'I put my success down to failure'

Mucking up A-levels doesn't mean the end of your academic dreams. Hilary Wilce hears how resits can turn your fortunes around completely

Have your A-level results let you down? Do you feel your life plan is in ruins? Don't despair, says Peter Bloodsworth, who has just graduated from the University of the West of England (UWE). His A-levels were "a disaster" but he hasn't looked back since he went through Clearing to take up a place to study maths and computer science. "I had applied to do mathematics and the grades I needed were all very high, so I was shocked when I scored much lower grades," he says.

His degree course at UWE turned out well for Peter, who thinks he might have found pure maths a bit dull. He is now applying for a PhD in artificial intelligence or computer science and hopes to become a lecturer. "I'd say to students in my position that one of the benefits is that it forces you to rethink, and this can often work out for the better in the long term."

Even so, it can be very hard to stand back from the emotional moment when you tear open that envelope. "Everyone opening their results was either elated or crying," says fellow UWE student, Richard Hogg, whose dyslexia led him to get lower grades than expected – three Ds. "I went home feeling worried and annoyed."

However, through Clearing, he found a place to study international politics, and has been supported in his learning problems at university where he has been able to take exams by computer.

The options for disappointed students are much wider than may appear at first glance. (And the company more distinguished, too – Estelle Morris, the Education Secretary, failed her A-levels.) You can use the Clearing system, which matches unfilled higher education places with students who don't have them, you can re-sit exams and you can appeal against your grades. If your grades disappoint, you should hit the phones. You may receive the engaged tone from university phones over the next few days, but don't panic. There are plenty of places available. Some students collect a fistful of choices before deciding which one to take, and it can be weeks before the dust settles. Remember, almost every student who has passed an A-level, is likely to find somewhere willing to take them.

Ucas advises students to start with their first or second choices. If you don't find a place that way, and the search is on for a Clearing place, keep a cool head, act fast, and don't grab anything just because it is offered. This could be a life-changing decision. Take any advice you are given, and try to visit any university you are seriously considering to see how it "feels" to you. If that is not possible, talk to students who are already there.

Remember, too, that your Clearing form can only be sent to one institution at a time, so if you're unsure whether you are interested in a place that has been proffered, explain your situation and keep on looking. Once a university or college has received your form, they will write back with a firm offer, or return it so you can keep searching.

Another possibility is to resit A- levels. For those who are seriously disappointed, who don't feel they are ready for university, or who have a clear idea about where they are trying to get to, it can be a good idea. But the situation is less straightforward this year than in previous ones because of the end of the old A-level system. While all major subjects will be available for retakes, the possibility of retaking less popular subjects will depend on whether there is sufficient overall demand to justify the cost to the exam boards.

Resits can be taken at various points in the academic year. Deciding to take a whole year to do a completely new subject can often offer a shaken student a fresh start. New A-level syllabuses, though, mean it is essential to get good advice. "For example, psychology seems to have gone from seven or eight topics to 13," says Elizabeth Rickards, principal of Davies, Laing and Dick tutorial college in London. "So we're not recommending students to take that, while sociology seems to have been marginally slimmed down."

Retakes can often be done through the student's own school or college, or through a crammer, which while expensive, can be productive. Issy Dowden, 20, now a student at the London School of Economics, found her tutorial college taught her some invaluable skills. After schooling at an independent school in north London, she emerged with disappointing A-levels, a B and two Ds. "I'd applied to do English, but I lost my offers because of my grades," she says. "I could still have gone somewhere and done something – my school was pushing me to – but I knew if I was going to university I wanted to go somewhere I wanted to go to, and do a course I wanted to do."

Her decision – to opt for Mander Portman Woodward tutorial college meant she had to give up her gap year. She had been planning to go to Australia and do an internship in Uganda. "I had my ticket booked and everything, but I knew I didn't want to take a gap year and come back with nothing. So, I used the £4,000 I had saved to go to MPW where I really worked hard." The college taught her how to write an essay. She had to write three essays a week and take a test every other week.

While she was at MPW, Issy applied again to university. She had an interview to study history of art at Sussex. But in her mocks she got a C in history of art and an A in geography, so she decided to switch course and do geography. In fact, she pulled out of the Ucas system all together because she didn't have an offer from a university she fancied.

In June, her geography teacher wrote to the LSE asking if it would consider her for a place in geography. But at exams things went wrong again. Her results were not as predicted: she got an A in history of art, and a C in geography. "MPW was as surprised as me," she says.

Issy believed the LSE was unlikely to accept her with a C but her teacher said he would call and tell them she should have got an A. He kept calling until he got through. The LSE said it could not take her with a C but that, if she got a B on a remark, they would. The teacher sent off for a remark and that's what happened – her grade was raised to a B and she was admitted to the LSE. "My teacher was absolutely brilliant," she says. "The thing about MPW is that it does actually care about you when it comes down to it."

Fees at tutorial colleges in London are about £4,000 a term for A-level students. For that, you get concentrated teaching, expert advice, and a good chance of improved grades. Half of the A-level students at Davies, Laing and Dick last year got an A or B. Such colleges are also practised at giving retake students advice about university applications. Knowing which courses are struggling to fill places, or which cities are less fashionable among the late-teen set, can be the crucial detail that helps students to secure a place.

For candidates who simply can't believe their grade, schools and colleges can ask to see marked papers, and then ask for marks to be re-checked, or papers re-marked, just as Issy Dowden did. Urgent enquiries should be made within a week. If a student's university place depends on it, this fast-track system allows for the query to be processed within 30 days. Less urgent enquiries should be dealt with within 40 days.

In the past these deadlines have not always been met, but last year three of the five awarding bodies hit the 30-day target. However, queries should not be made lightly. There is a cost involved – on a sliding scale, depending on what you are asking for, from £10 to £50. And a change in the system means that from this year grades can go down as well as up. It is inevitable that in a system as vast as this mistakes will happen, and marking in areas such as English literature and drama, where subjective judgements come into play, can be notoriously difficult. So if you feel strongly about your grade – and still feel so after seeing your returned scripts – it is worth pressing ahead.

Last year there were nearly 30,000 enquiries about results, 3.8 per cent of the total A-levels taken, considerably up on the 23,000 requests made the year before. Out of these, 4,644 resulted in a grade change, 1.6 per cent of enquiries, and 0.6 per cent of all A-level entries.

Anyone who is still unhappy after a re-mark, can appeal first to the awarding body, and then, if necessary, to the Examinations Appeal Board (EAB). But since only a dozen cases went to the EAB last year, it is clear that very few grievances make their way to this final court of appeal.

It is worth bearing in mind Issy Dowden's experience. She benefited from both resits and a re-mark and has now completed her first year at the LSE, which she really loves. "When you muck up your A-levels you feel really down about yourself, but I know if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be prepared to work as hard as I am now," she says. "I had to think to myself: what am I doing this for?"