Should I retake the year?

I got CCCD in AS Biology, Maths, Psychology and Chemistry respectively. If I didn't retake the whole year I would ideally like to retake 8 of my 9 exams I had this year.

I know if I carry on with A2 as well as retaking AS that will be a lot of work, especially with 4 A-Levels. But I am against retaking the year for many reasons.

1) If I fail again I won't be able to find out until the end of Y13 which will be too late.

2) I really hate the year below me and wouldn't have any friends and would feel so uncomfortable.

3) There are completely different specifications next year, which would make the entire last year a waste of time in my opinion.

However, if I were to retake the year I would be able to pick different subjects that I couldn't last year. For example, Spanish wasn't being offered last year because there was no teacher, but it is being offered this year.

There are pros and cons and I don't really have any support from my friends, family or teachers. So any advice is welcome. Thanks.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

swwet aish

yu can take As privately? but u need confidence ! even um repeating finding for a study partner :frown:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2

kiasne

Original post by swwet aish

yu can take As privately? but u need confidence ! even um repeating finding for a study partner :frown:

Posted from TSR Mobile

I don't know how much that would cost, and I'd still have the issue of workload. Also, I'm not sure whether many places will be offering the exam as this year was technically the last year for it..

Reply 3

swwet aish

yes thats true ! but if so u shuld really work hrd in A2

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 4

kiasne

Original post by swwet aish

yes thats true ! but if so u shuld really work hrd in A2

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm planning to work really hard whatever I do next year, it's just that I'm not sure I can get decent enough overall A-Level grades without retaking AS. :/

Reply 5

swwet aish

u can if u really work hard ! n u need to do pprs mre !

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 6

TunaTunnel

Original post by kiasne

You should read this, it will give you some hope. http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2055250

Reply 7

swwet aish

Thanks alot ! um repeating for 3 rd time n finding for a study partner :'(

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 8

kiasne

Original post by swwet aish

Thanks alot ! um repeating for 3 rd time n finding for a study partner :'(

Posted from TSR Mobile

Which subjects are you doing?

Reply 9

Muttley79

Original post by kiasne

I'd advise dropping one subject and carry on with the others to A2. Doing four plus resits is a recipe for disappointment ...

Reply 10

swwet aish

Physics chemistry and biology

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 11

DeadEnd_96

Studying 4 A levels is a hell of a lot of work already, plus you want to revise 8 or 9 exams on top? You might want to think about this for a second because you need to decide whether you are really capable of coping with all that pressure. If you do mess up again with all those exams I don't think you can retake the A2 and AS exams again due to the new specification being introduced, so then you would need to start from the beginning so you would have completed A Levels in 4 years instead of 3 years if you retake AS now, thus wasting another year. However, if you truly believe that you are capable of handling all that pressure then go for it and don't look back. You must base this decision based on your ability to handle pressure and time management. Last year when I first did AS I achieved CCDE. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of A2 and AS exams so I retook year 12 and achieved AABB this year. I completely understand what you are saying, I felt really uncomfortable and embarrassed whilst I was retaking the year because it was the first time I have ever failed in something in my entire life. I lost contact with some of my friends as they had progressed onto year 13, while I was still stuck in year 12 at another college. I hardly had any contact with friends whilst retaking but that didn't matter because my main focus was to ace my exams and nothing else so I can finally go to university. I understand that you are going through a tough time, but you just need to stay focused on your aims in life and run towards them. Whatever choice you make, I wish you the best of luck in your future!!! :smile:

Reply 12

Niyi Aderounmu

You're gonna do 4 a-level for the A2? I'd drop the 'D' and focus on getting all A*/A's

Reply 13

kiasne

Original post by Muttley79

I'd advise dropping one subject and carry on with the others to A2. Doing four plus resits is a recipe for disappointment ...

So should I drop Chemistry and carry on with the others? Should I still retake all the AS exams?

Reply 14

kiasne

Original post by Niyi Aderounmu

You're gonna do 4 a-level for the A2? I'd drop the 'D' and focus on getting all A*/A's

Do you think I should still retake the AS exams?

Reply 15

Niyi Aderounmu

Original post by kiasne

Do you think I should still retake the AS exams?

If you can cope with the pressure and can work hard then yeah.

Reply 16

economist2

A2s are extremely hard honestly.AS is hard as well,but its manageble and it allows to make up for the deficit in A2.I dont want to pressurize you but jussayin.I took a gap year after my A2s.Even though my AS was decent(AAB),I ended up with (BCDs) on average that is.So,took a whole year out to pick my grades up.

Reply 17

Muttley79

Original post by kiasne

So should I drop Chemistry and carry on with the others? Should I still retake all the AS exams?

What were the module grades, were some higher? Drop the subject you least enjoy ...

Reply 18

kiasne

Original post by economist2

I'm really worried that if I've done this badly in AS then I'll do even worse in A2. I don't know what to do. :/

Reply 19

kiasne

Original post by Muttley79

What were the module grades, were some higher? Drop the subject you least enjoy ...

B, E, C in the modules in Chemistry. The 2nd exam really let me down.

I don't really enjoy any of my subjects so it's hard to make a decision based on that.