Today (18 August), hundreds of students who took examinations for the first time since 2019 will get their test results.
Today’s results day, which marks a significant milestone in the restoration of normalcy following the pandemic, includes students who took A and AS levels, level 3 vocational and technical qualifications, and for the first time ever, T Levels. These results pave the way for students’ futures in higher education, additional training, or the workforce.
Students will obtain better marks this year than in 2019 as part of a transitional phase put in place by Ofqual to revert to pre-pandemic grading. This acknowledges the disruption caused by the epidemic to students’ test years.
In order to lessen the effects of COVID, students received an unparalleled degree of help, which included a variety of test and assessment adjustments.
The bulk of A levels received early notice of test material, while vocational and technical qualifications received extended assessment periods.
Grades today will be lower than in 2021 when examinations were postponed since most students didn’t return to school until March and because the number of covid cases and isolation rates in schools remained high. After internal evaluation, instructors assigned grades to their students.
UCAS anticipates that the majority of applicants will be offered a spot at the institution of their choice today.
Although there will be competition for spots at elite schools, as there is every year, a record number of students, including a sizable number of underprivileged pupils, are nonetheless anticipated to begin attending university in September.
T Level results will be given to around 1,000 students for the first time. T Levels are a brand-new technical certification that will enable young people go into skilled jobs, further education, or apprenticeships.
T Levels combine coursework with a sizable industry placement to provide students the knowledge and practical work experience they need to advance into employment, higher education, or an apprenticeship.
In England, more than 175 schools and institutions of higher learning will offer 16 T Levels starting in September in a variety of in-demand fields including digital, construction, health, science, accountancy, and engineering.
Legal, media, and agricultural courses will be added in 2023 and 2024, and there are also plans to create a T Level for marketing in 2025.
James Cleverly, the education secretary, 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.
Today is also a really exciting time for our pioneering T Level students, as the first ever group to take this qualification will pick up their results. I have no doubt they will be the first of many and embark on successful careers.
Despite the nerves that people will feel, I want to reassure anyone collecting their results that whatever your grades, there has never been a better range of opportunities available. 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.
As they have done every other year, universities and UCAS have fantastic support systems in place for young people to help them through the application process. These services will be available throughout this time as well. Universities will use discretion in making decisions and make sure that offers are consistent with the grades students achieve.
Young people have a wide variety of exciting possibilities at their disposal, such as the chance to earn while you study via an apprenticeship, obtaining a higher technical certification, going to college, or getting your first job. Through Clearing or our Get The Jump website, students may research their possibilities.
The government is spending around £5 billion to aid children and young people in recovering from the effects of the epidemic, including £1.5 billion for a national tutoring revolution in schools and colleges, to advance a stream of recovery activities for students facing examinations in the future.
The National Tutoring Programme has already launched more than two million courses, including 1.8 million this academic year throughout an estimated 80% of schools, assisting kids in catching up on lost learning.