Durham Remark Deferral After Missed Grade

Phone them on Tuesday and find out what is going on.
Unis are allowed to defer your place under these circumstances - they cannot hold your place open for weeks and then potentially have no-one to fill it if you dont actually get higher grades at resit.

Okay will do, thanks for the advice. I understand that a lot of near misses usually don't go through which is why the university sometimes does deferrals, but considering I got a priority remark and notified the university within 5 days after results day, would this not make circumstances/my chances different? Usually after results day Durham offer holders have 5 days to notify the university if they would like to accept their place. It's not like I have waited until early September to make my approach. If I had been given the correct grades on results day then I would have been accepted no problem right now so I'm not sure why oversubscription seems to be an issue when it wouldn't have been if I wasn't wronged by my exam-board.

Hi all,
I initially missed my Durham offer, however, after a remark my grade went up considerably (B -> A*) meaning that I met the requirements of my conditional offer (A*AA) with my grades being A*A*A. I emailed Durham after finding out about 5 days ago, and have been informed that my application will be approved for 2025 or 2026 entry depending on how much space is available in my course. Since then, I have not heard back anything which is quite frustrating as my future has been in limbo for the past 11 days since Results Day despite the fact that I have done nothing wrong and it is completely at fault of the examiner who marked my paper poorly.
Are Durham allowed to defer me for a year? Not to be rude or ignorant but why is it my problem if their course is oversubscribed. It seems quite harsh since I believe I should be treated like any other successful applicant and I have no interest in doing a gap year as it would heavily disrupt my academic momentum and I have notified them before the 31st of August. Due to my course being highly oversubscribed and competitive I have quite low hopes for being admitted this year which is quite depressing as I'll be a year behind my peers and friends of my age, likely impacting my second year housing plans too. It's been a pretty awful week of my life and I honestly can't wait for the constant wait to be over. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated as I feel heavily in the dark at the moment.
Thanks.

May I ask what course you are doing? Many of the competitive courses have now been filled and the class lists are active, meaning they will likely not be altered. Durham are indeed allowed to defer you for the year, in the same way your lower initial grade was not your fault, it was not their fault either. Also, forgot to add, did this course go into clearing?? If so, this may be the cause of fulfilled placements!

I can understand what a disappointing time this must be for you and how wronged you must feel to be in this position due to no fault of your own and a totally avoidable reason.
However, should the worst happen and you are forced into a gap year, here are some possible advantages of that outcome:
A gap year doesn't need to be all bad. If you accept it as an opportunity rather than a punishment, you could use it to put you in a stronger position. It will also be a good thing to mention at future interviews - about how you turned a setback into an opportunity.

I see no purpose in reapplying as Durham was always my first choice for Law (outside of Oxbridge which I was unsuccessful with) and putting myself at risk of not receiving another offer would simply be unnecessary stress despite having strong grades and LNAT. I am very pleased and satisfied with my Durham place I just think a gap year isn't in my interests.
Of course, I will make the most of it and my plan is to get work experience to build my CV and start saving, it's just a bit frustrating really. As everything I'll take it in my stride I was just a bit confused and upset at the time of my original post. Thanks for all the nice comments and support!

It is fustrating to wait in a limbo. But if you do get deferred don’t be disheartened, people don’t realise how useful gap year could be especially right after the intensity of A-levels. You have the chance to build your CV & save money, aswell as taking a year out of being in an institution and you get time to grow, mature and learn about yourself outside of academia. It goes along way and one day you will see how it could benefit you in the long term. It just gives you time to relax and chill before getting into uni grind next. Don’t worry about being a year behind your uni peers. No one notices it and there will be so many different age groups at your course first year, not just 18 yr olds.

Hi all,
I initially missed my Durham offer, however, after a remark my grade went up considerably (B -> A*) meaning that I met the requirements of my conditional offer (A*AA) with my grades being A*A*A. I emailed Durham after finding out about 5 days ago, and have been informed that my application will be approved for 2025 or 2026 entry depending on how much space is available in my course. Since then, I have not heard back anything which is quite frustrating as my future has been in limbo for the past 11 days since Results Day despite the fact that I have done nothing wrong and it is completely at fault of the examiner who marked my paper poorly.
Are Durham allowed to defer me for a year? Not to be rude or ignorant but why is it my problem if their course is oversubscribed. It seems quite harsh since I believe I should be treated like any other successful applicant and I have no interest in doing a gap year as it would heavily disrupt my academic momentum and I have notified them before the 31st of August. Due to my course being highly oversubscribed and competitive I have quite low hopes for being admitted this year which is quite depressing as I'll be a year behind my peers and friends of my age, likely impacting my second year housing plans too. It's been a pretty awful week of my life and I honestly can't wait for the constant wait to be over. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated as I feel heavily in the dark at the moment.
Thanks.

I see no purpose in reapplying as Durham was always my first choice for Law (outside of Oxbridge which I was unsuccessful with) and putting myself at risk of not receiving another offer would simply be unnecessary stress despite having strong grades and LNAT. I am very pleased and satisfied with my Durham place I just think a gap year isn't in my interests.
Of course, I will make the most of it and my plan is to get work experience to build my CV and start saving, it's just a bit frustrating really. As everything I'll take it in my stride I was just a bit confused and upset at the time of my original post. Thanks for all the nice comments and support!

have you heard anything? My daughter is in the same boat - A*A* A after regrade and her offer was A*AA and still no confirmation re this year.

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been on here since beginning my gap year so quick update. According to Durham, there are no places on any course available for the 2025 academic year so anyone on the waiting list I wouldn't get hopes up. Although this is disappointing, I've registered to join in 2026 so will make the most of my gap year and will look forward to starting next year!

Again, thanks for all the support it's must appreciated.