Cryptic crossword clue
Fail school subject — but be remembered 2,4,2,7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 4 plus 2 plus 7 letter word GO DOWN IN HISTORY

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
G
O
D
O
W
N
I
N
H
I
S
T
O
R
Y

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "be remembered" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case be remembered = go down in history.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

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