HOPEFUL students will today collect their A-level results after taking their first exams since the Covid pandemic.
The wait for pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is over, with their A-level grades meaning the difference between attending university or not – and deciding the start of their career paths.
But the "Covid generation" has been warned of "lower than expected grades" this year.
Education Secretary James Cleverly has predicted how some students "might get slightly lower grades that perhaps they were expecting and that they were hoping".
Grades are expected to go down overall compared with last year, according to projections.
Mr Cleverly told Sky News: "They were more generous, and I think that is legitimate, that they were more generous in the pandemic years.
"It was always the plan to get them back. That is going to be seen this year, so students might get slightly lower grades than perhaps they were expecting and that they were hoping.
"But, as I say, we should see the majority of students getting into the institutions that they want to."
Meanwhile, new T-level results will also be received for the first time by around 1,000 students in England today.
Read our A-levels results blog below for the latest news & updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Staff at AQA exam boards to strike during GCSE results day
Meanwhile, staff at exam board AQA are taking part in strike action over the next few days and next week when GCSE results are due out.
Unison said the action is planned as part of a long-running dispute regarding pay and fire and rehire threats to staff, but AQA said it had "robust contingency plans in place to ensure that industrial action has no effect on results".
- Joseph Gamp
Overall pass rate down by 1.1%, A-level figures show
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) said the overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – fell by 1.1 percentage points from 99.5% in 2021 to 98.4% this year.
But this is up by 0.8 points from 97.6% in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Entries receiving the top grades of A* and A are down 8.4 points from 44.8% last year to 36.4% – but up 11.0 points on 25.4% in 2019.
The figure for the highest grade, A*, is down year-on-year from 19.1% to 14.6%, but remains higher than in 2019 when it stood at 7.7%.
And the proportion of entries graded A* to C dropped from 88.5% in 2021 to 82.6% this year, though it is up from 75.9% in 2019.
- Joseph Gamp
Breaking: A level grades down on last year – but still higher than pre-pandemic
A-level grades received by UK students are down on the past two years but remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland got results on Thursday, having sat exams for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak.
Grades had been expected to drop back from 2021 levels – when pupils were assessed by their teachers – as part of a transition year which saw marks aiming to reflect a midway point between last year and 2019.
- Joseph Gamp
Students can pick from a 'broad range of options available to them'
Education secretary James Cleverly assured students that no matter what grades they might get, "there has never been a better range of opportunities available".
He said: "Whether going on to one of our world-leading universities, a high-quality apprenticeship, or the world of work, students have exciting options as they prepare to take their next steps."
Almost 40% of students are thought likely to make use of the clearing system to get a place on a course.
- Joseph Gamp
What are T-levels?
New T-level results will also be received for the first time by around 1,000 students in England on Thursday.
The qualifications are broadly equivalent to three A-levels.
However, they offer students practical and knowledge-based learning at a school or college and on-the-job experience.
- Joseph Gamp
School leaders union praises 'resilient & tenacious pupils'
The school leaders' union NAHT also paid tribute to pupils for their "resilient and tenacious" approach to meeting the challenges they have faced.
Paul Whiteman, union general secretary, said: "They have experienced large amounts of disruption due to Covid throughout their courses and have worked hard with their school's support to achieve today's results.
"For many students receiving results today, these will have been the first formal national exams they have ever taken."
Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said the "sad truth" is that those who do not achieve grades that reflect their true potential "will be disproportionately from poorer backgrounds", describing the attainment gap in this country as one that remains "stark".
- Joseph Gamp
'Every student collecting their results should be proud'
The education secretary says students should be proud for taking exams after studying through the Covid pandemic.
James Cleverly said: "Every single student collecting their results today should be proud of their achievements. Not only have they studied throughout the pandemic, but they are the first group in three years to sit exams.
"For that, I want to congratulate them and say a huge thank you to those who helped them get to this point."
- Joseph Gamp
UCAS warned process will not be 'pain-free' this year
University admissions service UCAS says it expects record or near-record numbers of students to get onto their first-choice courses.
But the body also warned the process will not be "pain-free" for all, as some students are left disappointed.
This year's grades aim to reflect a midway point between 2021 – when pupils were assessed by their teachers – and 2019.
Record numbers of students, including high numbers of disadvantaged students, are still expected to start university in September, the Department for Education said yesterday.
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Hopeful students receive their grades in Norwich
Hundreds of thousands of students are about to collect their A-level exam grades today.
Pictured below, Anna Austin (centre-right) reacts when reading her results at Norwich School, Norwich.
Students who sat exams for the first time since before the coronavirus outbreak are expected to face tough competition for university places
Anna Austin (centre-right) reacts when reading her results at the Norwich School this morningCredit: PA
- Joseph Gamp
Take time out with a gap year and take a break from studies
Employers look for life skills – and you will get plenty of those once you leave school and navigate your own path, so a gap year is always considered a good option.
But be sure you have a plan, – whether it be getting work experience, paid work, more studying or taking time to go travelling.
If you have a university place for this year, and you want to defer, they will ask what you intend to do with the time – so have your answers ready.
If you plan to study maths and physics courses, they will want you to keep your hand in learning during your gap year.
You can keep studying with hundreds of short, free, online courses from Future Learn, futurelearn.com/courses.
- Joseph Gamp
Students 'were vocal in their desire for fair and robust' qualifications
James Cleverly said students have been the biggest champions of a "robust" qualifications system as they returned to exams after the Covid pandemic.
The Education secretary said: "But, funnily enough, it was the students themselves who were most vocal in their desire to ensure they had qualifications which were fair but robust and taken seriously by institutions and employers.
