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Do unis like bristol or plymouth accept gcse resits?

Hi guys
I got 5 in english language so i am planning to resit it to get 6 or higher as i fall below the entry requirement as english is not my first language and bristol university requires a 6 or above like most unis.
My question being for medicine will the university accept my resit grade instead of actual grades ?
And Would they consider it lesser than other applicant who got 6 or above in their actual english language exams in june?

Reply 1

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum.

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Reply 2

Original post
by soft-butte
Hi guys
I got 5 in english language so i am planning to resit it to get 6 or higher as i fall below the entry requirement as english is not my first language and bristol university requires a 6 or above like most unis.
My question being for medicine will the university accept my resit grade instead of actual grades ?
And Would they consider it lesser than other applicant who got 6 or above in their actual english language exams in june?

Bristol's requirements are in the "Entry requirements" section of https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2026/medicine/mb-chb-medicine/

Where English is not your first language, the requirement is "IELTS 7.5 overall with 7.0 in all skills" OR "GCSE English Language grade B or 6" OR "an alternative qualification outlined in our Profile level A"

At https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/language-requirements/ it states this: "You do not need to have reached the required level before you apply. We will look at your academic qualifications and decide what offer we will make you. If you haven’t yet reached the required English level, we will give you a target grade to meet as part of your offer."

So it appears that it is possible to apply before you meet the English language target, and I don't see anything to suggest you'd be treated less favourably.

If you need clarification of Bristol's policy on this, contact their Admissions team: [email protected]
Original post
by soft-butte
Hi guys
I got 5 in english language so i am planning to resit it to get 6 or higher as i fall below the entry requirement as english is not my first language and bristol university requires a 6 or above like most unis.
My question being for medicine will the university accept my resit grade instead of actual grades ?
And Would they consider it lesser than other applicant who got 6 or above in their actual english language exams in june?
Hi there! 👋

You can find Plymouth's up-to-date entry requirements for medicine here (under the apply section), but if you can't find an answer specifically on resits, I'd suggest contact the admissions team at [email protected] or on +441752585858 who can give you the most accurate answer.

Best of luck for the application cycle! 😊

-Alfie, University of Plymouth Undergraduate Student Rep
Unis very rarely have any issues with GCSE retakes - it's AL retakes they may not consider for competitive courses,

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