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I feel like my only option is retaking year 12, Can I? Should I? what do i dodod

Hello, I am a year 12 student, 16 years old. My GCSE grades were 777 666 555 3 (English language resit -> 777 6666 555)

This could come across as a vent or rant but idk, bear with me i guess

Near the end of year 11, before I did my exams and got my results, I got the chance to apply for college and choose my subjects.
I chose A level maths, computer science, and business studies, after about an hour or so of thinking. I did not really have a goal or career in mind, as I didn't really know
what to do with my life.
When September and October came along, I soon came to realise that I really did not like Business studies and asked to get it swapped for another subject. However it was already nearing november when I asked this.. so I was told that subject changes were closed for the year (it was too late).

Just for the first few weeks I did a decent amount of maths and business work. But soon after i realised that I was not doing any work whatsoever.. zero work. Also zero work done during computer science.

Every lesson I would be on my phone texting in this group chat i really liked or i was zoning out. The importance of A-levels didn't cross my mind, due to my own immaturity.
I would have the book in front of me with an empty page out, with a phone in my hand. If a teacher came up to me or asked me anything I would put on a facade that I'm doing fine and I'm actually doing the work, when I wasn't.

It shocked me how I had all that free time and I squandered it all like it was nothing. As the time passed on and the we approached winter holidays, I could've used that time to catch up and do my work. However I got presented with my first ever opportunity to do a part-time job. I could've denied it, but I took it on because I wanted to experience it for the first time. I spent most of my winter holidays working and the little free days I had at the end, I was occupying myself with watching shows and doing things I enjoyed.

Then came in January and February. My behaviour of not working at all continued. I did not open a single revision book when I was home, nor did any assignment, or homework. I would stay up very late at night on my phone and talk in the group chats i had fun talking in, in addition to wasting my time on social media. Then I would have to wake up early, getting terrible sleep. I hated this, so I unhealthily adopted the habit of marking myself absent every time I was faced with this. I could easily avoid the stress of going to lectures with a click of a button on my school timetable website, by self-marking as absent. One instance of it would turn into me skiving college multiple times a week. It became a habit and my attendance completely tanked, however I never told my parents or teachers that I falsely marked myself absent. Part of me feels like I did not want to go to lectures due to the fact that I had to face my incompetency as well.

The head staff of my college would then be notified by my unnatural frequency of absences and then flag a cause for concern, so there was a meeting including me, my parents, my tutor and the head staff. They emphasised the importance of attendance and reviewed my statistics, and they set a goal for me to attend every lesson. And so I did, I started going to every lesson for the next month.. but that wouldn't really change anything because I had the behaviour of not doing anything in class.

The gap in knowledge that I had compared to the content I was expected to be caught up to increased exponentially, especially Maths and Computer Science. And before I knew it, whenever I stared at the board it felt like the question I was looking at was completely alien to me. Like some language I did not understand. I could've tried my best but it made it harder to even motivate myself to start studying at that point. Because what was the point? It's so late that the work I needed to catch up to was insurmountable. I kept telling myself that when I get home I'll try my utmost to lock the **** in, in some magical way. But nothing happened. I always had my behaviour and habits of being on social media all day and being idle. Everytime I had a major maths test I knew I would abysmally fail and get a U, so I just marked myself absent on the day of the assessment.

Just the thought of careers, university, UCAS points, applications, aspirations, A-levels, mocks, what I wanted to do for a living, jobs and everything that relating to it made me so exasperated inside my head. I wanted to actively avoid thinking about it even though it should've been the most important thing to me. I don't any direction, or dream job, or career aspiration. I don't know what I want to do with myself for the future, its all just so boring and a hassle to think about. So I think this was a factor too, I just did not have a big driving factor regarding the bigger picture of my academic and career life. The maths and computer science lectures became alien to me, especially with the increasing gap of knowledge. Business Studies was just boring as hell. Since it was all hopeless, it felt way better to distract myself by pulling out my phone. It made me feel better in the short term.

