Although it can feel like it, underachieving in an exam is not the end of the world. Resitting is a real possibility – giving you the chance to get the grades you want or need. Individual schools and colleges have different policies with regard to resits. Some pay for them, but others insist that you pay the entry fee. If you discover that you have to pay for your resits speak to your Examinations Officer and find out the cost of entering each paper you wish to resit. Here we answer your questions about resits.
You may resit a modular GCSE Science or Mathematics module test once, prior to taking your terminal examination and before obtaining your final overall grade. The highest score obtained on either the first attempt or the resit counts towards your final grade. If you enter a module in GCSE Mathematics at a different tier, this does not count as a resit. If you are on the full modular Religious Studies GCSE course, and sat the first unit last year, you may resit module 1 when you sit module 2 to maximise your full course grade.
Any unit that is part of an AS or A level can now be retaken as many times as you wish before the qualification is cashed in. If you are completing a GNVQ or VCE, please speak to your subject teacher or Examinations Officer as these qualifications are coming to an end and further resit opportunities are limited. There are no exceptions to this rule.
You may also resit any subject in full. Once a qualification has been cashed in, you are entitled to start it again.
First of all, talk to your subject teacher. After all the teaching that you have had, tests and internal examinations, he/she is the person who best knows what grade you are capable of achieving. Take your results slip to your subject teacher, and go through the information on it in detail. If you both think that there is something wrong with the result, the school or college can apply to see your completed examination paper and then, if necessary, ask for a re-mark immediately. The original mark can be confirmed or lowered, as well as raised, as a result of a re-mark. A charge will be made if the original mark is confirmed or lowered.
Another way of dealing with this problem is to consider re-sitting some parts of the examination again. However, if you have taken a linear or a modular GCSE, you will have to take the terminal written components (written papers) again. You can carry forward your coursework mark and your unit test marks if you wish.
If you have taken an AS or A level it is possible for you to re-sit some of the units. If you are completing a GNVQ or VCE, please speak to your subject teacher or examinations officer as these qualifications are coming to an end and further re-sit opportunities are limited. Please remember that if you have cashed in your unit marks, you must first ask your Examinations Officer to decline the grade that you have just been awarded. (Also see the question 'What is cashing-in?').
Your results slip can help you decide which units you might want to re-take, as it will show all the units and their uniform marks that were used to calculate a subject grade. Remember that not all the units have the same percentage value towards the final grade - lower percentage units have less impact on the final grade than higher percentage ones. Look to see whether you have done particularly badly on a higher percentage unit – you can tell which ones they are by their higher uniform mark totals – and think about re-taking those. Then look at the smaller percentage units.
Whatever you decide to do you must speak to your subject teacher and, if necessary, your Examinations Officer, who will advise you on when entries have to be made, fees that might have to be paid and whether you are eligible to re-take the units you want.