Appealing against bad grades

If you feel you've been dealt an injustice with your exam or coursework results, your school or college can take it up with the awarding body - but remember your grades can go up as well as down!

Coping with low exam grades

If you think the exam grades you've received are wrong, find out how you can appeal against the decision.

Help

"Every year thousands of GCSE and A-level students are awarded the wrong results"

Every year thousands of GCSE and A-level students are awarded the wrong results for their work, so it's no wonder more people are lodging enquiries and appeals. In 2007 nearly 22,000 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland had their GCSE and A-level grades changed after querying the results.

Who should I speak to if I want to appeal against my grades?

George Turnbull from Ofqual, the Government body responsible for exams says: "The first thing you've got to do is speak to one of your teachers at your school or college. This is because students can't make enquiries directly with the examining board; everything has got to go through the school unless you are an external candidate."

Your school or college should support an enquiry on your behalf, so it's important you speak to a teacher or lecturer at the earliest opportunity because there are deadlines to meet.

What are the deadlines for appealing?

This year's A-level results were published on August 20 and GCSEs on August 27. If you need an A-level paper to be re-marked quickly because your university place depends on your result, then you can have a priority re-mark. The deadlines for enquiries are:

August 28 for an A-level priority remark
September 20 for standard A-level enquiries
September 20 for GCSE enquiries

You can find more detailed information on the Ofqual website. The appeals process is the same for Diplomas, but for BTECs and other vocational qualifications you need to contact the awarding body.

How long will it take?

The time it takes to deal with an enquiry can vary depending on the examining body that is marking your paper, but they have to meet deadlines. The maximum time it will take for an A-level priority re-mark is 18 days. All reports relating to paid enquiries must be provided within 40 days.

Does getting my GCSE or A-Level grades re-marked cost me anything?

It's up to your school or college who pays for a re-mark: "Students may not have to pay for it themselves" says George. "Normally the school or college supporting the enquiry will foot the bill".

A clerical re-check will cost around £10. This is where exam papers are checked to ensure that every question has been marked and the total awarded for each paper has been correctly calculated. A full re-mark of examinations scripts will cost about £30 to £40. This is when all parts of the examination are re-marked. If your marks are either raised or lowered (yes, this can a happen!) the examining board is obliged to refund the cost.

What happens next?

Your school or college will lodge an enquiry with the examining body. This will normally result in a re-mark or re-moderation by the awarding body.
If you're still unhappy with the outcome of the first enquiry, your school or college can lodge a secondary appeal within two weeks.
If your school or college is still not satisfied with the result, they can lodge an appeal with the Examinations Appeal Board (EAB). This must be done three weeks after receiving the draft report on the outcome of your appeal from the awarding body. You will be told within two weeks if your application has been accepted or not. If it's accepted, an appeals hearing will be arranged before an EAB panel.

What about coursework?

If you're unhappy about a coursework grade, speak to a teacher at your school or college. Coursework re-marks are a bit more complicated than examination re-marks. Carolyn Adams from AQA, one of the UK's biggest awarding bodies, says: "If you want to get your coursework unit re-marked then the examining body will have to re-moderate the whole of the school or college's coursework. This means that the student's school or college needs to be sure they want to take it forward."

What about university exams?

Every university has their own policy on appealing against exam and coursework results, so you'll need to check with your student advice centre to find out more about your university's procedures.

By Chris Denholm

If you think you might be a few marks off your desired grade, ask your school to tell you the exact mark. Only then should you consider whether it's wise to demand a re-mark - remember you can be marked down as well as up.
If you're a GCSE student, it may not be so important to challenge your grades - as long as you can still take the A-levels you want to do, why not just give yourself a stress-free summer?
If you're an A-level student whose grades mean you might miss out on going to Uni, you need to get straight on to your school and ask for a priority re-mark. This is your future we're talking about.
For more information about A-level marking, check out Dr. A-level.

How was it for you?

What do you think of Lifetracks.com and has it helped you? For your chance to win a £20 Amazon voucher, complete our short survey and help us make the website as useful as possible.