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GCSE Results: Didn't do as well as you hoped? Advice here! 21 August 2014

Thursday 21st August 2014 GCSE Results Day - Didn't do as well you hoped?

GCSE Results Day is fast approaching and there will be a mixture of feelings on the day. We hope that all of you achieve the grades that you are hoping for but we do realise that, unfortunately, there will be some who may be slightly disappointed. If you end up in that position, the first thing to realise is that all is not lost. There are still several options available for you. This thread will aim to give you an insight into those options, with the intention of then allowing you to make an informed decision of what to do next.

If your query is not answered in this post or you have any further questions, please feel free to make a post in this thread. To get the attention of the mods looking after these threads, just copy and paste the following into your post:

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If you wish to have a general chat about GCSE Results Day, please visit the GCSE Results Day 2014 Chat thread. When the exam boards release them, grade boundaries will be posted on the Grade Boundaries thread. On results day, if you are considering retaking papers or getting some of your papers remarked, you may wish to have a look at the Retakes and Remarks thread.

Good luck for results day!

I didn't score at least a C grade in English/Maths! What do I do?
Achieving at least a grade C in GCSE English and GCSE Maths is very important. Most degree courses at university and many jobs have a minimum requirement of a C grade in these subjects. If, however, you've not achieved this, don't panic - there are ways to rectify this.

If you are planning on continuing on to Further Education (A-Levels, IB, other lever 3 qualifications etc.) then you should try to contact your desired Sixth Form/College as soon as possible. It may be the case that your Sixth Form/College will allow you to retake these exams alongside studying for your next set of qualifications. Some institutions may also offer additional classes to help you prepare for retaking these GCSEs.

If you do not intend to continue to Further Education or your Sixth Form/College does not offer this, you should speak to your English/Maths teacher to see if they have any advice for you. You may well be allowed to retake these GCSEs at your previous school or at another institution. It is strongly recommended that you have a subject teacher/tutor to help you in preparation for your retake, though.

Another option that may be worth considering is to get a remark. Remarks are discussed in more detail on the GCSE Retake and Remark thread (click the orange link above).


I didn't meet the grade requirements to study at my chosen Sixth Form/College
If you are in this position, the first thing you should do is try to contact your desired Sixth Form/College. It is still possible that they will let you in even if you have not achieved the required grades. If they do, congratulations! If not, read on - there are still plenty of options:

- You could consider retaking the whole year in order to achieve the necessary grades required to study at your desired Sixth Form/College. You will, however, need to contact your Sixth Form/College to make sure that they will accept your retake grades.

- If you feel that your grade on a paper does not reflect how well you think you performed on it, one option for you is to get a remark for that paper. It is very important for you to let your Sixth Form/College know that you're getting a paper remarked though as the result for the remark may come after enrolment day.

- You could search for another Sixth Form or College which has lower entry requirements. You'll need to contact this institution to check to see if they still have places available for you. Your current school's career advisor will be able to provide you with guidance in regards to this.

- You could consider alternative options to Further Education if you feel that this is not for you. There is more information regarding this below.


I missed the grade that I needed in order to continue studying a particular subject
To continue studying a particular subject at a higher level (A-Level, IB etc.) most subject departments ask for at least a grade B in that subject at GCSE. If you didn't meet this requirement, the first thing you need to consider is why you were unable to do so.

If it was due to a lack of understanding of the content or because you didn't have enough passion for the subject, then you may wish to reconsider your options. It's not untrue when people say that A-Levels (or other level 3 qualifications) are quite a step up from GCSE. As a result, it may be in your best interests to reconsider studying that subject, as life could become very hard for you at Sixth Form/College.

If you feel that there were other, outside factors that meant that you were unable to perform as well as you should have, you should try speaking to the department head. You will need try you best to convince them to let you continue with the subject and, unfortunately, there is no guarantee that they will let you. If they are unwilling to take you on, you could consider studying the subjects as a private candidate or at a separate Sixth Form. Bear in mind though that studying as a private candidate will not be easy - you may have to self teach yourself the subject (which is not easy, and could have impact upon your other subjects) and it will be expensive.


I don't think my grades are good enough for Oxbridge/Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary

Oxbridge
Oxford place a much larger emphasis on GCSE grades than Cambridge (where the UMS average at AS plays a greater role). Although there are no specific GCSE requirements for Oxford (or at Cambridge), successful applicants tend to have a string of A* grades at GCSE.

You may wish to post in the following threads to seek advice on applying to Oxford and Cambridge:

"Are my grades good enough for Oxford?"
"Are my grades good enough for Cambridge?"

Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary
A common misconception amongst Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary Medicine applicants is that you need at least 8A*s at GCSE in order to stand a chance in securing a place. It is important to realise that this is not the case for almost all universities offering these courses. If your GCSEs aren't as strong as you think they could be, you can still get into Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary but when the time comes, you will need to apply smartly.

You may wish to have a look at the following links (please note that it is important that you also check with Universities before applying, as some of the information may go out of date when you apply):

Medical School GCSE Requirements
Dentistry Entry Requirements (including GCSE requirements)
Veterinary Medicine Entrance Requirements for 2014



I don't want to go into further education.
After reflecting upon your GCSE grades, it may be the case that you no longer want to go into Further Education. If so, you could:

- Seek to pursue a vocational course instead. See here for more information: http://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships#fil=uk

- Go straight into work. If so, have a look at our Careers and Employment forum: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=8

- Take up an apprenticeship. Have a look at our Apprenticeships forum: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=516
(edited 9 years ago)

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usycool1
x

New stickies :mmm:

My verdict...

Spoiler

Reply 2
Original post by Black Rose
New stickies :mmm:

My verdict...

Spoiler



Thanks, glad I could get your approval :wink:

And no problem!
Hello, I hope you'll answer my question.
My cousin did her GCSE's few years ago and ended up with 8 B's and 1A.
She's now done with her A levels and studied really hard and happily she just got her results today (which was suppose to be tomorrow but her school handed in the results earlier) anyway she got 3A's and 1 A*!

Now, she wants to apply for Oxbridge, Will her GCSE results affect her?
Original post by Anne james
Hello, I hope you'll answer my question.
My cousin did her GCSE's few years ago and ended up with 8 B's and 1A.
She's now done with her A levels and studied really hard and happily she just got her results today (which was suppose to be tomorrow but her school handed in the results earlier) anyway she got 3A's and 1 A*!

Now, she wants to apply for Oxbridge, Will her GCSE results affect her?


What school is this? :eyeball:
Reply 5
Original post by Anne james
Hello, I hope you'll answer my question.
My cousin did her GCSE's few years ago and ended up with 8 B's and 1A.
She's now done with her A levels and studied really hard and happily she just got her results today (which was suppose to be tomorrow but her school handed in the results earlier) anyway she got 3A's and 1 A*!

Now, she wants to apply for Oxbridge, Will her GCSE results affect her?


Ah the school really shouldn't have done that. :tongue:

What is she thinking about applying for? :smile:

Also, if you haven't done so already, you may want to create a new thread in the Oxbridge forum: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=23

You'll receive the best advice there. :smile:
Maths- B
Biology- B
Physics- B
Chemistry- B
Eng lang- A
Eng Lit- B
Geography- B
Ict- B
RE- C
Spanish- D
Good enough for medicine? Thanks x
Reply 7
Maths- A
Further Maths-B
Biology- B
Physics- B
Chemistry- B
Eng lang- A
Eng Lit- C
History- B
Ict- B
RE- B
French-C
Good enough for dentistry? If so what kind of uni will be best to go to with the grades?
:confused::frown:
Original post by paddymac64
Maths- B
Biology- B
Physics- B
Chemistry- B
Eng lang- A
Eng Lit- B
Geography- B
Ict- B
RE- C
Spanish- D
Good enough for medicine? Thanks x


Original post by Rhuhan75
Maths- A
Further Maths-B
Biology- B
Physics- B
Chemistry- B
Eng lang- A
Eng Lit- C
History- B
Ict- B
RE- B
French-C
Good enough for dentistry? If so what kind of uni will be best to go to with the grades?
:confused::frown:


I have to be honest, it's going to be a very tough ride for both of you! They're a great set of GCSEs, but they fall far short of the average for dentistry and medicine applicants. No need to fret, though! You can still apply, but you'll have an upwards hurdle to climb if you want to get in! Your best move now is to focus on the future: get good AS results, get a good UKCAT/BMAT score, get your work experience sorted EARLY and write a good PS - you'll need to shine in these areas to "beat out" your GCSE performances!

