Collecting your GCSE results will likely be your first time receiving official academic results in person. So, what can you expect (and what if things don’t go as you expect)?
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 or carers about your upcoming results and any worries you may have; they’re there to help!
Know what time your school will open on the day, then make any arrangements for how you’re going to get there. Think about whether you’d prefer to collect and open your results with your parent(s) or carer(s), in a group of friends for moral support, or perhaps just on your own.
Make sure your phone is charged so you can phone your family and friends once you receive your results, take some photos, even share your good news with the rest of the world on social media. If needed, you can use your phone’s calculator to add up marks and grade boundaries.
Take some photo identification just in case, though it should be a teacher or someone who knows you who’ll be handing you your results.
You can either open your results alone, with your family, or with your friends – that’s 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 theirs.
English and Maths are important; there’s no escaping them. You should obtain at least a C in these subjects no matter what your plans are. Colleges and sixth forms look for these as a basic requirement to continue your studies, and universities typically have minimum English and Maths requirements, whatever subject you’re taking. Employers – even part-time ones for holiday seasons – may ask for these.
You need to do well in the subjects you want to continue studying. It’s important to meet any grade requirements you’ve been set for the subjects you’ve chosen to study. Also, with changes to A-levels in the last few years, universities could look more closely at your GCSE grades when considering whether to make you an offer. Plus, depending on your chosen course, you may have GCSE entry requirements to meet, too.
Yes, you’ll hear this a lot, but don’t panic. This isn’t the end of the world even if it seems like it. Right now, you have a number of options and paths open to you:
If you don’t achieve at least 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 so you can rectify this one quite quickly.
Retakes for other subjects take place the following June. You may be allowed to proceed with your A-levels and take a resit while you do so (though this will be up to your sixth form or college to decide, based on your grades and other factors).
Just remember, you’ll need to be fully committed to juggling the extra study and exams.
If you needed certain grades to get into a college or sixth form and you missed these, speak to them as soon as possible to find out if they will still accept you. If they won’t accept you to the original courses you applied to, find out about similar courses they offer.
If you did surprisingly well in a particular GCSE subject or you’ve been rethinking your greater goals and ambitions, speak to your college or sixth form as soon as possible to see if switching A-level subjects is possible. Provided you meet the entry requirements, there are still spaces on those courses and it doesn’t create any conflicts in your timetable, this shouldn’t be a problem.
If you’re not sure what you want to do, so-called ‘facilitating’ subjects – sciences, English, geography, history, maths or languages – typically allow you to keep your options open and progress into a wide array of subjects at a higher level.
Good luck from all of us here at iRevise.com!