I don't want to dilute the fact that I'm at fault, but I think the nature of the college setting is kinda my weakness. Everyone's meant to be seen as adults, so we can easily pull our phones out and text for a bit if we need to, or walk out of the classroom, or bring out a laptop. The environment isn't really strict at all and it's kinda relaxing. Nothing really stops me from being on my phone and avoiding work the entire lesson, and if the lecturer picks me, I just say I'm not sure. Plus, the lectures and learning time we have at college is really short only 1-3 hours a day. The rest of the time should be, or is supposed to, be dedicated to home/independent learning. You know, the whole notion that we're treated as adults and we have autonomy. I just took all that freedom and did nothing with it. I heard sixth forms lean more towards the school setting/environment, but I dunno.

The months of the new year rolled by so, so quickly. All that and I've learned absolutely nothing. I'm a year 12 student and I have my year 1 mock exams for all 3 of my subjects in a few days, and they determine my university choices, my UCAS points, and whether I go into year 2 or not. And based on the position I'm in right now, I'm on track to get a U on all 3 of the exams. Maybe I could clutch and somehow get an E, but it seems pointless. I was thinking that if I was given another chance and I went back in time, I would perhaps change my subject choices and actually spent time studying and revising, alot, and aspire to get straight As. I think if I had the chance, I would want to be ambitious and take on 4 A-levels? Since I have no idea what to do, I kind of want to be an all-rounder and these subjects actually interest me: Maths, Biology, English Literature, Computer Science(?). I think if I heavily heavily put my mind to it and disregarded everything unnecessary away, since I'm pressured into doing alot of work, and if I lock in for every second of the year, I think achieving good grades would be possible.

So, is it possible for me to retake year 1/year 12, and make it so I can have different subjects? And 4 A levels at that? Specifically being Maths, Biology English Lit and Computer science. I can take biology since I got 6. Would the college allow me? Since they saw that I (probably) failed this years exams, maybe they wouldn't allow me to be daring and take these 4 A-levels? If they said I can only take 3, I'd take english lit off probably, but idk. It depends if they even allow me to retake year 1. If I get stuck into doing year 2, in which I absolutely hate the trajectory I'm on, I think I would get like zero university offers right? Isn't it the best option for me right now to retake year 1?

Can i get advice?

