Should I retake my physics A level?

Hi everyone hope you're having a good day.
I needed some advice on whether I should retake me physics A level. I got BBD on results day and needed ABC, which got me accepted by my insurance (Liverpool) but not my firm (Durham).
I'm okay with going to my insurance, as its course is really good, but I can't shake the feeling that I want to go someplace else.
I'm considering retaking my Physics which I got the D in (it's definitely not my strongest subject) as I'd have a lot more time to put into practice papers and online lessons.
I'm also getting one of my Politics papers remarked which I was 2 marks away from an A in, which would put me in a much better position if I decide to retake and go for my firm choice.
I'm also considering going into the first year of uni with my insurance and then transferring to Durham or Exeter.
What do you think is the best course of action? Thank you for the advice.

Hello,
I was once in your position- I was completely screwed over by my physics course in my own time in 2021.
Naturally, I re-took everything after the devastatingly bad grades I got. I wanted to study physics and was not about to take 'no' for an answer.
Needless to say there was no improvement on that re-sit. I decided to do it again, and my institution tried to talk me out of it by saying truly unacceptable things to me. Needless to say, I did not listen to them, an re-sat my exams.
I am now in Warwick University. After a score of 76% in my first year on the physics program, I got 82% this year in the second year. Currently I am doing a research project and there is a possibility that I made a major discovery in it (the Nature journal kind).
What do you want to study in the future? Do you have a dream? A career goal? If so, then let nothing stop you from achieving it. Especially is you want to go somewhere else- Durham is an exceedingly good university! I know people in that university now and all they can talk about is the subject they are studying!
D isn't even that bad- one of my results in 2021 was a double U for two exams (and then I went from that to being one of the best students on one of the best physics courses in the UK)

Hello,
I was once in your position- I was completely screwed over by my physics course in my own time in 2021.
Naturally, I re-took everything after the devastatingly bad grades I got. I wanted to study physics and was not about to take 'no' for an answer.
Needless to say there was no improvement on that re-sit. I decided to do it again, and my institution tried to talk me out of it by saying truly unacceptable things to me. Needless to say, I did not listen to them, an re-sat my exams.
I am now in Warwick University. After a score of 76% in my first year on the physics program, I got 82% this year in the second year. Currently I am doing a research project and there is a possibility that I made a major discovery in it (the Nature journal kind).
What do you want to study in the future? Do you have a dream? A career goal? If so, then let nothing stop you from achieving it. Especially is you want to go somewhere else- Durham is an exceedingly good university! I know people in that university now and all they can talk about is the subject they are studying!
D isn't even that bad- one of my results in 2021 was a double U for two exams (and then I went from that to being one of the best students on one of the best physics courses in the UK)

Hi thank you so much for your post ! Did you say you took 2 re-sits ? I just want to go to Durham , which is driving everyone nuts . How did u study by yourself ? Or you went to cram school ?? How do you learn physics by yourself ? I am very sure I want to do that but every one is so against it .

My first re-sit took place in October 2021 due to Covid, and my second re-sits in May-June 2022, so yes.
The first thing that happened was I got extremely angry at my Sixth Form school (read Hulk-level angry) when they began trying to talk me out of re-sitting the A-levels and said 'I'll prove to you that you know nothing about me'.
I didn't really study by myself. Sure, I was doing past papers and everything all by myself, and I had a few tutors in subjects I didn't really get (which were statistics, mechanics and physics). One tutor helped, the other didn't really help (I really hate physics markschemes at A-level) My biggest motivation, however, was a PhD student I met in February and grew close to the same month who just believed in me (even went around saying I got into Warwick even before I knew my results. She even put it on her PhD thesis in acknowledgements!).
But now, yes it does seem that I often study physics by myself. This was particularly true this year, with a tremendously awfully taught Quantum Mechanics course. I just loved the subject and was doing a few hours extra work on it per day in addition to everything else. This paid off when I got 86% for the module, my second-highest grade this year. I bought a ton of textbooks to help out with this. When revising for the exams I was following a rigid revision timetable I made which resulted in 6 hours of revision per day for 2 months. Why? Because I have a very specific career goal which involves doing a PhD on what will likely be either active galaxies or unification of the 4 forces.
My advice to you would be:
1) If you want to re-sit then in order to maximise your chances you are going to need a really good physics tutor
2) I am not sure what 'cram school' is but, if you have a dream and passion for physics (or any other subject), that will be enough.
3) Be prepared to work. It is far harder to do it yourself rather than get it taught to you in lessons/lectures
4) If anyone advises you not to bother, don't listen to them.
5) Try to find a good source of motivation for yourself

Thanks so much! You two helped me make the decision to retake physics A level. Silly Math I think we're in exactly the same position, my family is totally against this but I'm determined to get in Durham! Good luck on your exams, hopefully we'll see eachother next year!