A Level Results Day 2023: Didn't do as well as you hoped?

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

A-Level Results Day 2023: Didn't do as well as you hoped?

To all the A-level students out there, it's nearly that dreaded time of the year! :afraid:

Many of us have been, or still are, in your situation, and can understand how anxious you must be feeling. :yep:

We hope you all get the grades that you're hoping for, but there will definitely be a mix of emotions for some of you on the day, and if you didn't do as well as you hoped, it's not the end of the world; there are still options available to you, and we hope that this thread can give you an idea about some of them :hugs:

You may find the Should I get a Review of Marking? article useful, as well as the guide to A-level results day.

If your question isn't answered or you'd like more information, post in the thread and the results day team will try our best to help.

Best of luck to all of you for your results, and we really hope that you get whatever you're hoping for :h:

FIRST YEAR A LEVELFor the vast majority of exam boards your results this year won't count towards your overall A-level grade. It’s important to remember that in these subjects you’ll be examined on the whole course next summer. For WJEC (Wales) this may be different as AS qualifications count towards your full A level.

Some common questions have been answered below.

I missed the grade requirements to continue studying a subject
Some Sixth Forms/Colleges may still require you to score a certain grade in Year 12 in order for you to continue studying a particular subject in your second year. If you are in this position then you should talk to your Sixth Form/College to first see if they will let you continue regardless, or if this is not possible you may want to consider getting a review of marking or retaking ( see here ). If there are no options at your current Sixth Form/College, you may also consider moving somewhere else however you'd need to contact them as soon as possible.

I want to retake Year 12 with different subjects
After reflecting upon your results, it may be the case that you wish to retake the whole of year 12 because you do not think your subjects are suited to you. If this is the case, speak to the Head of Sixth Form/College to see if they will be willing for you to do this. It may also be the case that you'll be allowed to change your subjects completely (although if you apply yo university in future you will have to declare ALL results on UCAS if they have been certificated). Also note that a small number of competitive unis only consider applicants who have completed their A-Levels in 2 years, so it's worth researching what you want to do in the future to see if this would limit you. If you decide to change your A-Levels completely, it won't usually count as you having spent three years to complete them. However, if you were only unhappy with your results, as for most qualifications Year 12 does not contribute to the overall A-level , you may wish to just continue onto year 13 as bad year 12 results in linear subjects do not contribute to your overall grade.

I don't want to continue with A Levels
It may be the case that you no longer want to go into Further Education after receiving your results. It is important not to make this decision rashly, however - if possible, speak to your teachers/careers adviser to see if they have any advice for you. Remember even if you have done badly this year, this likely will not contribute to your grade. You can take this as a wake up call to work harder next year, however if after discussing your options you are sure that you don't want to continue, you could:

Seek to pursue a vocational course instead. See here for more information:
http://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifi...ceships#* fil=uk

Take up an apprenticeship. Have a look at our Apprenticeships forum:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=516

Part-time study and work. Have a look at our Careers and Employment forum:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=8

SECOND YEAR A LEVEL & MISSED MY FIRM/INSURANCEIf you're in your second year of A Levels and you find yourself in the position of having missed your offer, you still have some options available. In some cases, your firm or insurance may still admit you even if you have missed the offer grades, this is extremely common in the majority of universities for applicants who have missed an offer by one or two grades. The more competitive the course/uni, the less common this is naturally. When this happens, UCAS Hub will update to reflect this and you won't need to worry.

You may also find that if you were close to your offer, missing it by only a grade or two, your firm or insurance choice may still be showing as pending. If this is the case, then it may well be worth giving the university a ring, and talking to them about how long a decision may take, so you can look into clearing as a backup if you need.

If they are unwilling to give you a place, these are your options:

Clearing
If you find that your firm and insurance are unwilling to take you, you will go into clearing. You can find some very helpful information on our Clearing page , as well as our Clearing Directory with details of most Universities in the United Kingdom. If you are in Clearing, you can make life easier for yourself by having:

1) Your results slips and all the details of your results.
2) Your UCAS ID and your Clearing number
3) A mobile phone that is fully charged and that has plenty of credit. Or better, use another phone to make outgoing calls and take incoming calls from Universities on your mobile. That way, the line is available.
4) Internet access.
5) The UCAS website open to view a list of all the universities in clearing.