Reply 1

Original post
by CatOfAntiquity
Hello, I am a year 12 student, 16 years old. My GCSE grades were 777 666 555 3 (English language resit -> 777 6666 555)
This could come across as a vent or rant but idk, bear with me i guess
Near the end of year 11, before I did my exams and got my results, I got the chance to apply for college and choose my subjects.
I chose A level maths, computer science, and business studies, after about an hour or so of thinking. I did not really have a goal or career in mind, as I didn't really know
what to do with my life.
When September and October came along, I soon came to realise that I really did not like Business studies and asked to get it swapped for another subject. However it was already nearing november when I asked this.. so I was told that subject changes were closed for the year (it was too late).
Just for the first few weeks I did a decent amount of maths and business work. But soon after i realised that I was not doing any work whatsoever.. zero work. Also zero work done during computer science.
Every lesson I would be on my phone texting in this group chat i really liked or i was zoning out. The importance of A-levels didn't cross my mind, due to my own immaturity.
I would have the book in front of me with an empty page out, with a phone in my hand. If a teacher came up to me or asked me anything I would put on a facade that I'm doing fine and I'm actually doing the work, when I wasn't.
It shocked me how I had all that free time and I squandered it all like it was nothing. As the time passed on and the we approached winter holidays, I could've used that time to catch up and do my work. However I got presented with my first ever opportunity to do a part-time job. I could've denied it, but I took it on because I wanted to experience it for the first time. I spent most of my winter holidays working and the little free days I had at the end, I was occupying myself with watching shows and doing things I enjoyed.
Then came in January and February. My behaviour of not working at all continued. I did not open a single revision book when I was home, nor did any assignment, or homework. I would stay up very late at night on my phone and talk in the group chats i had fun talking in, in addition to wasting my time on social media. Then I would have to wake up early, getting terrible sleep. I hated this, so I unhealthily adopted the habit of marking myself absent every time I was faced with this. I could easily avoid the stress of going to lectures with a click of a button on my school timetable website, by self-marking as absent. One instance of it would turn into me skiving college multiple times a week. It became a habit and my attendance completely tanked, however I never told my parents or teachers that I falsely marked myself absent. Part of me feels like I did not want to go to lectures due to the fact that I had to face my incompetency as well.
The head staff of my college would then be notified by my unnatural frequency of absences and then flag a cause for concern, so there was a meeting including me, my parents, my tutor and the head staff. They emphasised the importance of attendance and reviewed my statistics, and they set a goal for me to attend every lesson. And so I did, I started going to every lesson for the next month.. but that wouldn't really change anything because I had the behaviour of not doing anything in class.
The gap in knowledge that I had compared to the content I was expected to be caught up to increased exponentially, especially Maths and Computer Science. And before I knew it, whenever I stared at the board it felt like the question I was looking at was completely alien to me. Like some language I did not understand. I could've tried my best but it made it harder to even motivate myself to start studying at that point. Because what was the point? It's so late that the work I needed to catch up to was insurmountable. I kept telling myself that when I get home I'll try my utmost to lock the **** in, in some magical way. But nothing happened. I always had my behaviour and habits of being on social media all day and being idle. Everytime I had a major maths test I knew I would abysmally fail and get a U, so I just marked myself absent on the day of the assessment.
Just the thought of careers, university, UCAS points, applications, aspirations, A-levels, mocks, what I wanted to do for a living, jobs and everything that relating to it made me so exasperated inside my head. I wanted to actively avoid thinking about it even though it should've been the most important thing to me. I don't any direction, or dream job, or career aspiration. I don't know what I want to do with myself for the future, its all just so boring and a hassle to think about. So I think this was a factor too, I just did not have a big driving factor regarding the bigger picture of my academic and career life. The maths and computer science lectures became alien to me, especially with the increasing gap of knowledge. Business Studies was just boring as hell. Since it was all hopeless, it felt way better to distract myself by pulling out my phone. It made me feel better in the short term.
I don't want to dilute the fact that I'm at fault, but I think the nature of the college setting is kinda my weakness. Everyone's meant to be seen as adults, so we can easily pull our phones out and text for a bit if we need to, or walk out of the classroom, or bring out a laptop. The environment isn't really strict at all and it's kinda relaxing. Nothing really stops me from being on my phone and avoiding work the entire lesson, and if the lecturer picks me, I just say I'm not sure. Plus, the lectures and learning time we have at college is really short only 1-3 hours a day. The rest of the time should be, or is supposed to, be dedicated to home/independent learning. You know, the whole notion that we're treated as adults and we have autonomy. I just took all that freedom and did nothing with it. I heard sixth forms lean more towards the school setting/environment, but I dunno.
The months of the new year rolled by so, so quickly. All that and I've learned absolutely nothing. I'm a year 12 student and I have my year 1 mock exams for all 3 of my subjects in a few days, and they determine my university choices, my UCAS points, and whether I go into year 2 or not. And based on the position I'm in right now, I'm on track to get a U on all 3 of the exams. Maybe I could clutch and somehow get an E, but it seems pointless. I was thinking that if I was given another chance and I went back in time, I would perhaps change my subject choices and actually spent time studying and revising, alot, and aspire to get straight As. I think if I had the chance, I would want to be ambitious and take on 4 A-levels? Since I have no idea what to do, I kind of want to be an all-rounder and these subjects actually interest me: Maths, Biology, English Literature, Computer Science(?). I think if I heavily heavily put my mind to it and disregarded everything unnecessary away, since I'm pressured into doing alot of work, and if I lock in for every second of the year, I think achieving good grades would be possible.
So, is it possible for me to retake year 1/year 12, and make it so I can have different subjects? And 4 A levels at that? Specifically being Maths, Biology English Lit and Computer science. I can take biology since I got 6. Would the college allow me? Since they saw that I (probably) failed this years exams, maybe they wouldn't allow me to be daring and take these 4 A-levels? If they said I can only take 3, I'd take english lit off probably, but idk. It depends if they even allow me to retake year 1. If I get stuck into doing year 2, in which I absolutely hate the trajectory I'm on, I think I would get like zero university offers right? Isn't it the best option for me right now to retake year 1?
Can i get advice?

