I chose to resit due to extenuating circumstances where my father was on his death bed during my 2019 A Level sitting. Evidently, this had a great emotional toll on me that -
reflected in my grades and I knew I had to resit as I was determined to obtain grades that reflect my potential and ability. In addition to this, my desire to resit also stemmed from wanting to leave generational poverty and social inequality that has been inflicted upon me.
Unfortunately, being a young BAME person from a low income family in one of the poorest boroughs in the U.K., on free school meals and occasionally provided with £60-£90 in bursary per school term (£20-£30 per month) has not given me leverage in life.
In fact, it has hindered my progress dramatically.
I am predicted A*AA, secured all five offers. I respectively accepted @LSEnews and @KingsCollegeLon to study History.
I am predicted A*AA, secured all five offers. I respectively accepted @LSEnews and @KingsCollegeLon to study History.
Finding an exam centre was extremely difficult. My sixth form refused to let me resit, despite my extenuating circumstances that they were aware of. Various sixth forms and colleges in my borough & neighbouring boroughs rejected me as a resit student due to capacity & funding -
issues. This forced me to look elsewhere, particularly private exam centres which are all very expensive.
I was quoted an immense amount of money. I will attach a screenshot of a centre that quoted me £1,195 for three subjects when exams themselves cost between £25-£65 each. The mark up is ridiculous given we are young people who simply want to - 
who simply want to obtain better grades to get access to a better life for ourselves. I also spoke to exam centres via call that quoted me £755 and £925.
Most students that take the brave decision to retake do so due to extenuating circumstances, not because they have disposable income to spend on getting higher grades.
To assume that resitting exams is easy as all you have to do is study for your exams couldn’t be far from the truth for most external/home schooled students. Particularly, for BAME, low income disadvantaged students, who make up majority of A-Level resits.
To resit A-Level exams for many of us is the only way for us to move forward as we don’t have the comfort of generational wealth, family savings, internships, travel infused gap years & other opportunities and or opportunities that money can bring to make us stand out in our CVs
Moreover, many courses such as Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry etc. and universities such as Russell Group universities are highly competitive, requiring you to secure top grades to be considered a conditional offer (alongside great experiences, interpersonal skills and -
extra curricular activities in which many BAME and disadvantaged people don’t have the comfort of exploring.)
What most people don’t understand about the consequences of having to sit back a year whilst your peers are moving on with their lives is how extremely difficult it is itself. I can confirm that I have struggled immensely this year.
Taking a gap year for most resit students as an external/home school student isn’t solely about the grades. Our mental health and social skills were at an expense for our decision to resit exams.
We lived an extremely isolating year full of a lack of social cohesion, where our only friend was our textbooks. When your friends move on and move away and your stuck in the same spot for a year.
It’s really difficult to cope with the sadness, depression and isolation that evidently inflicts upon you when you’re out of a routine and possessing minimal human interaction.
I’ve had to work odd jobs and hours to pay for my academic resources such a exam fees, books, printer/ink, transport fees eg. to the library, tuition and more to maximise obtaining grades that I deserve.
I have spent over £1,000 doing so alongside endless & immense amounts of energy & hours dedicating myself to my studies.
That is the reality of external/ home school students who don’t have the convenience and support of teachers, teaching resources, funding etc that students in compulsory education have.
It is extremely frustrating how majority of the A-Level 2020 cohort were given a U- turn from being given CAG’s that we’re proved to be classist and downgraded, providing them with grades that are largely unreflective of their potential to a double lock of being given
- being given teachers predicted grades and the option to resit in Autumn, whereby whichever grade is higher will be their official A-Level grade.
This allows majority of students with the option to attend university, resit with the assurance of keeping higher grades or deference in university entry with a confirmed space.
This is absolutely unjustified given resit students have worked extremely hard this year, if not harder given we’ve had to deal with the mental and financial challenges that came with resitting A-Level exams, internalising how vital these exams are in determining our future.
We are no different to the rest of the A-Level cohort. COVID-19 does not discriminate, so why are we being discriminated against for choosing to (or in my case, the only choice I had) enrol in an exam centre as opposed to an institution.
Despite this, many external students who have studied at their institution for years have been refused grades too. We deserve justice. We deserve to move forward too.
External/home school students want to be issued with their UCAS predicted grades as they were issued by their own teachers or tutors who know them best. It is clear that there is no difference between @ucas_online and teachers providing predicted grades for the rest of the cohort
Neither @ucas_online predicted grades, teacher predicted grades or CAG’s were moderated, yet the government chose to solely issue the majority of A-Level students with their predicted grades; neglecting 20,000 external/home schooled students.
Within two days we have:
- Secured an interview with @BBCNews @lewis_goodall and retake students Salman & Ferdaus highlighted the emotional toll deciding to resit exam takes and the extortionate amount of 20,000 external/ homeschooled students that have been neglected.
- Secured an interview with @BBCNews @lewis_goodall and retake students Salman & Ferdaus highlighted the emotional toll deciding to resit exam takes and the extortionate amount of 20,000 external/ homeschooled students that have been neglected.
@lewis_goodall Goodall wrote an in depth Twitter thread here:
The full @BBCNews segment with @lewis_goodall can be found here;
@TheCanaryUK corresponded with various resit students on being neglected by the Government and it’s implications: thecanary.co/feature/2020/0… #ALevels
@MrTopple further highlighted various stories of neglected A-Level students: stevetopple.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/the… #ALevel #alevelfiasco
@ExpressandStar shares how a significant amount of A-Level students have not received grades unlike the majority of the 2020 A-Level Cohort: expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2… #ALevels #JusticeForResitStudents
@Examiner sheds lights on the reality of external and homeschooled candidates being neglected: examinerlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-… #ALevel2020 #ALevelFiasco #JusticeForPrivateCandidates
@theipaper addresses how external and homeschool students have been kept in the dark whilst the majority of their peers head off to uni or have grades to defer university entry: inews.co.uk/news/education… #JusticeForExternalStudents #alevelfiasco
@EveningExpress @PA underlines perspectives of external students who have not been neglected by @GavinWilliamson @ofqual eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/homesc… #ALevelUTurn #ALevels
Moreover, I want to highlight that an Irish student who was homeschooled & in a similar situation to me & others won a court case yesterday over exclusion of grades. The court seemed it as ‘arbitrary unfair unreasonable and contrary to law.’, @IrishTimes rb.gy/guh4w8
To further highlight the gravity of the issue to the public, we have launched an online petition in the hope that our government rectifies this issue. Currently, we have over eight thousand two hundred signatures to date, including a -
signature from John McDonnell, a Member of Parliament. The link to this petition can be found at: chng.it/gK9w7YHD Please so sign! #ALevel #ALevelProtest #alevelappeals
To conclude, we hope you understand the magnitude of this situation and its direct ramification on our future. We, therefore, please request of the following from the @educationgovuk @ofqual @GavinWilliamson
* Re-evaluate the stance taken by the government for private candidates by securing us with a double lock alternative, similarly to how it was issued to the majority of the 2020 A Level cohort.
Candidates must receive their UCAS predicted grades and have the opportunity to resit exams in October, whereby whichever grades are higher are deemed as candidates official A-Level grades.
* The government must have universities honour their offers for deferral should university places be fully accommodated. @LSEnews @KingsCollegeLon @ofqual @GavinWilliamson @ucas_online
Many of us are in correspondence with various journalists, newspapers, relative MP’s and councillors, trade unions and a barrister to further shed light on our significant situation and demand justice. #ALevels #ALevelUTurn #JusticeForResitStudents #JusticeForExternalStudents
