extra time, and I think she'd have got it easily - she just works slowly.

I very much doubt an extra 10 minutes would be the difference between a B and an A*, and so probably you did better in the mocks because the paper suited you/the teacher marked leniently/some other factor.

I mean, I'm a quick worker in maths, and I'd reckon maybe I could have got an extra 10-15 marks in 10 minutes. I've looked at the difference between a B and an A* and it's about 90 marks. Yes that's over 3 papers, but we're looking at needing an extra 30 marks per paper. And I'd think it would be far fewer marks in an essay subject. (there's also more marks in a maths paper-they're out of 300, which very few are; most are out of 200, so if you're looking at the difference in marks and thinking it's less in history, then you need to also consider they're harder to earn)

You've also got to add in that some unis won't look at a retake as well as studying on your own will be hard, and you may not go up at all.

So I think the best thing you can do is spend this term researching which uni you like that will take you at those grades, or slightly higher. See if your teacher will do a reference which refers to the fact you were diagnosed during A-levels and you may get an offer on one of the higher ones.
And look for something to do this year, that shows your interest in the subject that can show that you're doing a useful year.

I was diagnosed by the NHS.

I don’t want “free education” because I don’t need to go back to school to be taught everything again - I’m more than capable of teaching myself.

I would just prefer to sit the exams at school because it would be cheaper than at a private exam centre.

How did you do at GCSE, op?
I find your confidence that you could increase your grades so drastically if you were given an extra few minutes in the exam centre a trifle concerning.
Not to mention your absolute belief that having autism automatically entitled you to this with no questions asked.

The reason why is because I have always done well academically - top sets etc but have always struggled with exams with timing specifically.

My subjects were all essay-based and so I lost marks not because I didn’t know the content but because I couldn’t write deep enough essays in the time and ran out of time.

I was diagnosed in March, however, the deadline for submitting an application for extra time is January 31st so my school said it was too late.

What do you mean the retake would balance it out? Would future employers know I retook?

@lindaandrews Future employers probably wouldn't care, but I think the PP means the universities would note they were retakes and require higher grades than for first sittings.

If you are being honest, is it possible you are just writing too much in the first questions, so not getting on to the later ones, as opposed to actually not having enough time?

Extra time is usually for people with slow processing or slow handwriting. It isn't clear from what you have written so far that this is the case with you. Has school indicated to you that you would have got extra time if they had assessed you earlier, or just told you you were too late to apply?

I am slightly concerned you may have 'fixated' on resitting with (mythical?) extra time, rather than moving forward to next steps.

As @TeenToTwenties says, it's all about next steps. Most unis (and I'm assuming you're aiming high if you want those top grades) would factor in the resits, and the uni is the next step. Then it becomes about the degree. Future employers probably wouldn't care about the resits but by the same token, if your degree was good, they likely wouldn't care about A vs a B grade at A level. I can see this means a lot to you, but it feels like you've got hung up on the predicted grades and could waste a year trying to nudge it up, when predicted is no guarantee and you say you're not the best in exam conditions (which makes your BBB more of an achievement so it's a shame you're disappointed by it). Is there really not a viable next step with a BBB rather than going backwards? Once you're into the next thing, the A levels really won't seem such a big deal. It's not like you got Ds and Es and need to resit to majorly turn things around.

Is there a particular university that you are targeting that you want the higher grades? I'm unsure why you can't just apply with your 3 Bs, which will get you into university without any problems.

Have you also considered how you would cope at university? Have you identified a course that doesn't have exams, for example?
If you are self motivated and can work independently have you considered a distance learning course like the Open University?

You have probably been told your whole life that there is only one way to get what you want and that is the excel at A-level so that is your focus. But apart from a few courses there are usually other options and routes.

i think letting people know your career/university goals would open up a lot more advise as to your best next move.

Yes you can. You can do Year 14, if you want to improve your grades. But it has to be done after year 13.

You can pay for private entry.