i was lowkey in the same position i had the worst mental health ever at the start of y12 i failed every exam b by the time march came around my friend invited me to revise with her and i did a little bit but not a lot and closer to y12 mocks i revised a lot more n got A*BC somehow. my predicteds were gonna be A*BB but i wanted A*AA so i resat the mock and did october mocks and got A*BB and so they predictdd ne A*AA and i just got AAB in my most recent mocks and got an offer from warwick for psychology. Its 100% possible for u to still do well unless you REALLY dont like your subjects id advise u to just try and get them done tbh but dont worry cos u still have september october november december AND january in y13 to up ur grades before u send of ur ucas so ur mock grades are not the be all end all right mow. just focus on passing yhem. during summer its gonna be hard but go to ur local librsry, u can bring friends if u want, n just study a few days a week try lesrn the content then write it down then try do exam questions and so on. its gonna suck cos ur gonna wanna be outsidd alk day so let urself have some time off too but ultimately ur at a point mow where no ones gonna hold ur hand n help u revise or tell u to revise its up to u. but it is 100% possibke for u to still get straight As. i dont listen lots in lesson tbh i zone out s lot n feel i teach myself the content on my own better so dw abt that nust make sure u do actually catch up on it. if ur struggling with ur phone maybe download flora or forest thats really helped me - a year 13 student 🙂 do NOT take 4 a levels, i did 3 and a ctec and didnt focus on the ctec due to a levels but u dont need 4 n no uni looks at 4 they hust look at ur 3 highezt grades n if hr alr struggling as it is 4 is gonna be insane. if u do 4 a levels ur just risking the opportuny of doing well in ur other 3 tbh. and theres loads of diff unis taking a mixture of students, u can get into uni with just passing one a level, it might not be a good uni but u can still get it so dont worry about that honestly. if u need anything else lmk, i do bio chem psych n hsc btw!

Reply 2

I understand you a lot. I do economics, Philosophy and English literature. I love philosophy and English literature but I absolutely hate economics. Everytime I was in my economics lessons I would zone out uor whatever the teacher said sounded like another language to me. I got a reality check when I got a U in my mocks however event hough I tried to lock in I kept on procrastinating. I mean I only did economics because a friend who is in Yr 13 did it. I would always think 'ill do it later' and 'it doesn't matter' but now it does. I am already at the exams which determine my UCAS grades and what university accepts me. I beleive that as long as you can really lock in and not be distracted then you should resit it is possible. But you shouldn't listen to me as I don't know a lot. Sorry

Reply 3

Hey,

I just wanted to say, it's incredibly brave of you to be so honest, and I’m genuinely proud of you for opening up like this.

Reading what you wrote really resonated with me. It felt nostalgic, like I was reading about my own experience. I remember being in a similar position, struggling to keep up with my studies, missing lessons, and watching the work pile up faster than I could handle. Eventually, I decided to retake Year 12, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. I also knew quite a few people who retook Year 13 and went on to really good universities.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

If you were given the opportunity to retake Year 12, do you think you could commit to attending classes and really focus on your learning?

Would you feel comfortable repeating the year, knowing it could give you a fresh start?

