When are A-level resits 2023? How to retake your exams if your results haven’t gone as planned today
A-level students are receiving their results today, ending an anxious wait to discover how they fared in their exams this summer.
As predicted the number of top grades awarded has fallen significantly, after exam boards returned to pre-pandemic grading standards.
There were 73,000 fewer As and A*s handed out this year compared to 2022 – a total of 27.2 per cent of entries were awarded these grades, down from 36.4 per cent last year.
However, grades were better than in 2019 – the last time the summer exams were taken before the Covid outbreak – when 25.4 per cent of results were graded A or A*.
The percentage of C or above grades awarded for 2023 is 76 per cent, down from 82.6 per cent in 2022 but slightly higher than the figure of 75.9 per cent in 2019.
The fall in results is certain to leave many students disappointed, particularly if it means they have missed out on their first choice university or college. However, they have a chance to apply through Ucas clearing, and there is also the option of appealing or resitting your exams.
When are A-level resits?
A-level resits happen at the same time everyone else is doing them for the first time, meaning students will have to wait until next May/June. January resits used to be an option, but are no longer available.
If you want to resit an A-level you will need to retake the entire A-level exam. However, it is possible to carry forward your coursework mark from your previous attempt, so you don’t have to redo it.
How do you resit your A-levels?
The first thing you need to do after deciding to resit is determine where you want to do so. If you want to resit at your own school or college ask a teacher about this. If you decide to go back to school, you’ll be taught in the classroom and sit the exam with other students.
You can also decide to enrol in a different college or sixth-form for your resits. Again, you will still attend classes and have a set timetable like at school and when it comes time for the exam, you’ll sit it at the college with your other classmates.
If you would rather resit without returning to school or college you can do so as a private candidate, via an online course. This gives you the benefit of flexibility, but means you miss out on the value of face-to-face teaching.
Come exam time you will sit them at the same time as all the other A-level students, but you are responsible for booking a place to sit them. You can do this by contacting your local school or college to ask if they accept private candidates.
You should book your exams roughly six months in advance and be aware that there is a fee to sit them, which you will pay directly to the exam centre. The exact cost of this will vary depending on which centre you chose, but they tend to range between £175-400 per exam.
You will also need to pay for the course itself. College courses are expensive, often costing upwards of £1,500, while online courses are cheaper, but will still set you back several hundred pounds.
Do universities penalise resits?
ICS Learn says: “In most cases, you shouldn’t be penalised for resitting, but you need to take the right approach to discussing your resits in your application.
“Your personal statement on your Ucas form is your chance to show why you’d make a great student and you shouldn’t feel that having to resit will put a negative spin on your application.
“The fact that you’re willing to try again shows that you’re committed to achieving your goals and that you’re willing to put in the hard work needed to make them happen.
“Try to focus on the positive aspects and talk about what this experience has taught you and how it has helped you develop as a person.
“If you’ve taken up any work experience or charity work alongside your resits, you can explain how you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do this otherwise.”
