GCSE results are out! Here are some tips & advice for results day:
Have your documentation ready
- Before you leave for school to get your GCSE results, make sure you have a mobile phone, pen, and your student exam number.
- If you are unable to make it to school on results day, some exam boards post their exam results online (you will need your unique student exam number to access this). Alternatively, you should speak to the Exams Officer at your school to discuss an alternative method to getting your results.
If Your Results Are Great:
- Congratulations! You have worked hard and the results you deserve have come through.
- You now have every option open to you, so take your time and ensure you make the right choices.
- Don’t rush into confirming your AS level and A-Level subjects. You may already know what you would like to study in the 6th form, but you still have a couple of weeks before terms starts, so really take your time and make sure your subject choices are the right ones. Two years is a long time to study a subject you don’t enjoy!
Disappointing GCSE Grades
- Contact your school and speak to your teacher or Exams Officer. They may be able to request a copy of your marked paper from the exam board and to see if an inquiry into your results is the best route forward.
- Have a look at your Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) and compare it against your exam board’s UMS grade boundaries.
- If any of your scores seem uncharacteristically low, or if you are off a grade by only a few marks, you could ask the Exam Officer to obtain either a review of the marking or in some cases a remarking altogether.
- Try to do this as soon as possible as there are deadlines involved and fees for remarking.
- If all these options come to a dead end, you can in theory request a re-sit, but think carefully before you decide to do this. It may be better just to focus on your new AS-level subjects.
- If you did well in other subjects, or do not really enjoy the subject that you did not do well in, or if it was not in a core subject like Maths, English or Science, then in all likelihood in the wider context, there is probably not too much to worry about.
All my of GCSE grades are low and I am really disappointed
- Studying is not for everyone. If you are more of a practical person, or have a real aptitude in an area that is not studied in a classroom setting, take a look at other alternatives aside from sixth form.
- There may be vocational courses at colleges which will be more aligned to your interests and strengths. This way you can combine studying with working.
- Think very carefully about leaving education for good. It will have repercussions for your future in terms of opportunities that will be open to you. Either persisting with AS-levels (which shows determination and tenacity and will be viewed on positively by universities) or entering vocational courses (where you can obtain real work experience) are overwhelmingly the two best options open to you.