Review of Marks
Alternatively, if you've missed your offer by just a few marks, you could consider getting one or more of your papers reviewed ( more information here ). You will need to let your firm/insurance know that you are getting a paper reviewed as soon as possible as they should (but are not obliged to) keep a place for you as long as you meet the grade requirements by 6th September (advisory deadline only, some unis may vary), and you will need to inform them yourself of the updated mark when it comes through.

Gap Year
Finally, if you do not want to go through the process of clearing this year and do not feel that a review would result in your grade increasing, you may wish to take a gap year. There are several things that you can do in your gap year which include (but are not limited to) retaking some exams to boost your grades for a reapplication as well as travel, work, volunteering and loads more.

There is more information regarding retakes below and you can find more information on gap years in our gap years forum, and talk to others in the 2023-24 Gap year thread .

Review of Marking FAQIf you feel that one or more of your papers were marked incorrectly, especially if you were just a couple of marks off the next grade for a particular subject, you may wish look into getting one or more of your papers reviewed. If your results slip doesn't show your exact marks for each paper, ask your school or college as the exams office should have these.

To use any of these services, you will need to speak to your Examinations Officer at your school or college. Or, if you are a private candidate, you can apply for an directly by looking on the exam board website.

I have a university place at stake, will I get my mark back in time?
Get a priority review of marking (or moderation) underway through school/college asap, it is vital that you tell your university that you're getting a remark. You will need to request a priority remark to get the outcome as soon as possible - you will have until 6th September to meet the conditions of your offer (although some universities have different deadlines, this is the deadline UCAS recommend).

If after the review my mark goes down, can I keep the higher result?
Unfortunately not - the outcome of your review is final, even if it is lower than the original mark.

I have an undeclared extenuating circumstance from when I did the exam - can I reveal it now to increase my mark?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply for special consideration once results are out.

Can I request to see a copy of the exam paper to help me decide if it's worth getting a review?
This is something you need to speak to your exams centre about. Most exam boards now offer free downloads of any papers taken with them, but this will need to be done by your exams office.

Will I have to pay to get a Review?
Yes, and prices may vary depending on the exam board. School/college may be willing to cover it for you (as they are the ones who request the review) but you need to talk to them.

What if I'm still not happy after a review?
There is an appeals process to have this looked at further. It is only possible for appeals to go through centres, however, so you'll need to speak to your examinations officer/teacher to get more information regarding this. This is however, reasonably rare.

RETAKE INFORMATIONIn order to try to boost their marks, many people decide to retake one or more exams. Now that November/January exams don't exist for A Levels, the earliest opportunity to retake will be in Summer 2024.

Can I just retake one exam or do I need to retake the whole subject?
In almost all cases now*, you will have to retake the whole subject and will end up with two grades. In the event of a UCAS application, you would have to declare both.
*For England, if you are in Wales your A levels may not be linear, and you may be able to retake individual modules

Should I retake my Year 12 exams?
You can if your school lets you and you want to, but it's highly unlikely that your school will support this unless you are not continuing on to take the full A level (since the full A level requires knowledge from the AS, hence effectively overrules an AS in terms of value).

Which is better, retaking or getting a review?
This depends on your circumstance and the answer will vary between different people. In general, you may wish to consider retaking if you think any of the following apply to you:
- You feel you had extenuating circumstances affecting your exam performance.
- You feel your paper was marked correctly.

If you feel that your paper was marked incorrectly you may wish to consider getting a review instead.

If you are unsure as to which option to pick, it would be best to speak to your teachers for their advice. You could also make a post on this thread to get advice from others.

How do universities see retakes?
For most universities, the odd retake is unlikely to have major issues. For some competitive courses such as Medicine, however, you may be at a disadvantage if you decide to retake. The best thing for you to do is contact the universities you are interested in applying for and asking them if they're still happy to consider you. If you want to apply for Medicine, you may wish to visit our Medicine forum in the first instance.

Do I have to pay to retake?
There is usually a charge associated with retaking. To find out the price, you'll need to speak to your examinations officer as prices vary between centres and sometimes your school will simply pay it for you.