i've flunked my a-levels, rejected from retaking the year. idk what to do now

i've just turned 19 last month and received word that i can't return to my sixth form to retake the grade. my initial career idea was to do something in the creative industry, specifically textiles or fashion design.

cw // mental health

for context, i have a prolonged history of depression and that unfortunately hindered my chances of achieving what i wanted to achieve during my time doing a-levels. i've taken 3 subjects - art, history & english and out of those three i've only received a pass in art. i dropped out of history at the end of y12 so that i can focus on art and english, but a week before exam season started i got told that i cannot sit my english exams. so as of right now, i only have 1 a-level grade to my name. i was planning on contacting my local arts uni on whether or not i'm able to take a foundation course, but i've missed the deadline of applications and my world's just crumbling from there on out. the staff team at my school have supported me all the way through, stating that retaking the year was inevitable for me.

gradually over time i've come to accept that and retaking the year was the last lifeline for me, but now that option is gone and i seriously don't know what to do. they've advised me to look for work/college, and doing a college course would lead me to uni. but, when i looked on the website, their courses start in september 2026. i do not want to wait a whole year to get my life back on track, and i've lost a lot of time already. my main fear is starting university late and i know that anybody can start university at any time, but i just can't afford to keep my life at a stand-still anymore. i want to redeem myself, but i just feel like i've screwed myself over to the point where i can't really fix what's set in stone. since i only have 1 a-level grade, gap year then uni wouldn't work for me since majority of universities are asking for 2 a-levels.

i just really don't know how to recover from this. any advice?

(sorry if this was borderline vent territory)

Reply 1

DH8

hey

i know this might not be what you want to hear, but you honestly haven't 'lost a lot of time' even if it feels like it.
i'm in a similar position, in that i couldn't sit a levels because of my mental health, and because of that i thought i couldn't go to uni and thought everything had just gone wrong. however, i went to college at 22-23 and did an access course to get the qualifications i needed to go to uni, and i'll be 24 when i start my degree next year.
while you will most likely have to wait until 2026 to start an access course or something similar, if your heart is set on going to university, i honestly do think you should go for it. while it may feel like a scary thing now to wait the extra year, once you get to uni and settle in, you'll be glad you did it and the extra year or so won't even come up.

Reply 2

McGinger

If you want this badly enough, you can do it. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to get to Uni. No-one else is counting how many years it takes you - and once you get there, no-one cares how old you are.

1-year Access to HE - available at most local colleges - Access to Higher Education

There are special foundation style courses at some Unis that might be appropriate - examples
CertHE Foundation Years | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol
Degrees with a foundation year | Education | The University of Sheffield

And many Unis will accept Open University units - check with each Uni.

Reply 3

will459

I am studying a extra level i need for my uni course on a gap year and studying it in my own time and with a tutor( so i can get a predicted grade) once a week so you could do this for the 2 or 1 a level you need for uni. It would be hard but that is probably the only thing you could do to get you into uni next year. You could take the exams at lots of exam centres in the uk which costs a fair bit of money but is worth it. I used my school to help me with my ucas form but you can do it yourself and add a tutor refrence for your predicted grades i think. It is pretty boring studying a levels at home but worth it in the end.

Reply 4

Jamie230

Original post

by acphrodite

i've just turned 19 last month and received word that i can't return to my sixth form to retake the grade. my initial career idea was to do something in the creative industry, specifically textiles or fashion design.
cw // mental health
for context, i have a prolonged history of depression and that unfortunately hindered my chances of achieving what i wanted to achieve during my time doing a-levels. i've taken 3 subjects - art, history & english and out of those three i've only received a pass in art. i dropped out of history at the end of y12 so that i can focus on art and english, but a week before exam season started i got told that i cannot sit my english exams. so as of right now, i only have 1 a-level grade to my name. i was planning on contacting my local arts uni on whether or not i'm able to take a foundation course, but i've missed the deadline of applications and my world's just crumbling from there on out. the staff team at my school have supported me all the way through, stating that retaking the year was inevitable for me.
gradually over time i've come to accept that and retaking the year was the last lifeline for me, but now that option is gone and i seriously don't know what to do. they've advised me to look for work/college, and doing a college course would lead me to uni. but, when i looked on the website, their courses start in september 2026. i do not want to wait a whole year to get my life back on track, and i've lost a lot of time already. my main fear is starting university late and i know that anybody can start university at any time, but i just can't afford to keep my life at a stand-still anymore. i want to redeem myself, but i just feel like i've screwed myself over to the point where i can't really fix what's set in stone. since i only have 1 a-level grade, gap year then uni wouldn't work for me since majority of universities are asking for 2 a-levels.
i just really don't know how to recover from this. any advice?
(sorry if this was borderline vent territory)

Hey, as someone who did do a foundation course in art, because i missed the cut off for uni applications last year, it was a great experience, and you'll be thankful for it. You likely will have to wait until next year, but it'll get you the grade you need for University. Meanwhile, you could look into short/online courses or work while you wait for next year. It might feel like your life is off track, but its not, you can go to university any time, just don't rush yourself and burnout.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Articles for you

How to write a personal statement that universities will love

English and history students share why they loved their degrees

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.

Try out the app

Continue on web