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How to Get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA

In A-Level by Think Student Editor May 22, 2023 Leave a Comment

An NEA is worth 20% of your overall grade in A-Level Geography. It may not seem like much at first, but that’s 1/5 of your qualification – so you definitely want to make sure it boosts your overall grade! As well as this, there will be hundreds of other students writing A-Level Geography coursework, so yours needs to stand out amongst the others. But, if you were like me, this might be the first time you’ve ever had to complete coursework for an A-Level. So how do you do well?

In this article, I’ll be taking you through (as a former A-Level Geography student) all the dos and don’ts for your geography NEA, and the advice you need to get an A*!

Table of Contents

What is an A-Level Geography NEA?

The geography NEA is the mandatory coursework, that is a part of A-Level Geography. All UK exam boards require A-Level Geography students to produce an NEA. It is also referred to as an “Independent Investigation”.

For an NEA, you will choose a question related to physical or human geography, and then you will collect data to help you answer this question . Most NEAs are around 3,000- 4,000 words. They are essentially research papers!

For inspiration make sure you check out this Think Student article with 75+ NEA ideas!

How is an A-Level Geography NEA structured?

At the front of your geography NEA, you will have to attach a cover sheet provided by your exam board. This will usually have your name, candidate number, centre number, and your title question on it. It must be signed by you and your teachers.

An A-Level Geography NEA typically has around 7 sections :

• Introduction to the investigation
• Methodology/data collection
• Data presentation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation
• Evaluation of the investigation
• Bibliography

Exam boards are not too strict on formatting, however, so as long as you have all the major areas covered, you can format these how you like.

Your bibliography should contain all the references for any secondary material you used as part of your NEA. When you submit an NEA, you will be asked to declare that the work you have produced is 100% your own, and your NEA will be checked for plagiarism . Make sure to reference properly!

As for the rest of the NEA sections, I’ll be explaining them in more detail later in the article, so don’t worry!

How do you get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

Getting an A* in your A-Level Geography NEA is not easy, but it’s definitely not impossible.

The UK exam boards will have their NEA criteria up on their website. NEA marking criteria is usually broken down into 4 “levels” (with level 1 being the least marks and level 4 being the most marks), for each section of the NEA.

To achieve an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA, you’ll need to meet the level 4 criteria in most if not all sections of your NEA.

As a former A-Level Geography student, below I’ll share with you my advice on how to achieve the top marks in your NEA.

The A-Level Geography NEA introduction

The introduction to your A-Level Geography NEA is one of the most important parts – it sets up the rest of your investigation and shows examiners why they should keep reading!

Your introduction will outline your argument and will vaguely demonstrate what you are going to say and why this is important. Remember, you don’t want to say too much, because you’ve got the rest of the NEA to write!

Your introduction should also link to your title question; how is your argument going to relate to and answer your question?

The key to a good geography NEA introduction is to be concise and keep it simple. You should ask yourself: ‘if someone who doesn’t do A-Level Geography read my introduction, would they know what I’m going to talk about?’

How to write an A* A-Level Geography NEA introduction

Your introduction should break down your purpose for the investigation. It isn’t like your typical essay introductions which are 100-200 words – your NEA introduction should be up to 500 words.

It could be helpful to break down your title question into three or four “key inquiry questions”, which you can answer throughout your NEA.

You should also explain your title question, why you chose it and how your research is useful in thinking about the future of the research your question tackles.

Your introduction is the opportunity to provide the examiner with details about your location; you could use maps (as these count as a form of data presentation), point out key geographical features, etc. You should give some local (relevant to your area) context and global context for the issue your question is answering.

To round off the introduction, include some basic geographical theory. For example, if your NEA investigation focuses on erosion, explain the different theories of erosion and how these apply to your investigation. This is an important demonstration of knowledge!

Remember, you can format your NEA however you like (within reason), so you can put this information in whichever order you like. Just make sure you cover all the key areas of your investigation!

The A-Level Geography NEA methodology

Your NEA methodology is a breakdown of how you collected the data you use and present in your coursework.

Your methodology will be one of the most detailed parts of your NEA. This may be surprising, but it’s because your methodology is used to show that your data is legitimate and collected properly.