"And whether it be A-Levels or the new T-Levels that are coming out this year or other vocational training – that is what we have achieved."
- Joseph Gamp
Education Secretary backs efforts to make university system 'fairer'
The Education Secretary yesterday gave his backing to the use of data on a student's background to determine university places.
Figures published this week showed offer rates are higher this year for pupils from areas with the lowest proportion of progression to higher education.
Offer rates in these areas for UK 18-year-olds are at 74.5%, compared with 73% in areas with the highest proportion of young people moving on to higher education, according to data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas).
Ucas has also taken into account data on free school meals – an indicator of disadvantage – in offers for the first time this year.
Days before results were released, James Cleverly also appeared to dismiss suggestions in some quarters of "social engineering" in favour of students from disadvantaged areas.
In an interview with the Telegraph, he said: "If universities are recognising that for some students in some circumstances, getting the top grade or whatever grade they're making offers against, are harder than students from other schools and other backgrounds then I'm not uncomfortable with that."
If a student's better performance is against a more difficult background, it is not wrong "that that is recognised", Mr Cleverly was also quoted as saying.
- Joseph Gamp
Education sec says 'majority of students' will get first choice places
The "majority" of students will get their first choice university place, and are not being crowded out by a deferred cohort, the Education Secretary has said.
Asked by BBC Breakfast if deferred applications would lead to more competition for university places, James Cleverly said: "We should remember that there has been an increase in the number of courses, and as you say the number of 18-year-olds has been increasing, but so has the number of university courses.
"Predominantly of course, students are competing with the other people that took exams this year.
"The number of deferments as a percentage of the overall applications is very low, something around 6.5% from memory.
"So the vast majority of places will be for students who have sat exams this year."
Mr Cleverly said there had been a "tighter set of results than last year" with the return of exams, but added: "We have got to remember that the majority of students will probably be getting into their first choice institution, that is incredibly good news."
- Joseph Gamp
Be sure to explore your options
If you haven’t got into the university you wanted, you can appeal over your results via your school. Let the university know you are doing this.
Another option is to sit the exams in the autumn. But think carefully. Your teachers know you best – are you really going to improve on the grade they have given you?
If you are set on going to university, then you will be able to go through Clearing.
On the UCAS site, Clearing Plus will suggest places and courses similar to your original choice.
Parents, you need to be on hand with your laptops and tablets to research any institutions your child likes the look of.
They then need to phone that university and get a verbal offer of a place before going back on to the UCAS site.
- Joseph Gamp
How many UCAS points do you get for each A-level grade?
Some universities and courses will make offers based on the total number of points you earn.
- A* – 56
- A – 48
- B – 40
- C – 32
- D – 24
- E – 16
- Joseph Gamp
Education secretary says exam boards 'more lenient during pandemic'
Mr Cleverly told Sky News: "They were more generous, and I think that is legitimate, that they were more generous in the pandemic years.
"It was always the plan to get them back. That is going to be seen this year, so students might get slightly lower grades than perhaps they were expecting and that they were hoping.
"But, as I say, we should see the majority of students getting into the institutions that they want to."
- Joseph Gamp
Can students appeal their A-level grades?
Free appeals can also be made by students who feel they were unfairly marked or there has been an error in their grade calculation.
This can be done via their school, which will then contact the relevant exam board.
Those applying to higher education who did not attain the offer they accepted as their first choice must appeal by a particular date – so make sure you check any deadlines with exam boards.
You might decide that you’d rather hold off on university and take another crack at getting the results you wanted – and you can do this in a couple of different ways.
If you want to retake the course in the exact same way as you previously did – you can enrol to resit at your school, sixth form or college.
However, if that option doesn't suit you, you can also enrol on an online course – which will give you a lot more flexibility as you’re not confined to a classroom and set timetable.
- Joseph Gamp
Clearing available for those who fail their exams
If you've opened your results and you haven't received the pass marks you were hoping for – don't panic.
There are several options if you fail a test or don't do as well as you had hoped.
And remember that if you were very close to achieving the required grades, you might still have been accepted by at least one of your university choices.
The first thing to do is check with your choices to see if you have a place anyway, or have been offered a different course based on your grades.
You can also look into Clearing options.
- Joseph Gamp
What are UCAS points?
UCAS points, or Tariff value, translates your qualifications into a numerical value that can then be compared to other courses and totalled up alongside your other A-levels and qualifications.
The UCAS points system is often used by universities for their entry requirements.
Most UK qualifications have a UCAS Tariff value, which will vary dependent on the qualification size and your grade.
The higher the grade, the greater the number of UCAS points earned.
The points apply to loads of different types of qualifications and how many points you get per grade.
You can calculate your UCAS Tariff points here.
- Joseph Gamp
What is the Uniform Mark Scale and how does it work?
Grades are converted to marks on a scale called the Uniform Mark Scale.
It is the tool used by exam bodies to smooth out any variations in levels of difficulty of exams and coursework.
If you had a relatively low score on an extremely tough exam, the UMS counterbalances it so you end up with a score that's relative to how hard your exam was.
This ensures that results are comparable between exam series and subjects.
Your Provisional Statement of Results shows both the "raw" and the "uniform" marks.
For example, one year a candidate may only need 62 raw marks to get an A grade (80%), but another year 62 marks may only be equivalent to a B grade (70%).
- Joseph Gamp
Is an E or D a pass at A-level?
An E or D is still a pass at A-Level – but it will result in lower UCAS points.
A pass is indicated by one of six grades, A*, A, B, C, D or E, – where A and A* is the highest grade and E is the lowest.
In order to meet the pass criteria, you must get an E grade or above on results day.
If a student does not pass, it will show on their results sheet as "Not Classified" or similar.
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