Current QM politics student here. My friend from secondary, who is also at QM, studying IR, achieved no where near ABB on results day. What she did though was apply for the English course in clearing, then ask to transfer course.
To her surprise, the person who interviewed her on the phone for the transfer was one of our professors. She has now, a year on, just finished her first year with a high 2:1!
Best of luck!