In the 2023–24 academic year alone, nearly 40% of students were required to resit GCSE maths, and almost two-fifths retook GCSE English language.
For many learners, resitting GCSE exams can be a daunting experience. Nevertheless, these resits are a vital step to accessing further education, training, and employment opportunities. While schools are committed to helping their students succeed, staffing challenges and timetable constraints often limit the capacity to provide targeted, individualised support.
Courses like Academy21’s new GCSE Booster can be valuable in these instances. As the leading online alternative provision, Academy21 works closely with schools to help thousands of young people re-engage with education.
Noticing the challenges of preparing students for their GCSE resits, Academy21 developed a highly targeted eight-week programme that equips learners with the skills and knowledge to approach English language and maths resits confidently and clearly.
Launching in the 2025/26 academic year, the GCSE Booster programme offers four live, small-group online lessons per week, per subject (English language and/or maths).
“93% of learners feel more confident in their learning since joining Academy21.”
These interactive sessions are delivered by experienced subject specialists with extensive expertise in both GCSE preparation and teaching students who may be vulnerable, have special educational needs, or face personal challenges.
Because classes are limited to small groups, students feel more confident and comfortable participating, asking questions, or working through challenges together with the teacher and/or peers.
At Academy21, in addition to live teaching, students benefit from full access to a personalised online student portal, featuring recordings of each session and a range of independent learning tasks and revision materials. 24/7 access to materials helps students review lessons at their own pace and reinforce their understanding.
The impact of Academy21’s approach is clear: 93% of learners feel more confident in their learning since joining Academy21, with students like Shantay sharing that they went from “not understanding anything” to commenting, “When I do my GCSEs, I feel like I can achieve four or five. I didn’t think I could do that before.”
At Academy21, we are proud to offer flexible, DfE-accredited online education to help learners re-engage and achieve the qualifications needed for their next steps.
