3 in English Language

[SweetChilliGirl]

My DS (who is dyslexic) got a 3 in English Language GCSE and a 4 in English Literature. The rest of his GCSEs were higher, with 8s in maths and the sciences.

He is retaking English Language next month, alongside doing 4 A-levels, including Further Maths, which he is enjoying.

Is there any hope that he'll be able to get into university? He's not sure what he wants to do yet, maybe chemistry, and I know that he'll have excluded himself from most Russell Group universities, but we never expected him to fail. He got and 5 in language and a 7 in literature in the mocks 🤦

Any advice would be appreciated.

I don’t know but surely if he passes this time round that is what counts and you can basically disregard the fail?

if the results were generally good I’d be surprised if a fail in English- which was later passed- would be a major issue

I wouldn't have thought the Russell Group unis would care about the resit, particularly as he wants to study something science based. I'm sure he could get into a decent uni regardless of that, if he gets good A level grades.

I know that he'll have excluded himself from most Russell Group universities

This isn't true at all, please don't worry. Lots of RG and other great unis are more than happy with a grade 4 in English, and AFAIK most will count Eng lit. If not, a resit grade (if 4 or above) will be perfectly acceptable.

Yes, UCL IIRC and maybe a few others require 6 in Eng and maths and some unis look at GCSE average grades but usually only for certain subjects (like med and vet med).

I just checked Nottingham and Leeds at random for bio and maths (apols didn't read post properly and he wants to do chem - still it will be the same) and both are happy with a 4 in English, with no suggestion that a resit is not accepted.

ETA: Meant to say that there is a narrative on MN that everyone who goes to uni or at any rate the HG of RG has all grade 8s and 9s at GCSE but of course that's not the case.

He will pass the retake and then it will all be fine moving forward - it sounds like he is doing brilliantly in the maths and sciences and that's worth its weight in gold

As an alternative he could try English Functional Skills 2. ds2 found this more accessible than GCSE English. Some albeit not all universities will accept this in lieu of a GCSE e.g ds2 got a place with just functional skills at Nottingham but straight reject from Aston despite high A level grades. He did eventually get his GCSE but his place was not contingent on this at Nottingham.

It’s really tough when results don’t quite reflect the work put in, especially with dyslexia making English harder. But his strengths shine through elsewhere, and that’s what matters for a subject like chemistry. He’s clearly capable and motivated — enjoying Further Maths says a lot. He shouldn’t see this as the end of any path, just a hurdle to get past. Lots of students get into good unis with retakes.

My DS got a 4 on language after a lot of tutoring, he got into a good uni to study music.

unis understand people can be good at one subject and not another.

In my understanding it's Eng lang rather than Lit that is required by uni's etc. I wouldn't worry too much though OP, he has the opportunity to up his grade so no problem. Does he have access arrangements in place for his dyselxia?

DS hated English but managed to get a 9 in Lang by doing two things, the first was he wrote a couple of very descriptive stories that could be used in a range of the very vague sort of story titles they give (he did AQA I think so it might vary). He wrote a detailed description about waiting at a hospital to find out if he had cancer or not (could be tweaked to use in any 'good news', 'bad news', 'surprise' type titles) and a detailed description of watching a mythical beast for any stories that were supernatural type things or about an animal. He went through past papers to see how he could adapt each story to fit the different titles, sometimes thinking a little outside the box which isn't a bad thing. Then he memorised the two descriptions as much as he could. This just gave him two good starting points. I did warn him not to panic if he couldn't use them but he was able to use the hospital one.

The other thing we did was buy Mr Salles (youtube English teacher) book on persuasive writing. The book has loads of examples and ds was able to base his answer on one that was similar from the book. It gave him loads of ideas.

Yes actually, those flagging that it’s Eng lang that is needed are right, Eng lit is accepted by post-16 destinations but yes, most unis do need Eng lang grade 4+.
Still tho OP don’t worry. Mate of DS2's got a 3 in the summer and retook in November and got a 6. Went to good uni. All good.

Former RG STEM admissions tutor here, strong programme. We are happy with resit grades, particularly for English.

This is only sensible as many Overseas applicants will have made more than one attempt at their English language qualification.

Thanks all, I feel a bit better. He does have additional time in exams because of his dyslexia - he processes and writes slowly. His main issue is that he just doesn't write anywhere near enough.

You could try putting grades in the offer calculator on Birmingham University website and see what it says. Other unis may have similar. Most RG will only ask for grade 4 in English language.

Might be worth asking school to review his adjustments. Would a scribe and/or use of a laptop be helpful for extended pieces of writing in exams?

There’s absolutely hope for your son — a low grade in English Language doesn’t close doors, especially given his strong results in maths and sciences. Many students (particularly those with dyslexia) find English Language difficult, and universities understand this. Retaking is the right move — if he achieves a 4 or above, he’ll meet the basic entry requirements for most courses.
With strong A-levels, especially in Chemistry, Maths, and Further Maths, he’ll have plenty of good university options, including some Russell Group ones. Encourage him to use any dyslexia support available and focus on exam technique for the retake. This setback doesn’t define him — his strengths clearly lie in analytical subjects, and universities will see that.

I would also second the Functional Skills level 2 in English if he doesn't pass the resit.
Many universities will accept this instead of GCSE English language (or maths). At my RG university this is course dependent.
Functional Skills courses are shorter and some students find them much more accessible.