GCSE retakes and remarks

GCSE results day (Thursday 23 August) is almost here - we hope that you all get the results that you're hoping for! It may be the case, however, that some of your results may be lower than you were expecting. If this happens, you may wish to consider either getting your paper remarked or retaking one or more modular exams. This thread is aimed at providing you with enough information about both retakes and remarks so that you can make an informed decision.

What are retakes and remarks?
Retaking a modular exam or getting your paper remarked are two ways in which that you can aim to improve a GCSE grade if you're not happy with it. If your retake marks are higher than your original marks, your retake marks will count towards your final grade. However, if your original score was higher your overall result will not change . Exam retakes usually take place in the next available exam season (so the likelihood is that any retakes you may take will take place during the January 2013 exam season). Remarks are available for a short period of time after you have received your results - please note however that once you have received a grade from a remark, it is final. Your original grade will not count, even if it is higher than that of the remark.

Does it matter which one I pick?
Whether or not you apply for a remark or be entered for retake should depend on a number of different factors. It is important to remember that subjects such as English and History are marked subjectively, whereby examiners award marks at their own discretion (as opposed to something like Maths, where there is usually a strict mark scheme and so no room for confusion). This means that there may possibly be a big difference in what one examiner considers A material and what another does. Because of this, it is often more advisable (though not out of the question) to apply for a remark if you have received a lower grade than you were expecting in an essay based subject rather than if you had taken a non-essay based subject. However, due to the subjective nature of these papers it is possible that your marks may be lowered rather than increased. Because of this, retakes are the popular option for many students. See below for examples of situations in which different courses of action would be appropriate.

So which one should I choose?
It is hard for me to say which course of action is best if you aren't happy with your results. Your first port of call should be your subject teacher, who will be able to give you the best advice possible. However, I've included a few possible scenarios below along with the advised action:

I got high grades in most of my modules, but I got one lower result which dragged my overall grade down
If you have one modular grade which is pulling your overall result down, it would be advisable to retake that exam. It would be very unlikely that a remark would significantly improve your overall grade, and may even end up lowering it. However, if you feel that you wouldn't be able to perform better in a retake, or that the additional time spent on studying and revision would be detrimental to any other exams you would be taking, it would not be a good choice to retake. Additionally, if you are a year 11 student preparation for retakes may interfere with learning AS Level content - if this is the case, you probably should not go ahead with the retake as in most cases you can make up for your grade with your A Levels.

I didn't perform as well as I could have done in my exams due to outside circumstances
A retake is the best option for you, providing that you feel that studying for the exam would not have a negative impact upon any other studies.

I found my original exam extremely difficult, and I didn't understand the content very well
In this case it is best to speak to your subject teacher. They may advise you to focus on your other exams rather than retaking it since learning the content to a high standard would be very time consuming, or they may offer you extra sessions to prepare you for a resit.

Do I have to pay?
You usually have to pay a fee to either retake an exam or to have your paper remarked, although your centre may choose to pay these fees for you. The cost of retaking or remarking is dependent on the exam board in question, so you should speak to your examinations officer to make sure you have all of the information that you need. You can find up to date information for AQA's fees below.

Where can I get further information?
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have published their guide to post-results services valid for the June 2012, November 2012 and January 2013 exam seasons. It contains comprehensive information on the possible actions that can be taken once you have received your results. It can be found here .

Guides to post results fees can be found here:

•

AQA

•

OCR [from page 72]

•

WJEC

If you have any questions that have not been answered in this guide, please ask in this thread and hopefully it can be sorted out! Good luck!

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

JoshHardman

1

Great post with some useful information, thanks for sharing!

Reply 2

hellsbells99

3

Good luck everyone for tomorrow.
Re: Maths Edexcel Linear GCSE - If you miss a grade by 1 or 2 marks out of the 200, is it worth getting a maths paper remarked? Do examiners ever miss giving marks for working out etc or are remarks more relevant to essay type exams? Thanks for any advice!

Reply 3

Pandora.

OP

15

Original post by hellsbells99

Good luck everyone for tomorrow.
Re: Maths Edexcel Linear GCSE - If you miss a grade by 1 or 2 marks out of the 200, is it worth getting a maths paper remarked? Do examiners ever miss giving marks for working out etc or are remarks more relevant to essay type exams? Thanks for any advice!

You might find better help in this thread. :smile:

Essentially remarks work better for essay exams, but if you're only 1/2 marks away it might be best to discuss it with your teacher and see what they'd advise. :yes:

Thank you!

I am 4 marks off an A* in Edexcel Physics and Biology - should I ask for a remark??? It was so close considering the grade boundaries are 40 marks apart...

This was posted from TheLightbulbKid - voicing an opinion and attempting to give advice :smile:

on the iPad/iPod app

Reply 6

_Ddraig_

19

3 UMS mark off an A* in Addtional Science
3 UMS mark off an A in English Lit
1 UMS mark off an A in PE
5 UMS mark off an A* in Core Science

Advise please? What should i do?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

XtremeLuke

5

In my 'Chemistry Unit 1 Tier H' AQA exam I got 79 UMS, 1 off a A.

