Updated 27-August-2026
If your A Level results in August 2026 were not what you needed, taking a year to resit can put a university place back within reach. It is also a year with no timetable, no teachers and no school entering you for exams, so the plan has to come from you.
This is a planning guide for that year: whether resitting is the right call, what you will sit again, how UCAS fits around it, and what you need to have booked, and by when, for the summer 2027 exams.
Resitting works best when you know why the grades fell short and can see how to fix it. A candidate who missed an AAB offer by one grade after a difficult exam season is in a very different position from someone who found the whole course hard going.
Before you commit, check two things.
What your target courses say about resits. Most universities consider resit grades, but some competitive courses set their own rules. Cardiff University's School of Medicine admissions policy for 2027 entry, for example, states that Level 3 resits are ordinarily not permitted, with a narrow exception for applicants who held a Cardiff Medicine offer and can show verified extenuating circumstances. Read the policy for every course on your list, or email the admissions team, before you spend a year on resits.
Whether another route gets you there faster. If the problem is that you took the wrong subjects rather than missing the grades, a foundation year may suit you better. Our guide to university foundation years and A Level resits compares the two.
For AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC, A Levels are examined once a year, in the summer. The JCQ key dates for June 2027 are:
There is one exception. Cambridge International also runs AS and A Level exams in November, with results in January. That only helps if your course follows a Cambridge International specification, and the November 2026 entry deadline has already passed, so for most gap year candidates June 2027 is the series to plan around.
A Levels are linear. A resit means sitting every exam paper for the subject in the same series. You cannot resit only the paper that went badly.
Some separately assessed work can be reused:
Coursework (NEA). AQA's guidance on non exam assessment confirms that private candidates resitting a qualification can carry forward a previous NEA result. Cross board carry forward is only confirmed for the two endorsements below, so a coursework mark normally means staying with the same board and specification.
The science practical endorsement. A previous Pass in A Level Biology, Chemistry, Geology or Physics can be carried forward, even if a different board awarded it.
To carry anything forward, give the centre your Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI) from your school entries, along with your previous board and specification, when you book. That is how the exam board links the new entry to your earlier record.
If you are resitting a science without a previous endorsement, you will need to complete the practical work. Our A Level practical endorsement course runs over five days per subject for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
You have two realistic options, and the right one depends on how confident you are and which courses you want.
The 15 October 2026 deadline for medicine, dentistry, veterinary courses and Oxford and Cambridge has passed for 2027 entry, so applicants for those courses are usually looking at 2028.
If you apply as an independent applicant, you need your own referee. UCAS's guidance on references for independent applicants says the referee must know you in a professional or academic capacity and cannot be a family member or friend. If you have pending qualifications, the referee is asked for predicted grades, so a tutor who has seen your recent work is usually the best choice. Your application cannot be submitted until the reference is in.
Enter your earlier results honestly alongside your pending resits, and be ready to explain the year if a university asks.
A gap year passes quickly. A simple shape helps.
October to December 2026. Confirm the specification for each subject and get hold of the past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports from the board's website. If your school exams showed a particular weakness, such as essay structure or longer calculations, build the first term around it. Decide on UCAS and line up a referee.
January 2027. Submit your UCAS application by 13 January if you are applying for 2027 entry. Sit a full set of timed papers to see where you stand.
By 15 February 2027. Book your exams. This is the standard entry deadline at Private Exams Centre for the June 2027 series. Late fees apply from 16 February and high late fees from 16 April. If you need access arrangements, raise them when you book: JCQ's deadline for processing applications for June 2027 is 21 March 2027.
March to May 2027. Move from learning to timed practice. Mark every paper strictly and keep a log of where marks are lost.
May and June 2027. Sit the exams. Keep 23 June free.
12 August 2027. Results day. Our results day guide covers what to do next, including reviews of marking.
The time you are not studying is worth planning too. Part time work, volunteering or a short course linked to your degree subject all give you something real to write about in a personal statement, and they make the year easier to explain at interview.
These are fees for entries made by 15 February 2027. The full list, including late fees, is on our exam fees page.
The difference between the two History and Chemistry entries is exactly why carrying forward coursework or an endorsement matters.
Choose your subjects and specification codes, then follow our booking procedure: create an account, complete the registration form, pay online and wait for your confirmation email. Check the statement of entry carefully when it arrives. If you are not sure which entry matches your previous course, email info@privateexamscentre.co.uk with your old board, specification code and UCI before you book.
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