What is the impact of a 5 in Eng Lang on Uni & course choices for an otherwise 8s &9s student?

[OranginacanonlybedrunkinFrance]

I’ve worried about how to phrase this as I realise that, by getting a 5, DD has crossed the government threshold of getting a 4 in Eng Lang but also the 5 so often looked for by employers and further education insititutes.
For DD, though, who was predicted a 7/8 and got 8s & 9s in everything else, it is a bit of an aberration and she is currently stewing on its potential impact on her future. Whilst she isn’t she what she wants to do at Uni or career wise, she is aiming high with her current preference being economics & management at Oxford. Other options might be law or maths and, if not Oxford, an RG Uni.
To what extent does the 5 matter? And can we do anything about it? She was only one mark off a 6 so, depending on her teacher’s thoughts, we are likely to ask for a review. She doesn’t want to risk it going down though! Are there any benefits to a resit and, if so, should that be this autumn or next summer? I am reluctant to add to her workload if Unis only look at the end of Yr11 ones, especially if that time could be better dedicated to super curricular stuff.
A level choices are Econ, Maths, Further Maths & Bio. Selective state school in a leafy area so no contextual offers or anything to come into play.

Do bear in mind in these discussions there’s no such place as ‘Oxbridge’; Oxford and Cambridge have different entry considerations (all easy enough to find in the Internet) and the latter in particular seem to vary more according to course and even between different colleges.

What is it with English Language? My daughter got a surprise 6 - was predicted an 8. We aren't close to the grade 7 boundary but have requested a remark as one paper is a low 5 which just seems so unlikely.

My son got a surprise 9 - was predicted a 6.

My dss got a 5 n English lang and ABB at A level. His other grades were 6/7s.

He didn't get accepted to Newcastle despite meeting the other criteria because of his English Lang grade.

I argued the point particularly as he didn't even sit the exam due to COVID and it was teacher awarded etc etc and they would not budge.

I was really surprised by this as I thought uni:s didn't care about GCSEs once you have your a-levels.

I believe Bristol take the average of your best 8 GCSEs.

I would certainly get it remarked and possibly resat as a private candidate as it may impact

Also I keep hearing of students who had shocks with their English Lang grades.

Predicted a 9 got a 6, predicted a 6 got a 4.
This was AQA.

My DS got a 5. Lots of courses want a 5 in lang or literature so ticked that box (7 in lit). econ at LSE was the only course we might have considered that wanted a 6 in lang.
He got a 9 in maths though.
Currently doing econ at Bath, did apply to Oxford but didn’t get to interview stage. He hadn’t practised the exam enough or couid have been the 5. Worked out for the best anyway.

I would strongly recommend getting a review of marking done. Put in for it now, today, if you’ve not already. The chances of her going down a grade are minuscule, and she may well go up to a six.

We are a high tariff STEM School, the tier just below COWI, and we couldn’t care less. Grade 5 ticks our box.

DH is a Cambridge Maths alumnus. His English O level was appalling and no one cared. (He is probably slightly dyslexic, which no one was looking out for in his time.)

For all that, I agree requesting a remark is a good idea. DD should give herself as many options as possible. The risk of her grade going down is very low.

DD predicted 6/7 min. Never dropped below in any mocks. Got a 4
AQA. Going to have to resit due to the huge implications.

Just to add -- you mentioned whether time would be better spent on extra curricular things. Obviously that's time well spent if she finds it enriching and rewarding in itself. But it's a myth that that helps with university entrance. Not only are they (very reasonably) simply not interested, but they are generally instructed to ignore this because, as a general rule, whether candidates have done exciting extracurricular things says more about the parents than it does about the candidate.

Actually the OP (if you mean in their first post) mentions super curricular which is useful for uni applications – so not captain of the footy team or DofE, but reading about (researching on, attending online talks about etc) genetics or Dickens or whatever abstruse maths things you do at uni. This can inform the PS and give sthg to talk about at interview. I mean lots of unis won't bother but I think Oxford and Cambs are interested.

Reading a book or two won't hurt. But I know Oxbridge are not interested.

OK well I was just going by my own knowledge from friends’ DC who had interviews at Cambs and were asked about the subject they wanted to study and why. In some detail. Maybe they no longer do that though (my most recent intel is from a few years ago tbf)

Ah, with you. Yes, that is a good and sensible question for the interviewer to ask, and thinking hard about the answer is a good idea. Just don't do things for the sake of writing them on the personal statement, it isn't going to be read.

Some unis do read the PS and some do not. IME it is worth asking the question at open days as many are quite open about it.

From memory Bristol plainly says it doesn't read them but I think LSE does, for example.

My daughter had exactly the same results. The teachers didn’t think it would go up on remark so she resat the following year and got a 7. Some universities definitely state minimum 6 in English GCSE, Newcastle uni springs to mind. So she decided on the resit