Results Day
I want to start off by wishing all students waiting to receive their results the best of luck.
I know it is a cliché,
But no matter what happens,
You are not defined by the results you achieve.
Saying this,
I appreciate how results day is often a particularly emotional moment in time.
Your results do open and close doors.
And they are the culmination of years of stress and hard work,
So I wanted to write this newsletter to ensure that everyone who reads it is as prepared as possible for the day – and its consequences.
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The moment of opening your results
Here’s something no one seems to tell you,
The results aren’t always easy to understand.
You would think they would be in a nice clear list,
But no,
There are different papers,
With different scores,
With different weightings.
Firstly, please prepare yourself for it not being instantly obvious.
Secondly, they do not always come out on time.
Whilst you are sitting their waiting with baited breath,
In my experience,
They actually come out a handful of minutes late.
I would strongly advise you are ready on time but just bear this in mind.
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Remarks & Grade Boundaries
One of the most common questions parents and students ask me is whether or not they should get a remark.
Well,
Before you consider getting a remark you have to work out how close you are to the next grade.
The grade boundaries for each subject and each exam board will also get published on results day.
It is essential that you locate them by googling the following - Your Exam Board, The Subject, GCSE/A-Level, 2024, Grade Boundaries.
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There is no objective formula to work out whether or not you should get a remark,
And finances absolutely come into it too.
However,
Forgetting any external factors for a second,
In a subjective subject (any subject that has essays) I would be very tempted to get a remark if I was within 3 marks of the next grade.
In an objective subject (Maths, Sciences etc) realistically you would want to be more like one maybe two marks away.
If however, you need a certain subject in order to get into your chosen university or do your chosen A Level and you just missed out by slightly more than my above suggestions,
I absolutely would not be against getting a remark as you never know,
I would just try and manage your expectations.
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Missing Your Grades – For A Level & B-Tec Students
Unfortunately,
Every year,
In almost every friendship group,
Multiple people will miss out on the grades they need to pursue their desired next step.
I’ve seen this happen to very academically intelligent students who you would have never expected.
I truly hope with everything I’ve got that this does not happen to you, however we need to be prepared.
So here are the steps you should follow if it does:
1) Find out how many marks you were off by using the grade boundaries detailed above – consider a remark.
2) Universities say to avoid calling them on results day but in my experience someone in the family should get on the phone with your firm choice and wait and wait and wait.
3) UCAS Hub will update at around 8:15. It is possible it may not have updated by this point but once it does it may tell you that you have been accepted even if you missed your offer or it may tell you that you have been placed in clearing having missed your offer.
4) Again, some schools tell their students to not come in unless there is exceptional circumstances. In my opinion – GO IN. This is too important a situation to be overly polite. You need to get as much advice as possible, quickly.
5) If you either haven’t got through to your firm choice or they have said no, start calling your next best choices. It could be handy to have some options or courses and universities in mind before results day. Again, you will have to wait and wait but this is ultimately how clearing works. Top Tip: Make sure you have your UCAS ID number to hand.
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I want to wish everyone the absolute best of luck,
Best wishes,
Joel