A methodology is included in the majority of research papers, and your A-Level Geography NEA is no exception! Make sure you put time and care into writing your methodology properly, or it could undermine your investigation.

How do you write an A* methodology for an A-Level Geography NEA?

The way you physically present your methodology is up to you, but it should cover all the qualitative data (non-measurable data), and quantitative data (measurable/numerical data).

For example, I presented my methodology as a big table across 2 pages of my NEA. Definitely don’t underestimate the size of your methodology – it’s what verifies that your data is legitimate!

In your methodology, you should include:

• The types of data you collected
• Where you collected this data (collection points)
• The equipment you used to collect your data
• A description of the method
• How often you collected data (intervals)
• The sampling technique (stratified, systematic, etc.)
• A justification for your method

As part of your methodology, you should also include what are called “ethical considerations” and a “risk assessment”.

Ethical considerations essentially means showing awareness of any ethical problems with your data collection methods. As an example, if you used a survey as a data collection, a problem with that may be that the participants’ privacy is not protected. Therefore, an ethical consideration would be to anonymise the survey.

A risk assessment is an awareness of the risks that are involved with data collection (such as getting lost, injured, weather events, etc.), and what you will do to prevent these risks. For example, having an emergency contact.

Data presentation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation in an A-Level Geography NEA

The data section of your NEA is the longest chunk and is worth the most marks. Now that you’ve set up your investigation, this is the section where you present all of your findings and interpret them, by explaining what they show and why.

Don’t panic if not all of the data you collected can be used – I certainly had a bunch of random data I didn’t need by the end! Try to use as much data as possible, and different types of data.

This section helps establish your argument; it’s essentially the evidence for your conclusion as well as just being the body of your NEA.

Since this is a long section, it’s helpful for you and your examiner to split it up into chunks using subheadings. It’s not a good idea to signpost, for example putting the subheading “Analysis”. Instead, you might divide up your data by the location, or the method you used to collect it.

How do you present data to get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

Data presentation in a geography NEA is probably the most unique part of the process – you get to present your data however you want (in accordance with the exam board guidelines, of course)!

In the data presentation section, you need to display all the data you collected for your investigation. This can be in charts, graphs, tables, photos, and more.

The data needs to be readable, so your graphs should be labelled correctly, and your photos should have captions. If you’re using any data that isn’t yours, remember to reference it correctly.

It’s also a good chance to add a bit of colour, to make your A-Level Geography NEA look great!

How do you analyse and evaluate data to get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

Your data analysis, interpretation, and evaluation section of your geography NEA is the most important section.

You should pick out key elements of the data and explain what they mean with regard to your NEA investigation question. How does the data you collected argue for/against your question?

Where applicable, it’s a good idea to calculate and explain medians, means, modes, and averages, to show that you aren’t just repeating what’s already in your presentation. You need to do something with the raw numbers, you definitely shouldn’t just relay your exact findings.

When you’re analysing, ask yourself the question: what does my data mean?

When you’re evaluating, ask yourself the question: how does my data answer my investigation?

By keeping these questions in mind when you’re interpreting your data, you can show the examiner that you can prove why your data is important and that you have a good understanding of analysis and evaluation.

Should you include statistical tests to get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

The short answer to this question is: absolutely!

By now, you will have practiced a few statistical tests as part of the rest of A-Level Geography, such as Spearman’s Rank, the T-Test, Mann-Whitney U test, and standard deviation.

You should aim to use one or two stats tests when presenting the data, you collected for your geography NEA. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ stats test, so choose whichever is applicable for your data.

Statistical tests are a good demonstration of your analytical, interpretative and evaluative skills . By including a couple, you are showing the examiner that you have a clear knowledge of what the tests mean and why they’re useful!

If you struggle with the calculations, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Obviously other people can’t do it for you (remember that as part of submitting your geography NEA, you will have to testify that your work is entirely your own), but you can always ask to be shown how to do them!

Evaluating your A-Level Geography NEA investigation

Your A-Level Geography NEA investigation evaluation is slightly different to the evaluation of your data. In this section of your NEA, you should evaluate the success of the overall investigation.

You should discuss your locations and the methods you used to collect your data (both primary AND secondary data!). What was good about them? What wasn’t so good? If you had been somewhere else and used different methods, how might the outcome of your investigation have changed?

