Exam Results Day 2023

For students across the United Kingdom A-Level and GCSE results day is fast approaching. The 17th of August will end the suspense of thousands of students waiting to learn if they have attained the A-level grades, T-levels, and AS levels necessary to get into their university of choice. A week later, on the 24th of August, GCSE results are released. Results for level 3 VTQ`s (vocational technical qualifications) will be released on or before 17th August, and Level 2 VTQ`s will be released the following week, on or before 24th August.

Results are often given out in person by a teacher or exam board representative, and collected by students at their school, but they may be emailed or posted out. If you are in any doubt contact your school, but the likelihood is that, with the results just a few days away, you will have already established how you will be receiving them. If your results are only given out in person, but for some reason you are unable to collect them you should contact your school. They may be able to give your results to a parent or guardian, but will most likely have to be informed in advance.

Of course there will be many students who don`t manage to achieve the grades they were hoping for. If you find you haven`t achieved the requisite grades for your university you shouldn`t panic. There is something called the clearing system, which lists those courses still open to you. Clearing can be accessed through the UCAS website. Alternatively you can contact universities directly, to see if they will accept you with your current grades. Liaising with universities as opposed to going through clearing can also mean you save time, and get ahead of the thousands of students who will be using the clearing process.

With so much disruption in recent years because of the pandemic, the government is attempting to return grades to normal levels. Jo Saxton, chief of Ofqual, explained how things stand with this current year group.

`Ofqual is asking the exam boards to take into consideration the disruption students have suffered and to bear in mind what outcomes looked like in 2019, so that even if the quality of student work is slightly weaker at a national level within a subject, results are as similar as possible to those of 2019`

To achieve this there will be an adjustment in grade boundaries, which will ensure the distribution of grades will be similar to the 2019 pre pandemic levels. The effects of this manipulation could mean that there are fewer students attaining top grades in subjects, and a broadening of the disadvantage gap.

There is nothing particularly unusual about this, grade boundaries are determined every year by senior examiners, who statistically analyse the current batch of exams. The purpose of this is to ensure the relative value of the highest grades are maintained. If too large a portion of students were awarded top grades, these accolades would themselves lose their value.

For those students who don`t achieve the grades needed to get onto their university course, and who also are unable to find a suitable option through the clearing system, another option is to take resits. Many students have a definite career path in mind, which involves a specific degree from a particular university. For those who don`t achieve the grades needed to get onto their course resits will likely be the best option. Make sure you talk to your teachers, who will be able to offer advice regarding the possibility of resitting your exams.

Due to changes which have taken place over the last few years, A-Levels have changed from a `modular` to a `linear` system. This simply means there is far less reliance upon coursework, and a final exam determines much (if not all) of the final grade.

The modular system permitted students to retake any of individual parts of their course they might have performed poorly in. The new linear system however prohibits this, and students taking resits will most likely have to retake the whole of their A-level exam the following year in May or June. The situation is largely the same for GCSE`s, but there may be a possibility of retaking some subjects sooner. Students should consult their teachers for more information.

The following table shows how the results of various qualifications are distributed over these two dates:

Thursday 17th August 2023

• Applied General
• AQA Level 3 Certificate
• Functional Skills
• Level 3 Extended Project
• AS and A-level

Thursday 24th August 2023

• AQA Level 2 Certificate
• ELC
• FCSE
• Level 1 and Level 2 Projects
• Technical Award
• GCSE