A-Level results day is Thursday 13 August. GCSE results day is Thursday 20 August. If the grades you receive are not what you were expecting or hoping for, you have two main options: request a review of marking or plan a retake. They are very different processes with different timelines, different costs and different implications, and getting the decision right matters.
This guide explains both options clearly, when each one is and is not worth pursuing, and how to make the decision quickly and calmly on results day rather than in a panic.
This is the most important thing to understand before requesting a review. If a senior examiner looks at your paper and finds the original marking was generous rather than harsh, your grade can go down. This risk is real and worth discussing carefully with your subject teacher before submitting a request.
How the review of marking process works
You cannot contact an exam board directly to request a review. All requests must go through your school or college, who submit the review on your behalf. This means you need to act quickly after results day because your school will have its own internal deadline before it submits requests to the board.
Once a review is submitted, a senior examiner who was not involved in the original marking looks at the paper again. They check that all questions were marked, that marks were added up correctly and that the marking itself was consistent with the mark scheme. If they find an error that would change your grade, the new grade applies. If they find no error, your original grade stands.
There are different levels of review available depending on the exam board. The most basic is a clerical check, which only reviews whether marks were added correctly and all questions were marked. A full review of marking goes further and checks the marking itself against the mark scheme. Always confirm with your school exactly which type of review is being submitted.
Priority vs standard reviews
Most exam boards offer a priority review option which costs more but is returned significantly faster, sometimes within a few working days. If your grade affects a university place, a college application or another time-sensitive decision, you should request a priority review and simultaneously contact the relevant institution to let them know a review is pending and ask whether they will hold your place while it is processed.
Standard reviews take longer and may not be returned in time to affect decisions that need to be made quickly after results day. Check the specific turnaround times with your school and exam board.
When a review is likely to be worth requesting
Reviews are most likely to result in a grade change when there are identifiable technical errors: questions that appear to have been missed, marks that do not add up correctly or responses that clearly received no marks where some were expected. Your subject teacher can look at your mark breakdown alongside your performance and give you a view on whether the mark distribution suggests something went wrong.
Reviews are less likely to change a grade when the issue is a marker's judgement on an extended written answer, evaluation question or essay. Markers applying the mark scheme to these question types have latitude, and a senior examiner is unlikely to overturn a marking decision unless it falls clearly outside the accepted range.
Questions that appear to have received no marks despite a correct response. Total mark errors. Significant unexplained drop in one paper compared to your mock performance. Teacher believes specific marks were missed based on the breakdown.
Disagreement with a marker's judgement on an extended answer. Grade is at the bottom of a band and you believe it should be at the top. Performance matches what your teacher expected given your preparation.
The most important step before requesting any review is to speak with your subject teacher. They know your work, they can look at the mark breakdown and they can give you an honest assessment of whether a review is likely to help. Do not bypass this conversation and submit a review request based on your own feeling alone.
How retakes work for GCSEs
GCSE Maths and English Language are the most commonly retaken subjects and both are available in November 2026 as well as the main summer 2027 series. These two subjects matter particularly because most sixth forms, colleges and apprenticeships require at least a grade 4 in both.
If you are starting sixth form or college in September and need to retake Maths or English Language, your institution will almost certainly have a provision for this. Many schools and colleges offer lessons specifically supporting GCSE retake students alongside their main programme. Confirm this with your institution before term starts so you know what support is available and what is expected of you.
For other GCSE subjects, retakes are generally only available in the summer series. If you need to retake a specific subject that is not Maths or English, you will typically need to wait until May or June 2027. Discuss this with your school and with the relevant exam board to confirm availability and re-registration requirements.
How retakes work for A-Levels
Most A-Level subjects can be retaken in the following summer series. A small number of subjects may also have a January sitting, though this varies by exam board. If you are considering retaking an A-Level, check with your school and the specific exam board for your subject to confirm when sittings are available.
The most common retake scenario for A-Level students is taking a gap year, retaking one or two subjects and reapplying to university the following year. This route works well for students who have a clear sense of what went wrong, a realistic plan to address it and a productive use of the gap year alongside the retake preparation.
Retaking an A-Level while already at university is possible but uncommon and logistically complicated. It works better for students who are starting a course that does not require the grade they missed, but who want the higher grade for a longer-term goal such as a graduate programme or professional qualification that has specific requirements.
How to decide: remark, retake or neither
The decision tree is straightforward once you are calm and have the full picture.
Start by asking whether the grade you received is actually a problem. A grade lower than you hoped for is not automatically a grade that needs to be changed. If your sixth form place, university offer and future plans are not affected by it, a remark or retake may not be worth the time, cost or emotional energy.
If the grade does affect something important, the next question is whether there is a realistic chance the marking was wrong. Speak to your teacher. If they think there is a genuine case, request a review as soon as possible. If they think the marking looks correct based on the breakdown, accept that and focus on the retake option instead.
If a review comes back with no change and the grade still matters to you, that is when a retake becomes the right path. At that point the question shifts from whether to retake to how to prepare properly so the retake produces a different result.
Making the most of a retake
A retake is only worth doing if the preparation is different from what you did the first time. Doing the same revision in the same way and hoping for a different result does not work. The first step is understanding specifically where marks were lost the first time round, which the mark breakdown on your results slip can help with. Then build preparation around closing those specific gaps rather than re-covering everything broadly.
Past paper practice under timed conditions is the most effective preparation for any retake. It forces active recall, exposes the remaining gaps and builds the exam technique that the first sitting may have lacked. Working through the mark scheme after each practice paper and understanding why each mark was or was not awarded is more valuable than any amount of passive re-reading.
If the same approach to studying independently did not produce the grade you needed the first time, getting structured support, whether through a tutor, a revision course or your school's retake programme, is a sensible change to make before sitting the same exam again.
Frequently asked questions
Can I request a remark myself?
No. All requests must go through your school or college. Contact them as soon as possible after results day as they have their own deadlines for submitting requests to exam boards.
Can a remark lower my grade?
Yes. A senior examiner can find the original marking was generous, which can result in a lower grade. This is an important risk to discuss with your teacher before submitting a request.
How long does a remark take?
Priority reviews are typically returned within a few working days to a couple of weeks. Standard reviews take longer. If your result is time-sensitive, always request a priority review and notify any relevant institution that a review is pending.
When is the next opportunity to retake GCSE Maths or English?
November 2026 is the next sitting for GCSE Maths and English Language. Most other GCSE subjects are not available until summer 2027.
Do universities view retakes negatively?
Policies vary. Some universities explicitly state they accept retakes on the same terms as first attempts. Others consider retakes differently. Check the admissions policy of each institution you are applying to, and be honest about retakes in your application where required.