It’s also important to acknowledge the validity of your conclusions.

For example, you may not have had time or access to the correct resources to collect some really important data, that would’ve affected your outcome and potentially changed it. Showing an awareness of this helps build a more sophisticated and mature argument.

It’s important to note than an evaluation is not the same as a conclusion! You shouldn’t be summarising your research. Instead, explain the positives and negatives of your research choices.

The A-Level Geography NEA conclusion

Your conclusion is crucial because it ties together your methods, research, and analysis. Remember those “key inquiry questions” I mentioned earlier? Well now is the time to answer them!

Your NEA conclusion will answer your title question and provide the examiner with a neat, rounded summary of your investigation. By reading the conclusion, someone should be able to know the key parts of your argument and why they are important.

A conclusion is also a place to propose solutions – what can we do in future that we aren’t doing now? How might future events like climate change impact your research?

If there are relevant questions that could impact the outcome of your investigation, but you don’t have time to consider them in detail, put them in your conclusion. This shows the examiner that you have an awareness of micro- and macro-scale issues!

How do you write an A* A-Level Geography NEA conclusion?

Like most essay conclusions, your geography NEA conclusion will summarise your main arguments, what you found, and what your data means. It can also be a good place to ask any of the questions you still don’t have answers to.

You could start by going through your inquiry questions and writing “sub-conclusions” in response to them. Then, you should move on to the big conclusion: answering your title question.

In your conclusion, you should highlight the key things you found as a result of your research, broadly and specifically. Showing consideration to the “big” and “small” issues is good for showing your critical thinking skills!

Your conclusion should be about the same length as your introduction, give or take. If you start running out of things to say, don’t add things unnecessarily to fill the word count – your conclusion should be the most clear and concise part of your NEA.

Examples of A-Level Geography NEAs

Most, if not all, exam boards will have an “exemplar” coursework on their website. For example, I’ve linked the OCR exemplar coursework for you here , so check your exam board website for their exemplar!

The exemplar coursework is written and submitted by a real student, but it’s important to follow the mark scheme, not just copying someone else’s coursework. Your NEA will be checked for plagiarism!

Similarly, most schools keep exemplar coursework from each year, so if you need some inspiration, ask your teachers for the coursework they have.

If you’re struggling for ideas of what to write on for your Geography NEA, check out this Think Student article with 75+ ideas!

*To learn more about the A-Level Geography NEA, check out the specifications from the main exam boards, AQA , Pearson Edexcel and OCR by clicking on their respective links.

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Geography (Edexcel A-Level) NEA exemplar

Geography (Edexcel A-Level) NEA exemplar for Edexcel (GCE) AS and A Level. 2023 created, 44 page notes got me 70/70 in the exam.

• School Essays, Practicals and Lab
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• A Level Geography (9GE0)
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Embark on a journey to excellence in Geography (Edexcel A-Level) Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) with our exemplary student guide. This student exemplar, achieving an impressive 70/70, is a testament to the structure and writing skills necessary for securing an A* in A-Level Geography.

Key Features:

• Perfect Score Exemplar: Learn from the best with a comprehensive 70/70 exemplar that not only showcases excellence but also provides clear insights into the standards required for top grades.
• Structural Mastery: Uncover the intricacies of structuring your Geography NEA with a guide that demonstrates a well-organized and effective layout, ensuring clarity and coherence in your own work.
• Creative Techniques: Discover a wealth of creative and original techniques employed in this exemplar, offering inspiration for your own approach to achieving top grades in A-Level Geography.
• 45 Pages of In-Depth Content: Dive deep into a rich tapestry of content spanning 45 pages, covering various aspects of Geography NEA. From research methodologies to analytical insights, this exemplar has it all.
• Writing Skills Showcase: Hone your writing skills by observing the exemplary prose employed in this guide. Learn how to articulate complex ideas with clarity, sophistication, and precision.

This exemplar is not just a guide; it’s a blueprint for success in your Geography NEA. By replicating the techniques, structures, and creative approaches demonstrated, you can position yourself for top grades. Elevate your A-Level Geography experience with this invaluable resource designed to inspire and guide you towards academic excellence.

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Regeneration ( Edexcel A Level Geography )

Revision note.

