How to get into a top uni after failing 1st year of ALevel Maths? Is it possible?

[Ragatha]

DS is planning on History or Philosophy at University and looks set to get A or A* in History and Computing A Levels. He's academic, loves writing and wants to go to a top uni, and his Tutor agrees he should be aiming high.

But... he just failed his first year of A Level maths and has been chucked off the course. It was the wrong choice of A Level, he should have chosen something essay based.

What now? Does anyone have any advice?

The college are examining what's possible although they've said doing a third year with them is extremely unlikely. They seem keen on EPQs but an EPQ alone isn't going to open doors to Edinburgh, Durham, Bristol or UCL etc - is it?

I wondered if anyone else has any advice on what we should be looking at, or has been in the same position?

DS is really keen to go to a good uni, and seems happy enough about doing a third year to make it possible if needs be.

Can he do an additional A Level in one year at another college? When I was in college I did a Geography A Level in a year at an evening class alongside my usual BTEC during normal college hours. I don't know if this situation still exists.

Ideally, he wants to do Sociology or possibly Politics if he does another A level now.

Doing maths seemed like a good choice after his GCSE results, and it supported his computing - he hadn't chosen between doing History or Computing at uni until this maths result which has forced his hand as most Unis want maths for a Computing Degree - so despite getting A* in his computing assessments, that path is closed to him now.

I got into a top ten Russel group University. Got Ds and Es at A level. Went to college after and did a BTEC instead. I have 2 degrees now.

The question is more whether the school have a plan to get him access to any uni. 2 Alevels plus EPQ is not a normal offer.

This is aside from them needing to provide the right teaching hours for funding. I teach a subject that can attract chancers and it is nigh on impossible to kick the off the course.

And how old are you??

If he’s doing well at computer science, he may have done well at maths gcse and his “maths brain” just topped out at that level

PS Sociology in a year is almost impossible . The amount of sheer content is huge.

Hi, OP -

Former Russell Group admissions tutor here. I am in STEM but roughly in the academic tier you are discussing.

Firstly, it is deffo true that some Cambridge Colleges in particular insist on a critical mass of exams being taken in one go. This can get complex, but suffice it to say that if an offer is based on three A Levels plus possibly an EPQ, two A Levels would not constitute a ‘critical mass’. I don’t know how widespread this policy is.

There are some excellent universities with a policy of accepting resit exams without prejudice. Roughly speaking I would expect these and some others to be sympathetic to a pupil who has made the common mistake of selecting an unsuitable A level, and wants advice about how best to rectify the situation.

As PP have suggested, it might be possible for DS to start now, with a tutor’s help, and catch up over the summer in a new A level. Then the point becomes moot. If he chooses to try this route I really believe he should go for one of his favourite subjects, which I believe you said are Politics and Sociology. He will need to be very motivated. But it’s one subject and he sounds very intelligent. I think it is doable, certainly by anyone who wishes to take on the workload at one of the institutions you’ve mentioned in just over a year. (With my admissions hat - admittedly in the wrong subject - on, I think Politics sounds a bit more upmarket than Sociology, if that matters. However motivation trumps everything)

Also, DS can ask the admissions teams at a few of the universities he is most interested in what they advise in his situation. It is a very common situation and each should have a stock answer (or decision tree).

Email is best. He should be sure to express his enthusiasm for each degree programme individually; to include his continuing A levels and PGs (History and CS is an excellent combination); to mention if he is doing an EPQ; and briefly to lay out his options. Also he should say that he is dropping Maths but I see no reason to go into detail or to mention his neurodiversity at this point. Not that the latter is anything to be hidden, of course; it just isn’t relevant. Keep this query clean.

Best wishes to DS.

Upmarket? Oh come on, you're better than that!

Sociology is an older discipline and has way more content than politics. I have nothing against politics - factual observation.

Sociology in a year is a huge hurdle. Politics probably is too.

