Dedication is vital for a successful retake strategy

If your exam grades don't reflect your true potential, then resitting your A-levels may provide the answer, says Diana Hinds

This summer's cohort of A-level students could be forgiven for feeling they have had enough of exams. From their primary school years onwards, they have been guinea pigs in all the new national tests and examinations, from standard assessment tests (SATs), through to the first AS levels last year and now the first A2s.

If their small brown envelopes do not contain the hoped-for A2 grades this month, these students might well decide to cut their losses and go for the quick fix option of a university place through the Clearing system. With the expansion of higher education, places are not too hard to find in Clearing: someone, somewhere, will probably want you on their course. But the question is, will this really be the course you want to take and will it be the right university for you? Might you be better off considering retaking at least parts of your A-level courses and giving yourself more choice?

"You are crazy not to retake if you know that you have underperformed and are capable of getting a higher grade," says Elizabeth Rickards, principal of Davies Laing and Dick (DLD), an independent sixth-form college in west London. "The prestige of the university you get into and the quality of the course is very important in terms of long-term prospects.

"The Clearing system is like the Harrods' sales: if you queue outside on the morning the sales begin, you are likely to get a deal. But if you come back from holiday and go eight days into the sales, there's not going to be a lot left."

However, retakes are not an easy option. They demand an enormous degree of commitment and hard work for six months or a year. You will almost certainly have to work harder than you did in the sixth form. You need to be sure that you have a strong chance of pulling off high grades second time round to make it worth it. Be advised by your teachers and school careers officers here.

Rob Clarke, senior tutor at Cranleigh, an independent school in Surrey, looks carefully at the individual student before he recommends retakes. "If they are really quite bright children who have flunked their A-levels for some reason, then I might say resit, although they would have to do very well to get into a good university. If they are what I would call 'respectable' A-level students, for whom Cs and Ds are likely to be top grades, then nearly all of them are going to find something adequate in Clearing."

For a student to make a success of retakes, there's got to be a feeling that the existing grades fall below the candidate's potential," says Gerald Hattee, principal of Collingham tutorial college in London. "There has got to be something there which will produce a different outcome – and that is drive and intellectual potential."

Far from removing the need for students to retake A-levels, the new system of AS levels followed by A2s brings a new flexibility into the retake market, argues Gerald Hattee. Instead of retaking entire A-levels, candidates might, for instance, opt to retake certain subject units in order to bring their scores up. Or a candidate who has done well with A2s, but worked less hard in the first year of the sixth form and got weaker AS results, might only need to retake an AS level or two for a good overall score.

Choosing where to study is the next important question for retake students. Some may feel able to swallow their pride and go back to school to repeat a year with younger classmates. Others, however, may well benefit from a change of environment and a slightly more adult study regime.

Retaking at a state sixth-form college or further education college is the inexpensive option here. John Bull, curriculum unit manager for A-levels at the Oxford Further Education College, says demand for retakes has dropped as more students with lower A-level grades are enrolling on university foundation courses. But at least a dozen retake students a year join the college's A-level classes, paying between £150 and £200 an A-level if they are over 18.

"Our students get a little bit of extra freedom – but not too much!" says John Bull. "We get them away from the school-rules syndrome and encourage them to take a bit more responsibility for their learning. Students appreciate that."

For those lucky enough to have the financial backing, accredited independent tutorial colleges offer thorough and carefully-honed retake packages – at a cost of up to £4,000 for each A-level for a year's course. The advantage of such colleges is that the teaching is entirely geared to passing exams, with a battery of regular tests, very small classes, and individual tuition.

"Schools don't necessarily teach pupils how to write essays which are going to pick up high grades," says Elizabeth Rickards, at DLD. "Come to a college like this and you actually get taught the tricks of the trade – and students are much better prepared for university at the end of it."

But tutorial colleges expect their students to work hard. They do not want their images tarnished by those who do not make the grade and will turn applicants away if they seem to lack dedication.

"We do not advise retakes if, for example, it is the parents rather than the student who are keen on the idea. Some students may be better off gaining work experience, and coming back into education in their early twenties," says Glenn Hawkins, principal of Abbey College, Cambridge.

"Students need to be mentally prepared, and to have a clear vision of what they want at the end of the course. Some join us with two Ns and a U at A-level, even three Us, and when we first meet them, they see themselves as failures. We try to convince them that they can do well. But they have got to be dedicated."

A word of warning: if you have set your heart on a very prestigious institution, or a very sought-after course (eg veterinary medicine), think again. Retaking A-levels could count against you in oversubscribed subjects or universities. Speak to admissions officers before you set about a costly retake package and take advice from an accredited tutorial college, or from the educational consultants, Gabbitas.

One way round this type of difficulty could be to start a new subject from scratch, suggests Nigel Stout, director of the Mander Portman Woodward group.

"Universities are quite impressed with a new subject, because it shows what you can do in a year – particularly if it's a traditional subject, such as an arts-based student taking economics, or a science-based student doing English. It's certainly one good way of beating the anti-retake prejudice."

'If you put the work in, the reward is there for the taking'

Christopher Beament, 19, was very disappointed with his two Ds at A-level in geography and business studies. He retook both at a tutorial college in London, and emerged with As

When I first took my A-levels, as far as I was concerned I was doing enough work – although looking back, I certainly didn't work as hard as I have second time round. But at school, I didn't feel we were being taught at the standard we should have been, especially in geography.

I was predicted a C in geography, but in business studies, my teacher said that if I got the right questions on the day, I might get a B, or even an A. I had also had six weeks of private tuition just before the exams, and the tutor was very confident about my ability.

I was hoping to defer university entry for a year, to do a ski season, and then go on to a business studies degree. I had conditional offers from City University (ABB), and from Kingston University (BCC); I was quite confident of the Kingston offer, but knew I would be pushed to get the City one.

I was devastated when I got the two Ds (as well as the equivalent of two Ds in International Baccalaureate standard levels in maths and German). It was a very difficult time, because there were so many options to think about, and I was feeling so disappointed. I wasn't sure what to do, and was looking for guidance from other people.

I looked in Clearing, but couldn't find any very good courses. With the grades I had, I decided there wasn't any point going to a university I wasn't keen on, because at the end of the day, it wasn't going to help me get a job.

I thought of getting a job in a bank – I even had an interview with the Royal Bank of Scotland – and coming back to university as a mature student. But my parents were not keen. My older brother and sister had both been to university, and I was expected to go too.

My parents and my teachers were supportive about the idea of retakes. I decided not to go back to school, because I thought I might fall back into the same path of not putting enough work in. I looked in the paper for tutorial colleges, and my brother-in-law knew someone who had been to Davies Laing and Dick (DLD) in London. It seemed the best way to go, and I had the opportunity to stay with my sister.

Financing it was an issue for me: my parents paid, but I knew that if I failed, I would feel that I was letting them down. I had to promise them that I was going to work.

At DLD, the class sizes and standard of teaching made a huge difference. I was in a class of three for business studies, and I was the only student in geography. The teachers I had were in a different league from school in their understanding of the subject and attention to detail, and they seemed much more involved with the students.

They were adamant that they were going to get the best out of you, and you knew that if you turned up late or didn't hand work in, they would be on the phone to your parents. I studied for about eight hours a day – just like a full-time job – as well as at weekends.

I retook geography in November, and business studies in January. I got two As, and I was overjoyed – especially with the geography, where in seven weeks I had gone from a D to an A. I now have a place at Kingston University.

I would recommend retaking to people in my situation, if they have got the financial backing. If you are willing to put the work in, then the reward is there for the taking."