Geography Content Creator

Perceptions & Inequalities

• The economic and social inequalities , that occur in different places, can affect people's perceptions   of an area
• Perceptions are relative to people, place and time, for example in London:
• Wealthier people, who have a higher quality of life and more opportunities, may view London as exciting and enjoy the fast pace of life
• Poorer people, with a lower quality of life, may feel economically and socially trapped by London
• Inequality can make young people feel like however hard they work, they will be unable to break the cycle of inequality (unable to afford a house or get a well-paid job)
• Retired people may view London as too busy and look for other places which offer a slower pace of life

Successful places

• Successful places often experience a spiral of growth, which can be shown in the cumulative causation  model
• Cumulative causation occurs when people move to a successful area to provide services for those already there
• This makes the area even more attractive to people and investors

Cumulative causation model

• Successful regions, such as the San Francisco Bay area, tend to be characterised by: 
• High rates of employment
• High rates of inward migration (both internal and international)
• Higher levels of income
• Low levels of multiple deprivation
• However, a wealthy and developing region can develop negative knock-on effects:
• High property prices
• Skills shortages in urban and rural areas e.g. teachers, healthcare workers
• Congestion of roads and public transport
• Strains on services, such as healthcare and education
• The growth of rural areas is usually on a smaller scale than urban areas
• Improvements in broadband coverage mean rural businesses can attract customers from greater distances
• Lots of growth in smaller and micro businesses (under 10 employees), such as artisan food, winery, beekeeping, dog boarding, micro-brewery
• Investments in mobile networks and high-speed broadband have allowed more people to work from home, regardless of their location

San Francisco - a successful place

• San Francisco is known as an international centre for commerce and innovation, particularly as a hub for the technology industry 
• IT and digital media companies, like Twitter and Dropbox, have their headquarters there
• There is also a large cluster of bioscience companies based there, which has fuelled job opportunities
• It has attracted highly educated migrants from across the USA, as well as Asia
• In 2019, 190,000 immigrants gained permission to work long-term in California, where San Francisco is located
• The multiplier effect is fuelled by its technological and transportation infrastructure, high quality of life and highly skilled workforce
• San Francisco is one of the wealthiest cities in the USA, with low unemployment levels of about 3% (Unemployment rate for the USA = 3.9%)
• However, there are large amounts of inequality:
• In San Francisco, the average income of the top 1% of households in the city averages $3.6 million, 44 times the average income of the bottom 99%
• The city is facing an affordability and housing crisis
• In 2015, 64,000 jobs were created but only 5,000 new homes were built
• The average house in San Francisco now costs over $1.25 million
• The arrival of tech companies has led to the gentrification of poorer neighbourhoods (e.g. Tenderloin) so that many existing residents can no longer afford to live there

Deindustrialisation & Decline

• Some places experience a spiral of decline after economic restructuring   due to a change in economic sectors.
• The spiral of decline is sometimes termed the negative multiplier effect
• It occurs in:
• Urban areas due to deindustrialisation, where factories close and unemployment increases
• Skilled, local people leave the area to find work, leaving behind the less skilled or older workers, who would be difficult to retrain
• Rural areas due to a decline in the primary sector (e.g. agriculture) or the mechanisation of farming, leading to unemployment
• Young people leave the area, leaving behind an ageing population
• Decline in rural services (e.g. post offices, banks, petrol stations) due to less demand
• Economic restructuring causes increased levels of social deprivation and a decline in:
• Job opportunities
• The living environment

The spiral of decline model

• Economic decline often leads to a social decline:
• Less investment in public services (healthcare, education)
• Unemployment can lead to depression and an increase in drug use
• Increased crime and anti-social behaviour
• It is difficult to break the spiral of decline and stop the area from declining without intervention e.g. regeneration strategies

The Rust Belt, USA

• The decline of the heavy manufacturing industry (deindustrialisation) in the USA’s Rust Belt  began in the 1950s and led to higher levels of unemployment in the region:
• Cheaper imports increased 
• Manufacturing shifted south due to cheaper labour
• The increased automation of industrial processes
• Cities such as Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh shared several difficulties:
• Population loss - some cities lost more than 40% of their populations 
• Declining tax revenues
• Higher levels of unemployment - increased by 20%
• Limited opportunity for retraining
• Increased crime and drug use, especially among unemployed males

Make sure you can use data to show why some places need to be regenerated.

