GCSE results day: what to expect
Collecting your GCSE results is probably the first time you’ve received official academic results in person. So what can you expect (and what if things don't quite go to plan)?
Skip to:
- Before results day
- What to take on the day
- Opening your results
- What those grades mean (and why they matter)
- GCSE resits
- Appealing a GCSE grade
- Changing subjects and courses
- Changing sixth form or college
- Alternatives to A-levels
- Can't collect your GCSE results?
- Next steps
Before GCSE results day
GCSE results day is on Thursday 22 August 2024.Try your best to not worry too much about results day as it approaches. Eat normally and get plenty of sleep the night before. Be open with your parents about your upcoming results and any worries you may have – they’re there to help!
Confirm what time your school will open on the day itself. Your school should have told you this before you broke up for the summer, but you can always check this on their official website (or even social media channels).
If you can't make it in to school to collect your results, see what you need to do, below.
Finally, have a think about whether you'd prefer to collect and open your results with your parent(s), in a group of friends for moral support, or perhaps just on your own.
What to take on GCSE results day
Make sure your phone is charged so you can call your family and friends once you receive your results (as well as take some celebration pics and share your good news with the rest of the world on social media).Take some photo identification just in case, though it should be a teacher or someone who knows you well who'll be handing you your results.
Remember that most of your school's building will be closed off to you for the summer, so you won't be able to hunt around for equipment.
Opening your results
You can either open your results alone, with your family or with your friends – it’s completely up to you!If you want to open your results with as few people around you as possible, go into school early. If you go in later, there will be more people hanging around who've already collected their results.
What those grades mean and why they matter
English and mathsYou should obtain at least a grade 4 or 5 (formerly a grade C) in these subjects no matter what your future plans are.
Colleges and sixth forms look for these as a basic requirement to continue your studies with them and universities have minimum English and maths requirements for many subjects.
Employers – be that for a part-time job now, or a full-time job several years later – may also ask for these.
If you don't make the grades, you can resit the exams – but more on that below.
The subjects you want to carry on studying
Similarly, it's important to meet any grade requirements you've been set for the subjects you've chosen to study at a higher level.
University applications
Universities may consider your GCSE grades when deciding to offer you a place (for some students, these may be the most recent set of formal exam results available).
Plus, depending on your chosen course, you may have GCSE entry requirements to meet too.
- Read more: your GCSE choices and university
Didn't get the GCSE grades you hoped for?
You'll hear this a lot, but don’t panic if things don't go to plan. This isn’t the end of the world, even if it feels like it. You have a number of options and paths open to you.Appealing a GCSE grade
If you want to query a grade – perhaps one is unusually low compared with others and you weren’t expecting this, or you’ve narrowly missed a grade boundary – speak to your teacher in the subject or your head of year. They can request that the exam board reviews the marking of your exam entry.
Do this as soon as possible, ideally, on results day itself when you pick up your results.
If you’re a private candidate you can either get in touch with the exam board directly, or do it via the school or college that submitted your exam entry.
If reviewing your exam doesn’t lead to anything, you can still retake it.
GCSE resits
If you don’t achieve at least a grade 4 or 5 (formerly a C) in your maths and English GCSEs, you’ll have to resit these to proceed to A-level (or other) study. Resits for these can be taken in November.Retakes for other subjects take place the following summer. You may be allowed to proceed with your A-levels and take a resit while you do so (although this will be up to your sixth form or college to decide, based on your grades and other factors).
Remember, you'll need to be fully committed to juggling the extra study and exams if you do decide to take this option.
Changing subjects or courses
If you did better than expected in a particular GCSE subject, or you've since been rethinking your greater goals and ambitions, you might want to speak to your college or sixth form about taking different A-level subjects. This could be possible, provided you meet the entry requirements, there are still spaces on those courses and it doesn’t create any conflicts in your timetable.
Our six-step plan to making A-level choices can help you make your decision.
Need to rethink your A-levels? Use our tool to see where different combos could lead you.
Changing sixth form or college
If your original college or sixth form won’t accept you to the courses you applied to and they don’t offer any similar courses you’re interested in, look around at other nearby institutions. These might have lower entry requirements or a wider range of courses to consider.Alternatives to A-levels
Btec qualifications are a viable alternative route to university if you can’t find an A-level course you’re happy with.Btecs are typically assessed on an ongoing basis through a mixture of coursework and exams, removing the onus on end-of-year exams associated with A-levels.
T-levels are another option. Originally launched in 2020, this vocational qualification takes two years to complete and it involves a mixture of classroom learning and work placements. Find out more about them in this article on The Student Room.
If you have a specific career in mind, there may also be alternatives to university study, including qualifications combined with on-the-job training, such as NVQs and apprenticeships that lead to a degree.
The Student Room has a guide to all of the post-GCSE routes and options available to you, from academic to vocational and occupational qualifications.
You can also get some great advice on apprenticeships and careers and employment in The Student Room forums.
Can't collect your GCSE results?
Ideally it's best to make sure you're around on results day, so you'll have the benefit of being able to speak to a teacher on the day if you need to.But sometimes this isn't possible due to family holidays and such. In this case, speak to your school in advance and arrange for them to send your results to you.
You could also arrange with your school for a friend or family member to go in and collect your results for you. That person will need a signed letter from you authorising that you’re happy for them to collect your results on your behalf and a form of ID to verify who they are.
Now what?
So you have your GCSE results and you're beginning Year 12 soon, what now?Before then – and while you still have a few weeks of summer holiday left – use our A-level Explorer to check where your A-level choices will leave you two years from now. It might give you some early food for thought as to what you may want to study at university.
