GCSE Results Day is only a few days away.
We hope that it is a day for celebration, mixed in with relief and potentially a lot of other emotions.
For some, there will be disappointment or frustration when their individual Maths or English results come through and they find that they haven’t achieved the Grade 4.
It’s not the end of the world
As parents we want to reassure our children and to make it better for them when something in their lives hasn’t gone to plan. It’s the natural thing to do.
If your child hasn’t achieved the Grade 4 in their Maths or English exams, you will probably be trying to balance the need to reassure them that it’s OK, whilst wondering what on earth is going to happen next.
We hope our short guide will help.
What happens next?
You and your child will have lots of questions and concerns. Will they be able to go onto the course that they want to do in sixth form or at college? Will it affect the apprenticeship that they had secured a place on?
The first thing to do is to speak with your child’s school and the sixth form, college or provider that they are planning to move forward with. They will have dedicated staff who will be able to provide specific advice about what to do next. For many courses or routes, this might mean that your child can progress onto the course, but alongside it they will need to study for a resit. For other courses, it might mean that there needs to be a change to a different level until the Grade 4 has been achieved. It is important not to assume the worst – speak to the right people and get their advice, so that informed decisions can be made.
A resit is needed – why?
It is a requirement in our education system that any student who does not achieve a Grade 4 or above in their Maths and/or English GCSEs must continue to study and resit either until they secure the grade, or they reach the age of 18.
Depending upon the planned route after Year 11, there might be an option to study for an equivalent / comparable qualification rather than GCSE. Your child’s course / apprenticeship provider will be able to advise about this.
Resits – how and when?
The first block of resits happens in November. In 2025, these start on 5th November and run through to 11th November, with results being published in early January 2025
When you speak to your child’s course provider, they will be able to advise about the process. Normally your child would be automatically entered for the relevant exams, but it is important to check.
Preparation
From Results Day on 21st August, to the first exam of the November season on 5th November, there are ten weeks.
It is important, as much as your child might be reluctant to do so, to start preparing as soon as possible. Why?
For a start off, the last time they sat in a Maths or English lesson was nearly three months ago. They will need to refresh their memories and start to revise the content, knowledge and skills to be able to remember and apply them in the exam.
Secondly, they will need to review what they can and can’t do, identifying the areas that they aren’t confident with or that they know they couldn’t answer in the summer exams. These are the areas that they really need to focus on.
When you talk to your child’s sixth form / college / apprenticeship provider about resits, make sure that you ask them about how they will support preparation for the exam. Will there be timetabled lessons to go back over the content and skills?
Our downloadable guide
Take a look at our short guide about resits. You can download it by clicking on the link below.
Click here to download: Master GCSE Resits A short guide for parents and students
Can we help?
We hope that everything goes exactly the way you want it to on Results Day. If it doesn’t, we can help.
We have been providing exam focused tuition for a decade, serving thousands of children across the UK.
We have been an approved tuition provider on the Government’s National Tutoring Programme for four years, working alongside schools to deliver targeted tuition to boost progress, build confidence and empower students to achieve success in their exams.
We have branches across the country, offering face to face and online tuition, with experienced, specialised tutors who are qualified teachers and know the exams inside and out.
Our Head Office details are included in the guide above – get in touch and we can direct you to the right person to speak to. Alternatively, use the ‘Find a Class’ button on the website to find your nearest class.
Good luck for Thursday and for whatever your child’s next steps are.