For example, Detroit in the USA’s Rust Belt suffered due to deindustrialisation:

• Its population fell from 1.5 million in 1970 to only 680,000 by 2015 - a drop of over 50%
• The average household income was about $25,000 in 2015, half the national average 
• By 2014, two-thirds of Detroit's residents could not afford basic needs like food and fuel; the poverty rate was 38%
• Life expectancy in parts of Detroit is just 69 years
• Less than 30% of students graduate from high school
• In 2014, Detroit had the second-highest murder rate of any US city
• Average house prices in Detroit are about $40,000 
• In 2015, approximately 30,000 houses were vacant and 70,000 other buildings were abandoned
• Detroit has severe shortages of public sector workers (teachers, nurses) because most have moved away to better places 

Worked example

Study figure 3 and suggest one reason why the unemployment rates for hartlepool have varied.

• Give a starter reason and extend this twice for two further marks
• There should be a link to the resource in the answer:
• An idea triggered by the resource
• It doesn't need to be a direct quote or use of data

Unemployment rates have risen since 2005 because industries have closed due to competition from abroad. People employed in the supply chain and service sectors will also lose their jobs due to factory closures and reduced disposable income. The industrial workers will lack the skills needed for any new businesses that may start in the area e.g. media.

Priorities for Regeneration

• Social and economic inequalities create a need for regeneration
• The role of regeneration is to reverse the spiral of decline and to create more equality through social and economic change 
• By regenerating an area, business opportunities occur, which improves the overall quality of life and wellbeing
• Sink estates
• Declining rural settlements
• Other areas, such as gated communities and commuter villages  have low levels of deprivation and are a low priority for regeneration

Regeneration priorities for four different places

• Areas that need regeneration can be found next to those that do not need it at all
• Rich, gated communities can be found right next to 'sink estates' in urban areas
• In rural areas, successful, wealthy commuter villages may be only a few miles away from less accessible rural villages suffering from population decline and service deprivation

Study Figure 1 and suggest one reason why economic regeneration is needed in some places more than others

• You need to analyse the resource to identify one starter reason why regeneration is needed
• The other 2 marks will be based on your explanation
• You can use numeric data from the resource to make points, but there are no separate marks for simply quoting data

Lower wages contribute to higher levels of economic and social deprivation. This leads to a spiral of decline in the area as people leave in search of better-paid jobs. As a result, housing estates could develop into sink estates, with high amounts of poverty and crime.

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Superpowers - Complete Lesson Bundle - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

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20 August 2024

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3.11 Superpowers - Revision- Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.10 Superpowers - Challenges for the future - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.9 Superpowers - Contested global Influence - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.8 Superpowers - Contested Places - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.7 Superpowers - Superpowers and the Environment - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.6 Superpowers - Players in international Decision Making - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.5 Superpowers - Global Networking - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.4 Superpowers - Emerging Superpowers - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.3 Superpowers - Hard and Soft Power Making a difference - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.2 Superpowers - What is a superpower - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

3.1 Superpowers - Hard and Soft Power Making a difference - Edexcel A Level Geography Lesson

Edecxel A Level Lessons Bundle -Superpowers All eleven lessons

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• Challenges for the future

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https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/20/gcse-results-day-2024-number-grading-system/

GCSE results day 2024: Everything you need to know including the number grading system

Thousands of students across the country will soon be finding out their GCSE results and thinking about the next steps in their education.   

Here we explain everything you need to know about the big day, from when results day is, to the current 9-1 grading scale, to what your options are if your results aren’t what you’re expecting.  

When is GCSE results day 2024?  

GCSE results day will be taking place on Thursday the 22 August.     

The results will be made available to schools on Wednesday and available to pick up from your school by 8am on Thursday morning.  

Schools will issue their own instructions on how and when to collect your results.   

When did we change to a number grading scale?  

The shift to the numerical grading system was introduced in England in 2017 firstly in English language, English literature, and maths.  

By 2020 all subjects were shifted to number grades. This means anyone with GCSE results from 2017-2020 will have a combination of both letters and numbers.  