When going into the exam I was confident, yet I found it very hard. However in Physics I went into the exam less confident, and found it easy and got an A.

The science exams are the new spec.

This is however a modular exam, and I am not sure it is worth making a fuss about. Any advice, should I ask for a remark?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 8

Groat

13

Original post by TheLightBulb

I am 4 marks off an A* in Edexcel Physics and Biology - should I ask for a remark??? It was so close considering the grade boundaries are 40 marks apart...

This was posted from TheLightbulbKid - voicing an opinion and attempting to give advice :smile:

on the iPad/iPod app

Do you have any modules which are significantly lower than the rest? If you are going to remark sciences, you need to pick a module which you feel doesn't represent how well you scored. Are you doing either Physics or Biology at A-Level? If you aren't, it may be worth considering to just leave them as A grades.

Original post by _Morsey_

3 UMS mark off an A* in Addtional Science
3 UMS mark off an A in English Lit
1 UMS mark off an A in PE
5 UMS mark off an A* in Core Science

Advise please? What should i do?

Are you doing any of these subjects to A-Level? If not, it may be worth considering to just leave them. Do you have any modules lower than the rest? These may be worth remarking.

Reply 9

Illusionary

19

Original post by _Morsey_

3 UMS mark off an A* in Addtional Science
3 UMS mark off an A in English Lit
1 UMS mark off an A in PE
5 UMS mark off an A* in Core Science

Advise please? What should i do?

Which of these do you feel that you've scored lower in that you should have done? Remember that remarks can lead to your mark going down as well as up, though if you're that close to going up by a grade it's probably unlikely that your mark would fall by enough to make a grade difference. Have a chat with your teachers for their opinions, but it's certainly possible that remarks could lead to increases in UMS of enough to push you up to the next grade. That's more likely in essay subjects (e.g., English) than sciences, though.

Reply 10

AishaTara

14

hey all, I got some remarks done, which all went up. If you want any advice or a chat feel free to PM me. Also my teachers wouldn't allow it even though it was by 1 UMS so I had to argue alot, dont give up. its totally worth it, as you get your money back if it goes up and the worst that can happen is you lose your money!
xx

Reply 11

_Ddraig_

19

Original post by Illusionary

Which of these do you feel that you've scored lower in that you should have done? Remember that remarks can lead to your mark going down as well as up, though if you're that close to going up by a grade it's probably unlikely that your mark would fall by enough to make a grade difference. Have a chat with your teachers for their opinions, but it's certainly possible that remarks could lead to increases in UMS of enough to push you up to the next grade. That's more likely in essay subjects (e.g., English) than sciences, though.

Well i think that i should enquire for a remark on the PE and English as those are written and marked more subjectively, although for PE there is a given mark scheme, it isn't as strict as say maths.

I am just not sure whether to enquire about the sciences, as you said, it is unlikely, that should i get marked down, that i would get marked down by enough to mark down my overall grade.

Reply 12

kiesh2

1 UMS point off an A* in chemistry, should i definetly get that remarked? I don't want the grade to go down

Reply 13

ambbs

12

Original post by kiesh2

1 UMS point off an A* in chemistry, should i definetly get that remarked? I don't want the grade to go down

You're very unlikely to go down a grade as that's such a high A - I'd get a remark. Well done anyway!

Reply 14

ambbs

12

4 UMS off an A* in GCSE Psychology...worth a remark or not?

Reply 15

Spiky_Roses

Does anyone know when retakes of Psychology AQA Unit 1 are?

Reply 16

usycool1

19

Original post by kiesh2

1 UMS point off an A* in chemistry, should i definetly get that remarked? I don't want the grade to go down

Usually, science exams are marked pretty accurately so it is unlikely that your mark will change in a remark. Having said this though, if you're doing chemistry for A-Level , you may as well go for the remark as you are so close to an A* and it is very unlikely you will drop a grade.

I recommend you speak to your teacher to get his/her opinion too. :smile:

Reply 17

Spiky_Roses

Original post by ambbs

4 UMS off an A* in GCSE Psychology...worth a remark or not?

I'd say yeah - some questions are quite subjective and if that's UMS then it might only take like 3 marks to get up there :smile:

Reply 18

Kim07

I've got quite a lot of grades that were close to the A* boundary, but I'm far too poor to afford them all for remark! :'(

Reply 19

Annie72

17

I'm a parent having serious trouble trying to understand all this "UMS" stuff because we didnt have that when I took my GCSE's back in the late 90s.Basically my son has dire exam results and I'm trying to work out his actual grade, ie A, B, C etc. His results for his science are 21/80 and for his science assessment are 24/80.I know they are terrible and I'm not happy about it right now.

Many thanks for helping this old'un :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

GCSE retakes and remarks

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