I don't think it would be unachievable for an A grade student to study both year 1 and year 2 of a new A Level at the same time if the college can timetable it. Basically like doing 4 A-Levels which many students do, or many do an extra course of another type or an EPQ, a sport, a part time job etc etc. Ideally you would want a subject where year 2 doesn't build too much on year 1 and something you would expect him to be good at.

Another alternative if he just had 2 A-Levels or had 3 but one grade wasn't very good might be Foundation courses. Lots of unis seem to offer these, we have visited a few recently with DC1 and they have all had Foundation courses for students who either didn't study the right subject or didn't get the grades.

Okay, @Piggywaspushed ! That was the wrong word. Can i plead an 11 hr jet lag? I am wide awake in the middle of the night.

OP listed Edinburgh and Durham first. I did stipulate that I am an outsider but as a stab in the dark I thought their Historians might prefer Politics.

Happy to accept I was wrong as I agree Soc is, deservedly, a well respected discipline.

Yes, @UnbeatenMum , an FY is a great idea and deffo worth looking into. Some are excellent. We have diverted students to FY in similar circs.

If DS is in England or Wales his loan will cover a degree with an integrated FY.

Has this decision to kick him off the course come completely out the blue? With only few weeks left of the school year?

@Piggywaspushed

How much do you think a dedicated, bright kid can do over the summer with a tutor? In either subject. If DS prefers Soc, Soc it should be.

I recognise that this is a hypothetical question. The large majority of those capable of attaining whatever the answer is will start with good intentions and then peter out.

I am asking what you think someone with a good tutor could do who worked productively about 12-15 hrs per week all summer on the subject. Maybe started a bit asap?

TIA.

Maybe his best bet would be to restart y12 with two new subjects, and drop both Maths and CompSci?

The DS seems to be doing well in CS. Colleagues in Humanities like to see one analytical STEM subject being done well by their candidates.

If he’s not capable of doing 3 A levels in one go within the standard 2 years is he really capable of a top uni anyway? Seems a bit harsh they threw him off the course though. Can he sit it elsewhere/do private tutoring? Presumably he must have been ok at maths to be doing a level in the first place?

I think it's a disgrace how the college are handling it. There is also no way he should start over with 2 A levels he's already doing excellently in. That's a waste of time, boring and will increase his chances of just dropping out.

Talk to places like UEA, Newcastle and Cardiff. I know people who have gone thru clearing into their desired subjects with grades like ACE which essentially are lower than his getting 2 A stars on their own. There is flexibility among these institutions and its worth taking advantage of it, especially if he wants to study Politics and / or History. In fact the expectations for Sociology are usually lower than those two subjects. It might be that he can apply thru clearing with just these two.

I would if you can, get him to take a 3rd subject independently in 12 months. Someone up thread mentioned MPW and I can vouch for them, they helped me with my History A level years ago raising it 2 grades and getting me into the RG I wanted to attend.

I genuinely think this is your best option and then, if this isn't going to work - taking a 3rd A level in a 3rd yr and trying then.

Did he do sociology gcse? From what I remember of my DD there was quite an overlap.

Thanks poetryandwine, it's good to know all might not be lost if he did end up finishing his 2 a levels this year then doing one in a third year.

DS is thinking Sociology might be good as it overlaps with some of his existing interests - from chatting with a friend who does sociology in Year 2, it was clear that he was already familiar with some of the concepts.

Politics is a funny one. He's very into politics - has been for many years now - and is active politically. However he's not keen on the politics curriculium for a few reasons and thinks he'd be distracted by disagreeing with most of it. I suspect he's right on this score, which is a shame as he'd ace it I reckon. He's not totally discounted it though.

I don't know much about these. Can you get onto them with 2 A Levels (and an EPQ?!)

I think it’s more that maths was the wrong a level than that the DS can’t manage 3 a levels at once.

This or re-do year 12, depending on how well he is doing in the other two, and his maturity generally. (Eg would he do better cramming a new subject).

We knew that if he failed the mock it would be the next step, yes. He had been revising so hard for it though, we were really hoping for the best.

I'm afraid that your results of yesteryear are completely irrelevant in 2026.