The numerical grading system was to signal more challenging GCSEs and to better differentiate between students’ abilities - particularly at higher grades between the A *-C grades. There only used to be 4 grades between A* and C, now with the numerical grading scale there are 6.  

What do the number grades mean?  

The grades are ranked from 1, the lowest, to 9, the highest.  

The grades don’t exactly translate, but the two grading scales meet at three points as illustrated below.  

The bottom of grade 7 is aligned with the bottom of grade A, while the bottom of grade 4 is aligned to the bottom of grade C.    

Meanwhile, the bottom of grade 1 is aligned to the bottom of grade G.  

What to do if your results weren’t what you were expecting?  

If your results weren’t what you were expecting, firstly don’t panic. You have options.  

First things first, speak to your school or college – they could be flexible on entry requirements if you’ve just missed your grades.   

They’ll also be able to give you the best tailored advice on whether re-sitting while studying for your next qualifications is a possibility.   

If you’re really unhappy with your results you can enter to resit all GCSE subjects in summer 2025. You can also take autumn exams in GCSE English language and maths.  

Speak to your sixth form or college to decide when it’s the best time for you to resit a GCSE exam.  

Look for other courses with different grade requirements     

Entry requirements vary depending on the college and course. Ask your school for advice, and call your college or another one in your area to see if there’s a space on a course you’re interested in.    

Consider an apprenticeship    

Apprenticeships combine a practical training job with study too. They’re open to you if you’re 16 or over, living in England, and not in full time education.  

As an apprentice you’ll be a paid employee, have the opportunity to work alongside experienced staff, gain job-specific skills, and get time set aside for training and study related to your role.   

You can find out more about how to apply here .  

Talk to a National Careers Service (NCS) adviser    

The National Career Service is a free resource that can help you with your career planning. Give them a call to discuss potential routes into higher education, further education, or the workplace.   

Whatever your results, if you want to find out more about all your education and training options, as well as get practical advice about your exam results, visit the  National Careers Service page  and Skills for Careers to explore your study and work choices.   

You may also be interested in:

• Results day 2024: What's next after picking up your A level, T level and VTQ results?
• When is results day 2024? GCSEs, A levels, T Levels and VTQs

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GCSE grade boundaries 2024 - full list for AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA

Millions of young Brits who left school this year are set to discover their GCSE results this morning as they consider continuing their education or a move into the workforce

• 09:02, 22 Aug 2024
• Updated 10:22, 22 Aug 2024

Fretting teenagers are about to learn their GCSE results this morning after years of hard work.

Pupils across the UK sat various examinations through to June 19, with their grades used to determine the college and studies they will take as they transition to further education or into the world of work.

Students taking GCSEs in England will receive grades from 9 to 1, with 9 being the highest grade. Grade 4 is the new equivalent to a C with Grade 9 equivalent to an A*. Grade boundaries - the minimum number of marks to qualify for each grade - are decided after GCSE exams are marked and are usually released on results day.

For the latest on today's GCSE results, follow our live blog here

Grade boundaries for different UK awarding bodies

AQA GCSE grade boundaries for 2024 here.

Edexcel GCSE grade boundaries for 2024 here.

OCR GCSE grade boundaries for 2024 here.

WJEC GCSE grade boundaries for 2024 here.

CCEA GCSE grade boundaries for 2024 here.

GCSE 2024 grading system

9 = High A*

8 = Low A* or high Grade A

7 = Low Grade A

6 = High Grade B

5 = Low Grade B or high C

4 = Low Grade C

3 = Grade D or high E

2 = Low Grade E or high F

For many, the results will be good enough to send them to college as they continue their education, while others may opt to go into work and get a start on their careers. For others however, they may not have done quite as well as they were hoping. Happily, this is not the end as it is possible to retake exams up to a year after.

Resists in maths and English are held in November and May of each year. Others, such as science, can only be done in the summer time during the usual exam period. They can also be taken during gap years.

Did your GCSEs help you get your dream job? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.

Students can usually retake any exams. Those wanting to do their GCSE maths and English have to be under the age of 18 and have not got at least a grade 4. The Government’s website reads: “Depending on your circumstances, you might be eligible to take a functional skills qualification in English or maths instead.

“This is equivalent to a GCSE and allows you to apply English or maths in real life. You can check with your school or college if this option is available to you.”

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