Can top/good A levels make up for bad GCSE'S?

I have done really bad in my GCSE'S and got poor grades for my ability and prediction. The reason that I did badly was laziness, arrogance and poor teachers. I ended up getting
A* - FURTHER MATHS
A - COMPUTING
A - MATHS
B - ENGLISH LIT
B - ENGLISH LANGUAGE
B - GEOGRAPHY
B - HISTORY
B - BUSINESS STUDIES
C - BIOLOGY
C - PHYSICS
C - CHEMISTRY
E - FRENCH

Looking at these results I feel its embarrassing that I got such poor grades. But I'm determined to improve and work my socks of and try to achieve at least 4A's at A Level. (Note - I'm taking Further Maths, Maths, Computing and Economics, next year). I would have love to gone to Oxford or Cambridge but the GCSE'S I feel would hold me back. If I would to work really hard and was to get 4A's at A level, would my GCSE'S be that much of a problem that I could not get into UCL, Durham, Imperal, Warwick and other top unis.

Obviously, if you've got two identical candidates with the same AAAA at AS but one has your GCSEs and the other has 12A*s, it's obvious who's going to look better. However, if your AS grades are very good and the universities want you, they also probably won't reject you on the basis of your GCSEs. Essentially, your GCSEs aren't going to help you get into top universities but they also shouldn't hold you back (unless you they're below the entry requirements, in which case they will). For Cambridge, you might even have a chance of you score very highly at AS since they've got a reputation for being less interested in GCSEs.

I have done really bad in my GCSE'S and got poor grades for my ability and prediction. The reason that I did badly was laziness, arrogance and poor teachers. I ended up getting
A* - FURTHER MATHS
A - COMPUTING
A - MATHS
B - ENGLISH LIT
B - ENGLISH LANGUAGE
B - GEOGRAPHY
B - HISTORY
B - BUSINESS STUDIES
C - BIOLOGY
C - PHYSICS
C - CHEMISTRY
E - FRENCH

Looking at these results I feel its embarrassing that I got such poor grades. But I'm determined to improve and work my socks of and try to achieve at least 4A's at A Level. (Note - I'm taking Further Maths, Maths, Computing and Economics, next year). I would have love to gone to Oxford or Cambridge but the GCSE'S I feel would hold me back. If I would to work really hard and was to get 4A's at A level, would my GCSE'S be that much of a problem that I could not get into UCL, Durham, Imperal, Warwick and other top unis.

Ohh E in french

Not good

I have done really bad in my GCSE'S and got poor grades for my ability and prediction. The reason that I did badly was laziness, arrogance and poor teachers. I ended up getting
A* - FURTHER MATHS
A - COMPUTING
A - MATHS
B - ENGLISH LIT
B - ENGLISH LANGUAGE
B - GEOGRAPHY
B - HISTORY
B - BUSINESS STUDIES
C - BIOLOGY
C - PHYSICS
C - CHEMISTRY
E - FRENCH

Looking at these results I feel its embarrassing that I got such poor grades. But I'm determined to improve and work my socks of and try to achieve at least 4A's at A Level. (Note - I'm taking Further Maths, Maths, Computing and Economics, next year). I would have love to gone to Oxford or Cambridge but the GCSE'S I feel would hold me back. If I would to work really hard and was to get 4A's at A level, would my GCSE'S be that much of a problem that I could not get into UCL, Durham, Imperal, Warwick and other top unis.

is that a major disadvantage?

thanks for the reply, including cambridge are their any other 'top' unis that are less interested in GCSEs and more keen on high ums scores.

Cambridge/Oxford is completely out of the question since they 'officially' ask for at least 6 A grades at GCSE, whereas in practice everybody who gets in has at least 6 A*s. Most of the other universities you have listed would also require at least an A grade in English language and Maths for their most competitive courses. I know UCL requires an A in a modern foreign language, so your E in French won't quite cut the mustard. Having said that, with outstanding AS results, and I mean 4 As with A* predictions, you could quite easily overrule your GCSE grades and get you the offers you want. But its up to you to get those grades.

Obviously, if you've got two identical candidates with the same AAAA at AS but one has your GCSEs and the other has 12A*s, it's obvious who's going to look better. However, if your AS grades are very good and the universities want you, they also probably won't reject you on the basis of your GCSEs. Essentially, your GCSEs aren't going to help you get into top universities but they also shouldn't hold you back (unless you they're below the entry requirements, in which case they will). For Cambridge, you might even have a chance of you score very highly at AS since they've got a reputation for being less interested in GCSEs.

Firstly, Oxford and Cambridge do not 'officially' ask for 6 A grades. Apart from the English and Maths requirements, neither university has GCSE requirements. Secondly, if you actually looked at the statistics, you'd see that there are plenty of people who get into both Universities each year with fewer than 6 A*s.

I'm going to Cambridge in October to do Economics. I was told by my interviewer that Cambridge would not accept anybody with under 6 As, full stop but that in reality, most people who get in have at least 6 A*s. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that they go through all applications and reject those with under 6 A*s, but more likely that the kind of student who will be able to acheive 4 A grades at AS to fulfill the entry requirements is the kind of student who will have acheived mostly A*s the previous year in their GCSEs. I don't know a single person in my year who had an offer from Oxbridge who got a B in GCSE, so take from that what you will.

Edit: This naturally depends on what course you're applying for as well as the college you're applying to. A less competitive course may result in more leniency when looking at GCSE results. On the whole, Oxbridge are looking for consistent academic excellence from a student. If your application demonstrates that, regardless of the details of your grades, then you will surely be in a good position.

I can't name any specific ones but generally, Universities are more interested in great AS results than great GCSE results (although obviously both is best). Cambridge is the only University that actually requires you to submit your UMS results though.

I see. Thanks for answering my question. I've heard from several people that universities have a look at the school you attended during your GCSE'S and look at the quality of the school in order to justify poor grades. I'm just curious as to whether or not this is true? Say a child who achieved those grades above went to one of the worst schools performance wise in the country with terrible ofsted results and poor teaching. These grades would stand out surely? And you may be able to justify mediocre grades.