Ultimately, it’s completely your decision. I’d highly recommend speaking with a tutor, your head of year, or a parent about your options. Based on your current grades, your school might even suggest repeating the year, it’s definitely possible to catch up from an E, but it’s a heavy lift and could lead to burnout without the right support.

Retaking Year 12 could give you the chance to reset, study subjects you’re genuinely interested in, and go at a pace that suits you better. And please remember, you’re absolutely not alone. So many students have been in the same place. Speaking from personal experience (I’m now about to go into my third year of university), it really does get better.

Most importantly, focus on your well-being- especially your mental health. This is a great time to reflect on your routines: what worked, what didn’t, and why skipping classes became so easy. If it’s not too late, maybe find a friend to study with or someone who can support you along the way. There are tons of “grow your grade” and study groups out there, and having someone to hold you accountable (even if it’s just making sure you don’t go on your phone) can really help.

Also: have you heard of summer schools? Not many people know about them, but they’re genuinely great. Some are hosted at Northeastern University London too. They offer support with applying to university and give you practical advice on study strategies and planning your future.

And remember, studying doesn’t have to be boring. I used to review topics by pretending I was explaining them to a five-year-old, it really helped me understand things better! There are also study games and really engaging videos online that can make learning more fun and effective.

I hope this helped even a little, and I’m wishing you all the very best with your studies and whatever path you decide to take. Take care :smile:
Kate, Northeastern University London Representative
Bsc Data Science

