A-level disappointment: What next?

George Turnbull: Ofqual Exams Doctor

The release of A-level results for students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is not always a time to celebrate.

George Turnbull is the Exams Doctor for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual). He has over 30 years experience in the exams system and has been answering questions and concerns from BBC News website readers.

Here, he gives his advice on what to do next for those who have not achieved their desired grades.

CAN I RENEGOTIATE A UNIVERSITY OFFER?

Q: My son missed the grades for two A-levels, instead of an A he received a B. His first choice university rejected him yesterday, however, they called today to offer him a place for next year. I would appreciate your opinion on whether we can "renegotiate" the offer with the university.
Jim Gigurtsis, London

A: Of course you can, but you may not come to an arrangement that suits you. The university wants to ensure that its undergraduate entries will be able to cope, benefit from the experience and not drop out before graduation. If your son can persuade them that he is in that position now – rather than having to wait for a year – then he could be on a winner. Get your son to get back on to them, see what they say and take it from there.

SHOULD I RESIT OR GO THROUGH CLEARING?

Q: My daughter had an offer from Liverpool to study medicine but missed her grades by a very close margin. She is thinking of resitting a single module in January which should bring her up to the required AAB. Is this a good move? We have had a look through clearing and there is nothing that we feel is suitable for her given that she is a very good academic achiever (15 GCSEs). If she does reapply for medicine, will the resit be accepted and will she still have time to apply for a proper degree elsewhere if she is unsuccessful? Or will we be trawling through clearing again?
Ian Stolworthy, Haverhill

A: Your daughter needs to make sure that Liverpool will not accept her this year. If this is confirmed, she needs to establish what she needs to be accepted next year. It is up to each university to decide what qualifications their undergraduates need and there is no point in trying to second guess them.

It is up to each university to decide what qualifications their undergraduates need

I am sure that there will still be good opportunities available this year in clearing with someone with her grades – but not necessarily in medicine.

If she is determined she wants to do medicine she should take a year out to improve her qualifications to the level required. It is usually beneficial to demonstrate a real passion for the profession by doing voluntary work of a medical nature. What she does in that year could have an impact on her acceptability to certain courses.

IS IT WORTH RESITTING A-LEVELS?

Jack Smale: Disappointed with his B in Economics

Q: I haven't applied to university yet but achieved grades A,A, and B. Would it be worth resitting a few modules in January to get my last grade up to an A? If so, how would universities view this in light of the fact this would be in my third year of A-level studies?
Jack Smale, Southend on Sea

A: Universities will take different views on these issues so you really need to give more thought to the course you would like to do and the place that you would like to attend. Then you could have a plan to make sure that you get there.

You have good grades already and for some courses there would be no need to try and improve on these. On the other hand, I would say, that it is better to have a grade A through a resit, from a grade B, than to have a grade B without a resit.

If you are only taking a third year because of your resit plan for one A-level, then I wouldn’t have thought that it would make much difference, for the reasoning above. However, you need to ask the university of your choice that question. They are the ones who decide.

CAN I 'HOLD' MY PLACE AT UNI IF I APPEAL A GRADE?

Q: I have received my grades (ABB) but my first choice offer requires AAB. They have not yet rejected me and I have a place at my insurance choice. I achieved a B in History even though my course work was classified as U. The topic I chose was obscure but my school did agree it was a suitable topic. If I had secured an expected mark of around 65-70 for the course work I would have got an A. If I do appeal the mark how would I "hold" the place at my chosen first choice while it is followed up? I am concerned I could end up losing both my offers.
Hannah Kirtley-Paine, Rugby, Warwickshire

A: You have done well and it is good that your first choice university has not yet rejected you. But you don’t want to hang around and you need to contact the university to see what is happening. They will have other applicants to consider and the jury is still out on you.

Get your school to support your application to the university of choice

You need to make them aware of the situation with your coursework. Check with your school to see if they are doing something about the coursework mark that you got. You aren’t performing at U level throughout the rest of your work and it is strange that you should be performing at that level on coursework. If necessary your school can raise a post-results enquiry with the examining board.

But don’t wait for all that to happen. Get your school to support your application to the university of choice. Make sure that you make contact with the university personally. They will want to judge what you are like and that may just tip the balance as to whether or not they accept you. Your second choice university offer will still be there until your first choice application is rejected.

HOW DO I APPEAL MY MARKS?

Q: I have missed out on my grade by a few marks, is it possible to get an exam remarked? If so where do I apply for remarking?
Sean, Banbridge, N.Ireland

A: If you have been on a course at a centre (school or college) then it is they that need to raise an enquiry about your results, on your behalf. So you need to have the support of that centre that there is something which needs to be investigated by the exam board. You can find further details on the Ofqual website.