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Original poster

GCSE checks and re-marks, is it worth it?

22 replies

BorryMum · 21/08/2026 15:40

DD is one mark off a 6 for English Language (predicted 7) and two marks off an 8 for Geography (favourite subject and worked her socks off) is it worth getting the papers checked and remarked? The exam board is AQA and I'm happy to pay the fee. Just looking for advice and experiences as she is upset about results

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xsquared · 21/08/2026 16:09

If it makes a difference to what she wants to do next, yes.

Sillybillypoopoomummy · 21/08/2026 16:26

yes it is!

Original poster
BorryMum · 21/08/2026 16:29

Thank you, it helps to open her options with the English mark and helps her confidence

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ellieinfrance · 21/08/2026 16:30

You can ask her teachers to get her papers back for free and see if they agree with the marking. This might them inform whether you pay for a review of marking.

ILikeMaths · 21/08/2026 16:30

There are some helpful comments about the process, and examples on this thread.
I think it’s worth a look.

DanceMumTaxi · 21/08/2026 16:30

These are quite close on the boundary so could be worth a try, but since the change to ‘review of marking’ rather than a ‘re-mark’ came into place we’ve had very few change. In the past we’d send a few off every year and often would see an increase in some, but we haven’t for a while now. The exam board is not re-marking the paper, just checking that the mark scheme has been applied correctly. There is a degree of tolerance allowed and very few seem to change now.

Twolittlebirds75 · 21/08/2026 16:31

My DD2 was one mark from an A gcse English language. Teacher wanted to get it remarked, he expected an A.
I paid and she was marked down to a C, teacher was very upset, I didn't tell my DD for 3 years, by which point she had an A at A level. Just to say careful.

Original poster
BorryMum · 21/08/2026 21:36

Thanks everyone, it's a worry that it could go down that much! It's a big decision and I really appreciate all the advice

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Original poster
BorryMum · 21/08/2026 21:37

Maybe a review might be safer?

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Apsidistra · 21/08/2026 21:43

I spoke to the exams officer at my daughter’s school about this very thing. She advised that unless it is affecting her progression it isn’t worth it as it is very unlikely to change. This was yesterday btw.

Thisisthedream · 21/08/2026 21:45

My son is also 1 mark off a 6 in English Language and 1 mark off an 8 in Geography as well as 1 mark off an 8 in another subject.
I have paid for and received copies of the papers this afternoon, they were sent instantly by the exam office at the school. The head of English has already reviewed the Language paper and responded to me tonight, they feel it's unlikely that there is another mark to be found but it is our choice if we would like to go ahead and request the paper be remarked.
I'm waiting for the other two to get back to me but it could be after the school goes back on the 1st.
I've asked for all papers to be reviewed by the school heads of department then if we do decide to request a remark then we know which paper we are likely to get it from, especially with geography as the AQA exam was three papers.

DooDallyHallie · 21/08/2026 21:52

Ive 4 children been through gcsed and A levels, so goi can imagine quite a few remarks/reviews. In my experience essay type subjects are unlikely yo change. In msths and science subjects the pspers hsve actually been totally remarked not reviewed you can see the new markers score for each question. In these where the markinh is more black and white you may have more luck, but the vast majority of times there is no change of grade

RobinEllacotStrike · 21/08/2026 22:19

Dd got 8’s & 9’s but an unexpected 6 for English. She was “annoyed” and went for a remark. The paper was incorrectly marked & she got another 20 points giving her the expected 8.

it wasn’t really necessary but she felt strongly wronged by the 6, and she was spot on.

ifonlytheydlisten · 21/08/2026 22:32

I just read that 1/4 of remarked papers do go up a grade

MrsHamlet · 21/08/2026 22:34

BorryMum · 21/08/2026 21:37

Maybe a review might be safer?

There is only a review - there is no such thing as a remark.

So if you have any concerns about the mark dropping, then steer clear. It doesn't happen often but it does happen.

sanityisamyth · 21/08/2026 22:42

Seems appropriate! I’ve submitted a lot of reviews of marking over the last couple of weeks. Very few have gone up. 1 has gone down. Most have stayed the same.

GCSE checks and re-marks, is it worth it?
justintimeforxmas · 21/08/2026 22:48

You can get the papers back for free (I think maybe a couple of pounds admin). If you ask her teachers nicely they can review the papers and tell you whether it’s worth putting in for a remark. It’s quite expensive and you have the (unlikely) risk of going down a grade. You can just get one paper remarked / reviewed.

ShowDownTime · 23/08/2026 02:16

We have requested marking reviews for my son who was one mark off a 9 in French - almost full marks in reading, writing and listening then a bizarrely low score in speaking which doesn’t make sense to him or his teacher. So we shall see…

He was also one mark off a 9 in History and school emailed to encourage us to request a review. One paper he scored very low and the other very high, doesn’t add up.

I’ve been told that these anomalies are where you’re most likely to see an increase so I’m hoping that’s the case. They work so hard for here exams and I just keep hearing stories of awful marking errors. I found a thread on here where a teach doing examining on the side said she likes to mark papers with a non-taxing tv show or podcast on in the background. I am still gobsmacked.

Sparklechoppy · 23/08/2026 02:24

I did this a couple of times and the marks did not change. Waste of money.

propertymug · 23/08/2026 02:34

We are in the same boat and posted on another thread. DD was predicted higher grades than she achieved - 5 subjects were only 1 mark off the next grade 😩. We’ve requested the papers - looking at the mark breakdown there is also a pattern of scoring really highly in one paper and then really poorly in another - she’s struggling to make sense of it. Desperate to see the papers but don’t think we’ll get them until they’re back at school - they’re rightly prioritising students where a remark would impact next steps whereas it doesn’t really for DD. Unfortunately, her teachers don’t seem to be that supportive - the head of maths emailed her to say she may want to do a review as only 1 mark away from a 9 (this matters to DD as she was hoping to do maths at oxbridge and has never got below a 9 in any mock and even got best in school for the maths challenge this year) - DD asked the teacher if they would review the paper with her to see if it had been marked appropriately and she said they don’t offer that service! Which seems very unfair as sounds like a lot of other schools do this - how are we meant to know if it’s been marked appropriately without access to the mark scheme?! Very disappointed with the school.

MrsHamlet · 23/08/2026 06:01

I found a thread on here where a teach doing examining on the side said she likes to mark papers with a non-taxing tv show or podcast on in the background. I am still gobsmacked.

I'd like to think most of us are way more professional than that. That's dreadful.

Original poster
BorryMum · 23/08/2026 12:39

I decided to email the school so we can look at the papers, I got an auto reply to say they won't look at any requests until term starts. I will post an update when I get one. hope it goes well for anyone else querying marks

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