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Is it possible to go from a D to an A/A*?

I'm wondering if I should ask my teacher if I can retake my AS Fashion & Textiles course.

Simply put, I didn't revise enough, my health was horrendous, anxiety and stress was sky high due to being bullied in a certain class, and I had the burden of being part of the college student council while having other clubs. I dropped two of my AS subjects and replaced it with two new AS subjects as well as carrying on with my Fashion & Textiles course.

So to put it shortly, I'm taking AS English Literature, AS Communication & Culture and A2 Fashion & Textiles.

Now, I got a D in my fashion and textiles course BUT I want to take a course in Fashion Design with Creative Direction/Communication at Uni. What I want to know is, is it possible for you to go from a D to an A/A* in an art course?

Before you ask, I am completely capable of achieving at least an A grade, and I know I can put in the effort to do this, but I need to know if continuing onto A2 fashion & textiles is worth it if I can't get an A/A* at the end of the A Level. If it's not possible, then I would either resit the AS Fashion & Textiles exams along with my A2 ones (the only problem being that it was my coursework that brought my grade down, not the exams), or just retake the whole subject along with my two new AS subjects (therefore retaking the year, which I don't mind at all).

If anyone can help me out on this I'll be very grateful lmao
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by minaeshi
I'm wondering if I should ask my teacher if I can retake my AS Fashion & Textiles course.

Simply put, I didn't revise enough, my health was horrendous, anxiety and stress was sky high due to being bullied in a certain class, and I had the burden of being part of the college student council while having other clubs. I dropped two of my AS subjects and replaced it with two new AS subjects as well as carrying on with my Fashion & Textiles course.

So to put it shortly, I'm taking AS English Literature, AS Communication & Culture and A2 Fashion & Textiles.

Now, I got a D in my fashion and textiles course BUT I want to take a course in Fashion Design with Creative Direction/Communication at Uni. What I want to know is, is it possible for you to go from a D to an A/A* in an art course?

Before you ask, I am completely capable of achieving at least an A grade, and I know I can put in the effort to do this, but I need to know if continuing onto A2 fashion & textiles is worth it if I can't get an A/A* at the end of the A Level. If it's not possible, then I would either resit the AS Fashion & Textiles exams along with my A2 ones (the only problem being that it was my coursework that brought my grade down, not the exams), or just retake the whole subject along with my two new AS subjects (therefore retaking the year, which I don't mind at all).

If anyone can help me out on this I'll be very grateful lmao


You can't get an A or an A* with a D in AS without retakes.
I really don't think it's something that can be done. You could still get a B but it is really difficult and in some cases you may have to get full marks in part of the A2 for it to be possible. My teacher once said that to get a A* in English with a B at AS, you needed to get full marks in the exam, so I'm assuming a D makes that impossible.

TL;DR I agree with Stepidermis. A retake is the only way you'll get an A/ A*
Reply 3
Original post by Stepidermis
You can't get an A or an A* with a D in AS without retakes.


Retakes it is! Thanks man lmao
Original post by HarleenQuinzel
I really don't think it's something that can be done. You could still get a B but it is really difficult and in some cases you may have to get full marks in part of the A2 for it to be possible. My teacher once said that to get a A* in English with a B at AS, you needed to get full marks in the exam, so I'm assuming a D makes that impossible.

TL;DR I agree with Stepidermis. A retake is the only way you'll get an A/ A*


There's no agreeing about it haha, you need 80% overall for an A or A* so with a D (50-59%) you would need (101-110%) to average out the 80%... impossible
Original post by Stepidermis
There's no agreeing about it haha, you need 80% overall for an A or A* so with a D (50-59%) you would need (101-110%) to average out the 80%... impossible


I know it's not possible for them to get an A/A* with their current grade, I was more agreeing with the concept of retaking the AS and backing up what you were saying. I didn't phrase it as well as I could have :smile:
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 6
Original post by Stepidermis
There's no agreeing about it haha, you need 80% overall for an A or A* so with a D (50-59%) you would need (101-110%) to average out the 80%... impossible


Original post by HarleenQuinzel
I know it's not possible for them to get an A/A* with their current grade, I was more agreeing with the concept of retaking the AS and backing up what you were saying. I didn't phrase it as well as I could have :smile:


Okay, so I'm basically retaking the AS year with 2 new subjects and moving on with the subject I got a D in. My college have allowed me to have another year to complete the two AS levels so by the end of my 3 years I would have 3 A Levels and 1 AS (because they want me to take an AS along with the 2 subjects I progress on with).

I can do that or I can completely retake the whole year so I'll still be doing the 2 new subjects as above, while also retaking the subject I got a D in, so that when I finish I will end with 3 Alevels.

Which one do you think would be the better option? Personally, I want to do well in Fashion and Textiles because I know I can do it. By going with the first option I wont achieve an overall A/A* grade in that course unless I resit the AS exam on top of the A2 exams, but if I go with option two I still have a chance of getting an A*/A at AS level, but that then means I end with 3 Alevels and not 3 Alevels + 1 AS.

Please give me some advice ^_^
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by minaeshi
Please give me some advice ^_^


I'd say you should go with the option that gives you the best chance to do well in fashion and textiles. It's the subject that's important to you, so doing an extra AS level doesn't seem to be something you should prioritise. If you know you can get an A/A*, you should go for the option that lets you do that (a.k.a option 2)

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