Reply 4

Original post
by CatOfAntiquity
Hello, I am a year 12 student, 16 years old. My GCSE grades were 777 666 555 3 (English language resit -> 777 6666 555)
This could come across as a vent or rant but idk, bear with me i guess
Near the end of year 11, before I did my exams and got my results, I got the chance to apply for college and choose my subjects.
I chose A level maths, computer science, and business studies, after about an hour or so of thinking. I did not really have a goal or career in mind, as I didn't really know
what to do with my life.
When September and October came along, I soon came to realise that I really did not like Business studies and asked to get it swapped for another subject. However it was already nearing november when I asked this.. so I was told that subject changes were closed for the year (it was too late).
Just for the first few weeks I did a decent amount of maths and business work. But soon after i realised that I was not doing any work whatsoever.. zero work. Also zero work done during computer science.
Every lesson I would be on my phone texting in this group chat i really liked or i was zoning out. The importance of A-levels didn't cross my mind, due to my own immaturity.
I would have the book in front of me with an empty page out, with a phone in my hand. If a teacher came up to me or asked me anything I would put on a facade that I'm doing fine and I'm actually doing the work, when I wasn't.
It shocked me how I had all that free time and I squandered it all like it was nothing. As the time passed on and the we approached winter holidays, I could've used that time to catch up and do my work. However I got presented with my first ever opportunity to do a part-time job. I could've denied it, but I took it on because I wanted to experience it for the first time. I spent most of my winter holidays working and the little free days I had at the end, I was occupying myself with watching shows and doing things I enjoyed.
Then came in January and February. My behaviour of not working at all continued. I did not open a single revision book when I was home, nor did any assignment, or homework. I would stay up very late at night on my phone and talk in the group chats i had fun talking in, in addition to wasting my time on social media. Then I would have to wake up early, getting terrible sleep. I hated this, so I unhealthily adopted the habit of marking myself absent every time I was faced with this. I could easily avoid the stress of going to lectures with a click of a button on my school timetable website, by self-marking as absent. One instance of it would turn into me skiving college multiple times a week. It became a habit and my attendance completely tanked, however I never told my parents or teachers that I falsely marked myself absent. Part of me feels like I did not want to go to lectures due to the fact that I had to face my incompetency as well.
The head staff of my college would then be notified by my unnatural frequency of absences and then flag a cause for concern, so there was a meeting including me, my parents, my tutor and the head staff. They emphasised the importance of attendance and reviewed my statistics, and they set a goal for me to attend every lesson. And so I did, I started going to every lesson for the next month.. but that wouldn't really change anything because I had the behaviour of not doing anything in class.
The gap in knowledge that I had compared to the content I was expected to be caught up to increased exponentially, especially Maths and Computer Science. And before I knew it, whenever I stared at the board it felt like the question I was looking at was completely alien to me. Like some language I did not understand. I could've tried my best but it made it harder to even motivate myself to start studying at that point. Because what was the point? It's so late that the work I needed to catch up to was insurmountable. I kept telling myself that when I get home I'll try my utmost to lock the **** in, in some magical way. But nothing happened. I always had my behaviour and habits of being on social media all day and being idle. Everytime I had a major maths test I knew I would abysmally fail and get a U, so I just marked myself absent on the day of the assessment.
Just the thought of careers, university, UCAS points, applications, aspirations, A-levels, mocks, what I wanted to do for a living, jobs and everything that relating to it made me so exasperated inside my head. I wanted to actively avoid thinking about it even though it should've been the most important thing to me. I don't any direction, or dream job, or career aspiration. I don't know what I want to do with myself for the future, its all just so boring and a hassle to think about. So I think this was a factor too, I just did not have a big driving factor regarding the bigger picture of my academic and career life. The maths and computer science lectures became alien to me, especially with the increasing gap of knowledge. Business Studies was just boring as hell. Since it was all hopeless, it felt way better to distract myself by pulling out my phone. It made me feel better in the short term.
I don't want to dilute the fact that I'm at fault, but I think the nature of the college setting is kinda my weakness. Everyone's meant to be seen as adults, so we can easily pull our phones out and text for a bit if we need to, or walk out of the classroom, or bring out a laptop. The environment isn't really strict at all and it's kinda relaxing. Nothing really stops me from being on my phone and avoiding work the entire lesson, and if the lecturer picks me, I just say I'm not sure. Plus, the lectures and learning time we have at college is really short only 1-3 hours a day. The rest of the time should be, or is supposed to, be dedicated to home/independent learning. You know, the whole notion that we're treated as adults and we have autonomy. I just took all that freedom and did nothing with it. I heard sixth forms lean more towards the school setting/environment, but I dunno.
The months of the new year rolled by so, so quickly. All that and I've learned absolutely nothing. I'm a year 12 student and I have my year 1 mock exams for all 3 of my subjects in a few days, and they determine my university choices, my UCAS points, and whether I go into year 2 or not. And based on the position I'm in right now, I'm on track to get a U on all 3 of the exams. Maybe I could clutch and somehow get an E, but it seems pointless. I was thinking that if I was given another chance and I went back in time, I would perhaps change my subject choices and actually spent time studying and revising, alot, and aspire to get straight As. I think if I had the chance, I would want to be ambitious and take on 4 A-levels? Since I have no idea what to do, I kind of want to be an all-rounder and these subjects actually interest me: Maths, Biology, English Literature, Computer Science(?). I think if I heavily heavily put my mind to it and disregarded everything unnecessary away, since I'm pressured into doing alot of work, and if I lock in for every second of the year, I think achieving good grades would be possible.
So, is it possible for me to retake year 1/year 12, and make it so I can have different subjects? And 4 A levels at that? Specifically being Maths, Biology English Lit and Computer science. I can take biology since I got 6. Would the college allow me? Since they saw that I (probably) failed this years exams, maybe they wouldn't allow me to be daring and take these 4 A-levels? If they said I can only take 3, I'd take english lit off probably, but idk. It depends if they even allow me to retake year 1. If I get stuck into doing year 2, in which I absolutely hate the trajectory I'm on, I think I would get like zero university offers right? Isn't it the best option for me right now to retake year 1?
Can i get advice?

The college sounds awful - how are you allowed to have phones out in lessons?

Can you move back to a school so learning is more structured?

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