Other than that, just research how unis mark their applications and the criteria they use - apply to unis with a smaller emphasis on GCSEs!
Original post by Rhuhan75
Maths- A
Further Maths-B
Biology- B
Physics- B
Chemistry- B
Eng lang- A
Eng Lit- C
History- B
Ict- B
RE- B
French-C
Good enough for dentistry? If so what kind of uni will be best to go to with the grades?
:confused::frown:



Hiya (this doesn't relate to your question), I was just wondering (if you don't mind me asking) what marks you achieved for each unit for History? Thanks:smile:
Reply 10
Original post by Hype en Ecosse
I have to be honest, it's going to be a very tough ride for both of you! They're a great set of GCSEs, but they fall far short of the average for dentistry and medicine applicants. No need to fret, though! You can still apply, but you'll have an upwards hurdle to climb if you want to get in! Your best move now is to focus on the future: get good AS results, get a good UKCAT/BMAT score, get your work experience sorted EARLY and write a good PS - you'll need to shine in these areas to "beat out" your GCSE performances!

Other than that, just research how unis mark their applications and the criteria they use - apply to unis with a smaller emphasis on GCSEs!




will it be easier for me to get into accounting as i also want to become a chartered accounting and was deciding which one i should go for
Original post by Rhuhan75
will it be easier for me to get into accounting as i also want to become a chartered accounting and was deciding which one i should go for


It would definitely be easier to get into, but you should be making these decisions based on what one you'd like to study! If you like dentistry better, apply to dentistry! If you don't mind, or like accounting better, apply to accounting. :smile:
Reply 12
Im thinking of appealing to get back in to sixthform. does anyone know how the appealing process works?
Even if your grades are really bad it is still possible to achieve while GCSE grades are important they are not the be all and end all take mmy grades for example I had

Science CC
French F
Business Studies F
English E (D after resit)
Maths E
Media E
History E
not fantastic but I was determined to achieve and go to uni so I did some City & Guilds Qualifications and then BTEC first diploma after that I did a BTEC national diploma got in to uni and left with an honours degree. it took 4 years at collage instead of 2 But I got there, so as you can see while you may be disappointed now with hard work you can still achieve.

Good luck
Reply 14
Hey! I just received my results for my GCSE's today, will they allow me to study medicine? This is what I go:
Maths: B
Biology: A
Physics: A
Chemistry: A
Computer Science: A
English Language: B
Business Studies: A
German: C
Religious Studies: A*
History: A
English Literature: A
Statistics: B
So overall, 1 A*, 7 A's, 3 B's and 1 C. Will this allow me to study medicine alone? I am considering re-siting my Maths and English Language GCSE's to get them higher, and perhaps getting all my sciences remarked as they are all just off A*'s by a couple UMS.
Thanks for your help on this!
Ok, so i got 6 A*s, 5 As and one B, is that good enough for medicine at a top London Univeristy
I got As or higher in English, Maths and Triple science
Thanks for any help in advance
Reply 16
Original post by Samirx998
Ok, so i got 6 A*s, 5 As and one B, is that good enough for medicine at a top London Univeristy
I got As or higher in English, Maths and Triple science
Thanks for any help in advance


Yup, they're good results for Medicine. Have a look here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements

Well done. :smile:
Reply 17
Hi there everyone. I hope you all did well. I got 3A*s (Edexcel IGCSE Maths A, Edexcel IGCSE Physics, AQA GCSE Religious Studies B), 5As (Edexcel GCSE History A, AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE English Language and Literature and OCR GCSE Latin) and a B (AQA IGCSE French) so generally I am very pleasedbut I am a bit disappointed with the French - I worked harder than most people and it seemed easy. Did anyone else sit AQA IGCSE French (code: 8655)? It is a completely new specification which has never been sat before and at my school, they have had big problems with new AQA French GCSE specifications in the past. With this one, in my whole year, there was only one A* and 2As for the GCSE and the teachers are having meeting to discuss how to proceed. If you sat it, how did you do and do you know how students did nationally in it? Thank you very much and well done all.
Reply 18
I did terrible in my GCSEs

My GCSEs were 4A 2B 4C


a in C1 maths


i want to apply to imperial for mech eng but I fell my GCSEs will put me down. My a levels are maths,physics,chemistry,electron ics and economics. I plan in dropping economics at AS and taking further maths at A2, perhaps do all in a year.


Considering I get 4 A at AS, is it worth me applying to imperial?
Original post by Rhuhan75
Maths- A
Further Maths-B
Biology- B
Physics- B
Chemistry- B
Eng lang- A
Eng Lit- C
History- B
Ict- B
RE- B
French-C
Good enough for dentistry? If so what kind of uni will be best to go to with the grades?
:confused::frown:


Good grades man. I am aspiring to do dentistry as well and these are my GCSE grades:

Maths- A
Physics- A
Health and social care- A
Business- B
Biology- B
Chemistry- B
Geography- B
English Language- B
ICT- B
PE- B
French- C
English literature- C
Religious studies- C

Hopefully these grades will allow me to do dentistry in Kings College London


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