DS2 got 7s, 8s and 9s in all GCSEs except English language in which he got a 5. He's in the middle of the grade boundary, slightly closer to the 5 than the 6. The grade boundaries are quite tight (11 marks). I had decided to leave it as he wasn't that close to a 6 but having read some posts on here about remarks with Edexcel going up a fair few marks, I am rethinking.
The main reason is that I am concerned that he might restrict where he can apply to uni with a 5 in English. He doesn't know what he wants to do yet but is leaning towards chemistry. He is also doing geography though which might need a higher grade.
He did get a 7 in English literature but not sure that's taken into account.
The other option is to retake it but he's obviously not keen!