GCSE retake???

I would like to get 9 9’s and a 7 in my GCSE’s but should I take the gcse if I say got some 8’s instead of 9’s- do straight 9’s really matter?

Reply 1

dutchscilly

Original post by Marianne126

I would like to get 9 9’s and a 7 in my GCSE’s but should I take the gcse if I say got some 8’s instead of 9’s- do straight 9’s really matter?

I suppose it depends on the uni/course really– most universities don't distinguish greatly between a 9 and an 8, both appear as an A*, but some more competitive unis like LSE might do so. I was told not to get my papers remarked if I was a little bit off a 9 because it would be a waste of money, but it totally depends on what you want to do later on!

Reply 2

Georgewellman21

I’m assuming your 16 and have just left school and expecting your results on August 20th? I am in the same boat if that’s the case.

With me I’m expecting 7s and 8s which I’m obviously happy with. I’ve never been someone who religiously studies to get the very elite grades, I just do my best. The career I want to go into only requires me to get a decent grade in English and I will get one.

It totally depends on two things:

- how confident are you that you could retake them and smash a 9? The last thing you want is to get a 6 or 7 when you were gifted an 8 by the exam board

- what do you want to do if you are older? If you want to be some NASA extraordinaire then yeah, consider retaking them to make sure you’ll get ahead of the other candidates. But if you want to be something less “academic” so to speak, maybe like a journalist, then leave it as it is, don’t put the hassle of revision on yourself when you’re being gifted some EPIC grades.

7s and 8s are incredible, don’t tell yourself that’s not good enough because people would kill for those!

Reply 3

username5290958

I would like to do an English degree at Oxford, Cambridge or Durham, then go into publishing/ editing. Would it be better to have all 9’s for these unis or concentrate on my alevels ( I am taking English lit, history and maths)

Reply 4

dutchscilly

Original post by Marianne126

Cambridge isn't that concerned about GCSEs, they're more focused on A-Level grades, and Oxford usually has an all 8s to 9s policy, so you don't need all 9s there either. I imagine Durham has a similar policy to Cambridge, wherein they're more concerned about A-Levels than GCSEs, and all 7s/8s/9s is still an excellent GCSE profile.