A-Level Retakes

When you can retake

In the UK, students have the opportunity to retake their A-level exams during the next available examination series after the original exams. Typically, there are two main examination series for A-levels: May/June and October/November. For students seeking to improve their grades or meet subject requirements for further education or university applications, the October/November series offers a chance to retake exams.

Individuals interested in A-level retakes should verify specific dates and registration deadlines with exam boards or educational institutions, as they may vary annually.

Westminster Tutors stands out as one of the premier private A-level colleges in London, specializing in A-level retake programs. Situated in central London, Westminster Tutors offers fee-paying independent education services.

Retake students consistently achieve remarkable A-level results - in 2024, 80% achieved A*-B grades and 43% achieved A*-A grades. An impressive 77% of applicants successfully secure placements at prestigious Russell Group universities in the UK.

High-quality education and personalised support helps students achieve their academic goals and unlock their full potential.

How an A-level retake actually works

A-levels in England are linear qualifications. There are no modules to pick off one at a time, so retaking a subject means sitting every paper in that subject again in the same series. You are not building on your previous marks, you are replacing them.

Your new grade does not cancel the old one. Both sit on your record, and the higher of the two is the one you use. Universities are given whichever grade you declare on your application, and in practice almost every applicant declares the better result.

You can retake one subject or several. Most students who come to us for a retake year are improving two or three, usually the subjects standing between them and a specific offer. If you only need to move one grade, there is no reason to redo the rest.

Coursework and non-exam assessment work differently by subject. In some subjects your existing marks can be carried forward; in others the practical or coursework element has to be redone. This is worth checking before you commit, because it changes both the cost and the timetable.

Retaking A-levels in London

London has more retake provision than anywhere else in the UK, which is both an advantage and a problem: the choice is wide and the quality varies a great deal. Broadly there are three routes.

• An independent sixth form college. Small classes or one-to-one teaching, a full timetable, and staff who deal with retake students every year rather than occasionally. This is the most expensive route and the most structured.
• A further education college. Larger groups and a lower cost, sometimes free if you are under 19 at the start of the academic year. Class sizes and the amount of individual attention vary widely.
• Studying independently as a private candidate. The cheapest route, and the one that demands the most self-discipline. You arrange your own exam centre and sit the papers there. See our guide toretaking A-levels privately for how registration works.

Westminster Tutors sits in the first group and teaches in central London, one-to-one or in very small groups. If you are searching for a retake college near you and are not in London, the same questions apply wherever you look: who is teaching you, how many others are in the room, and how many retake students they got through last year.

How many times you can retake an A-level

There is no legal limit. You can sit the same A-level as many times as you are willing to pay for and prepared to study for. The practical limits are time, money, and what your target universities will accept.

A second attempt is unremarkable to almost every admissions team. A third attempt at the same subject starts to invite questions, particularly for competitive courses, and is worth discussing with the universities you are applying to before you commit to it. Our guide onhow many times you can resit an A-level covers this in more detail.

Age limits and funding

There is no upper age limit on A-levels. Adults retake them every year, often to meet the entry requirements for a specific degree or a career change into medicine, teaching or law.

Age does affect funding rather than eligibility. Students who are 16 to 18 at the start of the academic year can often study at a state funded college at no cost. From 19 onwards you are generally paying, whether at a further education college or privately, though bursaries and advanced learner loans exist for some courses.

What a retake costs

The range is wide, from around £150 per subject if you study alone and pay only the exam entry fee, up to £5,000 or more per subject for a full time place at an independent college. Exam board entry fees, exam centre charges and tuition are separate things and it is easy to budget for one and forget the others.

Our full breakdown ofA-level retake costs sets out each fee, the late entry surcharges, and the funding routes most students miss.

Choosing where to retake

The single most useful question to ask any college is what happened to their retake students last year: how many grades went up, by how much, and how many got their firm offer. A college that teaches retakes seriously will have that answer ready.

Worth asking as well:

• How many students are in the room for your subjects.
• Which exam board they teach, and whether it is the one you sat before. Staying on the same board means your existing knowledge transfers cleanly.
• Whether the fee includes exam entry, or whether that is billed separately.
• What happens if you need to change subjects in the first few weeks.

There is more on this in our guide tochoosing an A-level resit college.

What universities make of retakes

Most universities treat a retake grade the same as a first attempt. Of the retake students who applied from here in 2024, 77% took up places at Russell Group universities.

The exceptions are worth knowing about. A small number of competitive courses, medicine and dentistry in particular, either ask for higher grades from retake applicants or want the retake completed in one year rather than spread out. Some ask that you achieved the grades in one sitting. These policies are published by each university and they change, so check the specific course pages rather than relying on what was true last year. Our guide onretakes for medicine and Oxbridge goes through the main ones.