English at uni but bad gcse grades

3

Im a yr 12 looking to do english at uni but i severely underperformed in gcses and got a six in both English exams. I was wondering if i hypothetically do rlly well in my a level mocks, will my gcses matter as much to universities especially russell groups. I also plan to redo my english lit in the summer and hopefully get higher.

Reply 1

Talkative Toad

22

Original post

by Keirab12

Im a yr 12 looking to do english at uni but i severely underperformed in gcses and got a six in both English exams. I was wondering if i hypothetically do rlly well in my a level mocks, will my gcses matter as much to universities especially russell groups. I also plan to redo my english lit in the summer and hopefully get higher.

What universities are you looking to apply to? What is your full GCSE profile?

I’d personally say that it’s not worth resitting the English GCSEs especially if you meet the entry requirements and you’ve passed. I’d focus on A-levels.

Reply 2

DaisyChain1810

10

I agree, I would really focus on A Level English this year. I’d recommend once you have a university short list, going to university open days too and discuss the entry requirements for their courses with the admissions teams who are available to talk to in person.

Reply 3

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

16

Original post

by Keirab12

Im a yr 12 looking to do english at uni but i severely underperformed in gcses and got a six in both English exams. I was wondering if i hypothetically do rlly well in my a level mocks, will my gcses matter as much to universities especially russell groups. I also plan to redo my english lit in the summer and hopefully get higher.

Hi Keirab12, 👋

It's great to hear you are interested in studying English at university. For this course, GSCE does not matter as much as A-Level grades.

For both the English Literature BA and the English Language and Linguistics BA at Sheffield, you only need a grade 4 in English Language. The courses moreso look at your A-level grades and with the knowledge that you will improve over the course of the degree anyway.

So I got slightly lower than the required A-Level grades but I was still offered a place as I firmed Sheffield as my top university choice, so they are definitely known to have some leniency as well.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions about studying English at university do let me know and I'd be more than happy to help. I did my BA, MA and now PhD all in English Literature at Sheffield as the department is amazing and the knowledge and teaching so great.

All best wishes,
Phoebe 😀
Student Ambassador - PhD in English Literature

Reply 4

DaisyChain1810

10

I’d definitely agree with the university of Sheffield rep, as you go through on your degree course you really do develop as a student in your writing, knowledge and other skills. Don’t worry too much about the GCSE grades and instead concentrate on your A-levels.

Good luck with your next stage of your academic journey

Reply 5

McGinger

20

English isn't that competitive a subject even at A grade Unis - check that you meet any minimum GCSE grades (typically Eng and Maths, but some Unis will not even want that) but your overall GCSE profile is not going to be mega-significant. As one example, for English at Bristol, there are no specific GCSE requirements at all and applications are assessed with these weightings - GCSE 30% | A-Level 70%, so your A level grades are always going to be more important.

English at uni but bad gcse grades

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