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Post-exam results

Last updated on: 11/03/2008

My exam results were a complete disaster. I didn't work hard enough and by the time I realised this, it was too late. What can I do now?

Who dares wins and who sits around is left around. Get on the phone to secure a place at a university or college. Or perhaps your results really were that bad and you need to rethink your ideas. But whatever you do, don't grab at just anything. If you do, you may find yourself dropping out later and landing back at square one, or worse. Many students will be in your position, as have many been before you. Churchill and Einstein didn't do too well at school. And Charlotte Bronte's school report said that she 'writes indifferently' and 'knows nothing of grammar'. It's what you do now that matters. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has a free impartial and confidential helpline (0808 100 8000) during August, where personal advice is available and tailored to each student's own circumstances. Lines are open until 26 August. Over 50 experts are there waiting for your call. It costs nothing, but could be worth a lot. Make that call now, and good luck. But remember, the harder you work, the luckier you become. And there is only one place where success comes before work –  the dictionary.

I just missed my first choice university place by one grade in one subject, but I am desperate to go there and nowhere else. What can I do and is it possible that the exam board may have made a mistake?

Regardless of how short you are of the grades you needed, you need to talk to the university and determine whether or not you have a place. Depending on the course, places may still be available – especially if you have only marginally missed the level of grades required. It is possible to challenge grades awarded. But this must be done through your school and with their support. The number of grades changed, however, is extremely small and the examining boards do take extreme measures to ensure that the grades issued are accurate. You can – if your school requests it – have your marked scripts, or photocopies, returned for inspection, and your scripts re-marked or clerically checked to confirm your grades. If more marks are awarded, sufficient to take you into a higher grade band, then that new grade will be issued. But if fewer marks are awarded on a re-mark, or on one of the other services offered by the boards, then the final grade awarded may be lower than the one first issued.

Your school will advise you. You may find the official AS and A level guide helpful (available from the 'related links' section) and you should also look at other useful contact information and advice about exam queries and complaints in the 'How to query my results' and 'How to complain' sections. There is also a special fast-track service for those students with university places at risk. Your school will have the details and, as I said before, only they can challenge your results on your behalf. Generally speaking, universities are obliged to hold your place open until the end of August. And if your results remain unchanged and you have not been offered a place, an offer of a place the following year may be made. It is really a matter of how determined you are to attend your first choice university and your preferred course. Don’t discount your second choice though, if you have the grades, and look seriously at alternative courses.

As I have now left school, how and when will I receive my exam certificates?

Your certificates will be sent to your school and you will need to collect them from there. Some schools have certificate evenings and students return to receive them at that time. Different schools will have different arrangements, so contact your school to see what their particular arrangements are. Certificates are usually issued towards the end of October by the exam boards, but again you can check this with your school. Make sure you do collect your certificates though, many people don't and it causes them some problems later in life.

On receiving my A2 results in August, I found that I had failed one of the units – despite getting 70 and 80 per cent on others. Consequently, my final A level grade was below expectations. With my university place at stake, I am unsure whether to ask for a re-check or to retake that unit and to re-apply to university next year.
 
There is little that you can do now, as any investigation on your results would need to have been raised by your school, with their full support, within about a month of the results being issued. But I would still strongly advise you to discuss your situation with your teachers, who will be in the best position to know your potential in the subject, and they will be able to advise you as to what action to take now. If your school did not question your results, then it may be that they think they are as expected. It is worth noting that all modules are not necessarily equally weighted, and although you had some high percentage marks, their bearing on your overall grade may not have been as influential as the marks on the module in which you did not do so well.

My daughter has been told by her history teacher that as she only got a D in her AS she has to retake in January, while studying for her A levels. The school has said that when her resit results come in they will then make the decision as to whether or not she can continue with her A levels at the school. Is this normal practice? If her results do not improve she will have wasted half a school year.

The school is at liberty to decide who they will accept on their courses, in exactly the same way as universities do, as your daughter is past the age of compulsory schooling. Rules of acceptance vary from school to school and in a way your daughter is lucky to be given this chance. It’s in her interest to improve the grade she has, because it will influence her final A level grade. I presume that they gave her this option as they felt that she was capable of improving her grade. They have set the conditions, so it is now up to your daughter either to accept or reject the offer made. Some schools do seem to be restricting the students they take on A2 courses, based on their performance at AS. There have always been restrictions on entry to courses, based on previous qualifications. Students would not be allowed to take certain A level subjects if their grades in that subject at GCSE were poor, for example.

The difference now with the second year of A level is that there is an official measure of ability in the first part of that qualification – the AS – whereas previously students were on a two-year course before taking any external exams. One of the benefits of AS is that there is a measure of achievement and potential at the end of the first year, whereas previously a lot of students had little hope of passing the full A level, yet were allowed to continue – in some cases wasting two years of their lives.

I was predicted a B for history and Cs for ICT and English, but was shocked to learn that I didn’t even get an E for any of them. What is the minimum grade needed for retakes?

There is no minimum grade for re-takes as far as the exam boards are concerned. It will be a matter for your school or college to decide whether they will allow you to do this through them. If they don't then you really need to look for an alternative school or college that will accept you. As you are past the compulsory schooling age, no one is obliged to offer you a place on a course – just as in university admissions, where it is the university that decides which qualifications are suitable for entry to their courses.

I understand most AS and A2 subjects have three assessment units each, for a total of six, but is there a minimum standard to be achieved in AS levels to be able to proceed on to A2 levels (eg a minimum of three E grades)? Or would the minimum standard be determined by the school or college?

