Last week was an important milestone in the academic year. The results arrived for the GCSE and A level exams  that had been sat earlier this year. A nail-biting time for students and teachers alike. The first two or three results to filter through to a tutor are usually good news. The high grades expected, or the grades exceeding predictions. As the day goes on, other results arrive and the news becomes mixed. The fantastic AS resit result that is accompanied by a disaster at A2 is easily explained. Too much effort on the resit and not enough focus on the new module.

I was interested to hear a rumour from a tutoring colleague last week that the current system of taking a single module several times and then the best result going forward is likely to stop. If the result from a resit module is lower than the original grade, the lower mark will count towards the final grade, so a resit may mean an improvement, but equally, it may not.

The best way to escape this conundrum is to avoid the situation of a resit in the first place. If you can get an A grade on your third attempt, then why on earth couldn't you do it in the first place? Life isn't a series of resits. The decisions and outcomes are there to stay, with no second chances. So why should exams be seen differently?