Resitting a GCSE

[LlamasintheFog]

Hi all

My son is about to start Y13 so is in the cohort that lost their GCSE exams, 2020. Unfortunately the grades he was given don't reflect his ability but this is most stark with English Lang where he got a 5. Note I'm not criticising the school (I do have issues with some of his grades but not English as he flunked his mock and left early, not knowing of course that that would be the last English exam he would ever take)
Anyway...it's clear that the 5 is proving a problem for Uni applications, a number of key courses he can't apply for due not having at least a 6 and in all prior English exams he had been 6/7 level.

Does anyone know if it is possible for someone from the previous year's GCSE cohort to do a resit in November 2021? Or would he have to wait until next summer and hope (pray!) there is a way to resit an actual exam then? He acknowledges now that he should have re-sat last Autumn as I told him but he was still very much of the view that GCSEs don't matter. A few months of realising how much they've limited his Uni options have taught him otherwise.
Thanks all

What sort of courses is he applying for and where? I may be wrong but if he proves himself able to express himself and write coherently in his A-levels I am surprised that a "strong pass" in English Language at GCSE aged 16 (and in the confusion of a pandemic) is going to be that much of an issue.
That said, if he's continued to read and write since then, he might find that a better grade in English Language comes more easily to him now.

Theoretically schools can enter anyone for any exam series, so a chat with sixth form is needed. Will he be ready for an autumn exam? There’s a knack to english exams so he’d need to start revising soon.

He should be able to sit English language (or maths) in November. I spend a lot of time trying to get sixth-form heads to understand that medicine applicants - and applicants for some other competitive courses - need at least 6 in those GCSEs, otherwise their options are very limited. They tend to focus on the year-12 students who need to get a 3 up to a 4.

Keep telling the school/college this is important.

Which courses might he look at for university and for what career paths.

Like the poster above I also spend time explaining to people that GSCE grades in maths and English can be a barrier to grad recruitment regardless of their degree.

Yes for sure we will be speaking to the school as soon as they go back. He wants to do economics / banking so not medicine / vetmed competitive but still very competitive. Sadly his string of 6s and the fact he's not doing A Level maths preclude the top unis but there are a number of courses (eg Manchester's Business and International Finance) where he meets all criteria except English Lang GCSE at 6). The 6 in maths is also a problem but in truth that is more a genuine reflection of his ability than the English grade and he'd need to work so hard to get that up to a 7 he'd risk dropping A level grades where he needs AAB minimum. I've told him to focus all his energy on the A levels and not worry too much if he doesn't get offers this year. So I'm aware I've slightly changed my messaging to him but I do feel that 5 in English will hold him back.

Thank you all!

Have a look at BA Econ at Manchester as I think their GCSE English grade requirement is lower.

I'm trying to advise a couple of young people looking to do training contracts to become chartered accountants. A lot of firms require 6's in both maths and English which is an annoying barrier.

Thanks Jay, yes he had originally been interested in the BA Econ at Manchester but he looked into the options and it seemed very much a generic social sciences degree which isn't really him. A thousand years ago I did a politics degree and we joked he'd be paying me to write his essays 😬
We will investigate it further though, as it's a uni he'd love to go to

OP I mean this nicely, honestly - if a 6 in maths GCSE (perfectly good grade) is the height of his maths ability, such that he didn't do maths A level (wise choice with a 6 as I gather) then is an economics degree really for him? I have just searched up a few at random and they seem to want maths A level or if not that, 6 at GCSE maths. (One that I looked at had flexibility over the GCSE Eng Lang 6 requirement btw - does he have a 6 in Eng lit?)

That suggests to me a strong maths content in the course. If maths is not his strong point (my DD got a 6 and was v happy but then she was always going to go for Eng lit or similar) then could he look at something else? What other A levels does he do? Why economics - does he do that at A level? Just something to think about tbh.

If he wants to enter in the November resit series then he should be OK to do that (you’ll have to pay) - however don’t expect him to get any teaching towards it, resit classes are strictly aiming for a 4! A nice teacher might have a chat with him about it but he’ll probably mostly be on his own.

Hi Clary yes it's a fair question about his maths ability, and why I've been steering him towards BA Econ where available. I think the challenge is he just seems to get Economics, more than he's ever got anything previously (he got an A at AS, with BC in the other 2 ASs) so it's reasonable for him to be aiming for it, but we're aware the maths content of Econ ticks up quite a bit at A2 so it's far from impossible he'll be applying for Geography once he's done his A levels with the grades having flipped round!