Resitting GCEs, GCSEs and IGCSEs - information for students  

First of all, talk to your subject teacher. After all the teaching that you have had, tests and internal examinations, he/she is the person who best knows what grade you are capable of achieving. Take your results slip to your subject teacher, and go through the information on it in detail. If you both think that there is something wrong with the result, the school or college can apply to see your completed examination paper and then, if necessary, ask for a re-mark immediately. The original mark can be confirmed or lowered, as well as raised, as a result of a re-mark. A fee will be charged where:

• For non cashed-in subjects - the individual unit mark may change but the grade stays the same
• For cashed in subjects - the overall grade stays the same.

The fee will be waived where:

• For non cashed-in subjects - the unit grade changes 
• For cashed-in subjects - the overall grade changes
  

Another way of dealing with this problem is to consider resitting some parts of the examination. However, if you have taken a linear or a modular GCSE, you will have to take the terminal written components (written papers) again. You can carry forward your coursework mark and your unit test marks if you wish.

Your results slip can help you decide which units you might want to retake, as it will show all the units and their uniform marks that were used to calculate a subject grade. Remember that not all the units have the same percentage value towards the final grade - lower percentage units have less impact on the final grade than higher percentage ones. Look to see whether you have done particularly badly on a higher percentage unit – you can tell which ones they are by their higher uniform mark totals – and think about retaking those. Then look at the smaller percentage units.

Whatever you decide to do, you must speak to your subject teacher and, if necessary, your Examinations Officer, who will advise you on when entries have to be made, fees that might have to be paid and whether you are eligible to retake the units you want.

You may resit a modular GCSE Science or Mathematics module test once, prior to taking your terminal examination and before obtaining your final overall grade. The highest score obtained on either the first attempt or the resit counts towards your final grade. 

If you enter a module in GCSE Mathematics at a different tier, this does not count as a resit. If you are on the full modular Religious Studies GCSE course, and sat the first unit last year, you may resit module 1 when you sit module 2 to maximise your full course grade.

Any unit that is part of an AS or A level can now be retaken as many times as you wish before the qualification is cashed in.

You may also resit any subject in full. Once a qualification has been cashed in, you are entitled to start it again.

GCSE Mathematics and English can be retaken in November. Many more - but not all - GCE units (including Mathematics) can be retaken in January. Talk to your subject teacher or Examinations Officer about your plans. Not all schools and colleges enter students in November and January. If yours does not, you will have to wait until next summer.