7th August 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
It’s that time of year again, and the A’Level results will be released soon, sending hundreds of students to the universities of their choice. However, for some students, the news will not be so good, and they will have a tough choice ahead of them. However hard students study, there will be some who have a bad time with an exam and do not achieve their predicted grades. In some cases universities will use their discretion and take students anyway, despite the fact that they have not met their offer. The first thing students should do on missing their offer is to call the university and check their situation. If they find that the university will not take them with their current grades, there are several other options available.
Some students will opt for an insurance choice of university or, if they have received significantly lower grades than expected, may find a place through clearing. For others, retakes are often a good option, which may allow them to join their original university of choice. Before deciding whether to opt for retakes, it is very important to find out from the university whether their place is guaranteed if satisfactory results are attained on the resit. Some universities will not guarantee a place, and others may even make new, higher offers. Once the decision is taken to do resits, there remains the option of how students will go about studying for them over the year.
One option is simply to return to school, attending the relevant classes only, and sitting the exam at the next opportunity. Whilst some students can handle this, the potential problem with this approach is that the shadow of the student’s previous experience and performance may hang over them; it can be demoralising to sit in a familiar classroom with younger students, knowing they are their because they did not perform as well as expected. For this reason many students choose to attend classes at a sixth form college, where they can take a fresh run at their exams. The potential problems there are that it can be difficult to adjust to a new environment in a short space of time, and teaching standards vary considerable depending on the geographical area in which the student is based.
Whether students choose to remain at their school for resits or to join a Sixth Form College, hiring a private tutor is an option which can improve results tremendously, even with just a few sessions. Private tuition can help identify any underlying problems a student is having with the subject, and tackle these in a non-threatening, one to one environment. Under performing in A’ Levels can seriously damage a student’s confidence, something which can be addressed early on through tuition designed to encourage and supplement school lessons.