As far as the rules for the examination are concerned, there is no minimum score required to enter for A2 examinations. As you say the full A level is made of six modules: three for AS and three for A2. Indeed a student could sit all six modules in the one sitting, so that there would be no previous grade for the AS part in existence. However, the fewer marks you have for AS then the poorer your final grade will be overall, as the scores are added together to determine the final A level grade awarded. Some schools will not allow students to continue on courses if their AS grades are not of a minimum standard. The school can select its own standard for admittance to courses, as technically students are not legally bound to be in school or college beyond the age of 16.

My daughter wants to query the result for one of her history modules. I understand that results can go up as well as down. Does that apply only to the one module she wants to query or will all three modules be looked at again with the possibility that the two she is happy with might also go down? She is also concerned that a script marker will inevitably know her name because she writes it on the front page of the script, on which she also starts to write her answers. Is that correct?

Your daughter's school can see the marked script, or a photocopy, and that might be a first step towards deciding whether or not to request some of the other post-examination procedures available. Results can go up or down if investigated but only the module which she queries which will be checked. If she gains more marks in that module she could get a higher grade overall, but if fewer then the grade could go down. She needs to discuss this matter with her school for advice, and only the school can ask the exam board to investigate her case. So she needs their support. If her overall grade is at the top of a grade band, then there is a possibility that she could gain more marks for a higher award. If her current score puts her at the bottom of a grade band for her final AS or A level award, then the chances of her getting a higher grade are reduced, unless the board has made a major error in marking her script.

Your daughter's name will be on her script, but I can't see where the problem lies in this. The boards have undertaken various research exercises where scripts have been re-marked with the names removed. There was no evidence to suggest that the name on the script in any way affected the final mark given. And in any case, examiners are generally too busy marking to be bothered by a person's name.

I have to prepare for some January resits. My school does not really approve of this. Do you know where I can resit some of the modules? Are there exam centres where you can do this?

The easiest thing would be to resit at your old school, otherwise you may have difficulty in finding somewhere that does exactly the same syllabuses as you. You can only sit through a registered school or college, as they will need to take responsibility for the administration and coursework requirements. Exam boards have lists of colleges willing to take external candidates, so if your old school will not accept you, then you need to contact the board(s) concerned and see if they can recommend a school or college which would be willing to take you on. These centres can charge an administration fee in addition to normal exam fees. But if you do change school, make sure that you use your previous entry code (unique candidate identifier) so that your new results can link up with your old.

My daughter has obtained AS passes in four subjects with three different boards, but needs to do her second year at a different institution that does not offer the same examination boards for the individual subjects. Is it possible for her to use the AS grades and take her A level year with a different board for the remaining three modules? Would she need to cash-in at AS to do this?

It is possible that your daughter may be able to continue on new courses on the basis of her AS results with other boards, but it cannot be assumed that this will be the case. It would be in your interest to refer to the regulations on this matter which can be found on the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) website (opens in new window).

If you then refer to the document 'Special arrangements for candidates who transfer centres', under 'Publications and common documents', you will see the detailed regulations that apply. In the first paragraph it states that it may be possible to do what you ask and in the third it states that this is only possible for candidates having completed their entire AS qualifications and having certificated. Under 'Curriculum considerations' you will see that there is a list of currently permitted transfers available, but in some cases all six modules may have to be taken.

My son currently studies in the UK for his A levels and has just started year 12. We are to relocate to Dubai next year and need to know if there is a great difference in the exams or course content with different exam boards. He currently is studying maths, physics, ICT and chemistry with OCR and AQA. The school we are looking at in Dubai uses Edexcel for all subjects. We accept that a move in February, before AS exams, may not be wise but would he be OK to transfer at start of year 13 without any problems?

Generally speaking, there isn’t too much difference between syllabuses but sometimes there is and this might cause a problem in some instances. There is a list of exam syllabuses which are already accepted as compatible across boards, and as you know that he will be doing Edexcel exams you should contact them (opens in new window) and the school in Dubai to get their confirmation that there will not be a problem. It would be very complicated if you were to move your son in February, and I won’t go into that here, assuming that you have dismissed that possibility. But you are certainly doing the right thing to investigate your options at this time. The other option would be for him to stay in the UK to finish his A levels. A lot will depend on how confident he is with his studies and the move overseas.

I’m sure that all this might seem complicated at the moment, but this sort of movement happens all the time and both the examining boards and the schools involved should be able to ease the transition from one school and country to another, but probably not without inconvenience to your son and his present course of study. He should face no greater difficulty though, than he would if moving from one college in the UK to another, where the syllabus options are different from the ones currently being followed.

My son sat his AS-level history examination in June and received a grade D (made up of an A, B and E). He is mortified (!) as he has never received a bad grade for history since Year 7, and received grade A at GCSE. Is it possible for him to get a copy of his paper to see where he went wrong on the 'E' grade?

Although two of his three module grades are high, each module does not necessarily have the same weighting in the examination to determine the final grade awarded. It may be that the module in which he did less well had greater influence on his final grade than the others. There is an A level student guide which may be helpful that you can access from the 'related links' section of this page. However, in answer to your question, there are a number of post-examination services available –  including the return of marked scripts, or photocopies. But you need to consult with the school on this, because only they can enquire on your son’s behalf. If thought appropriate, on the advice and support of the school, he could have his scripts re-marked, and there are various other services available too –  but these services must be requested by the school. If you go to the website www.jcq.org.uk and click on 'Publications and common documents' and then 'Post-examination services', you will see references to all the information you require in the index of that document.