Gcse Retakes – A Crucial Decision For A Teen’s Career

By Author: Mark Johnson
Total Articles: 15
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Taking GCSE retakes is a crucial decision for your teen’s career. You have to identify the subjects for retakes, find out a college where they will go for retakes and settle on the month that will suit them for the purpose.

If you are disappointed with the GCSE results of your teen, you may advise them to go for retakes. GCSE results are important for getting into higher institutions of education, applying for jobs and even taking A-level courses. It is an important step in your teen’s career and if they feel they haven’t done as good as they could, retakes may be a good idea.

That said, it is important that you check whether they actually need retakes. Find out if they can retake the exams while doing the A-levels or any other qualification they want to take. In case they are thinking of retaking GCSEs just to get a place in college, enquire with the college whether they are willing to take them anyway. They can also take the clearing route to get admission in the universities later, so you must weigh the options.

Subject teachers can give some crucial advice as to whether they must go for a retake, ...
... so ask them to talk to their teacher first. Other variables that bear on the results are the level of qualification they are taking the subject and the exam body. GCSE Maths and English are retaken in October while several other exams are retaken in January. The rules allow for all exams to be retaken in the following June. You will also need to find out how much the retake will cost.

In some cases, the school won’t let pupils retake, so you need to establish that as well with the schools. However, if the schools inform you of that, you have to find another school that would allow GCSE retakes. There is no minimum grade to reappear in the exams as far as the exam boards are concerned. However schools may have their own rules for their own reasons.

One important decision is to identify the subjects you want to retake. Results certificates have a breakdown of the marks the teen got in each subject module. You need to analyse them and retake ones that you think will make definite improvement. Most subject modules combine exams and coursework, and you need to consider that as well when taking the call.

Before you allow your teen to go for a retake, you need to talk to them about the reason of their below par performance. Did they not work hard enough? Can they assure you they will work very hard? Is it a subject they really struggle with? How do they plan to brush up on the problems when retaking? You need to be realistic when deciding about retakes.

Discuss with your teen how they feel about GCSE retakes. Are they confident of coping with the extra pressure they will have to face? If they retake in Jan, they will have to deal with the coursework along with the revision. If they wait until July, they may be taking other exams at the time. You have to consider these issues along with them before you conclude what to do.

The author of this article recommends Lansdowne College, an independent college that offers students GCSE as well as A-level retakes. London college of repute, they have the infrastructure to support the students make their objectives.