GCSE Results Day 2024 is right around the corner! Currently, students around the UK are revising, taking tests and of course, letting off steam with their peers. This guide covers everything you need to know about GCSE Results Day 2024 in order to be ready for your big day!
GCSE Results Day is on Thursday 22nd August 2024. This is when you’re able to collect your results, usually from 10am onwards. Although, this may vary from school to school, so please make sure to confirm with your school, college or exam centre.
Your grades can help you to progress onto further studies such as A-Levels, so you can’t fully escape the stress of the day. But, it’s very important you manage your stress as best as possible. One technique for instant stress relief is slowing down, and trying to focus on enjoying your summer.
Many students collecting their results will do so in person, often from their school or place of learning. However, this will vary from school to school so please make sure to confirm directly with your school, college or exam centre in advance.
Collecting your GCSE results in person is great because you’re surrounded by students who are all in similar situations to each other. It’s a chance to come together and share their joy, sorrow and support for one another.
However, this isn’t always the case for everyone. Some students are unable to attend in person due to a number of reasons. If this applies to you, make sure to continue reading down to the ‘What happens if I can’t collect my GCSE results in person?’ section.
Don’t make your morning stressful unnecessarily, especially if you’re feeling anxious about the day already! So please, take these extra steps and precautions to assure your morning runs as smoothly as possible. Consider who you’re going with, what you’re going to take with you, and where you’re going to open your results, all before GCSE results day… Oh yeah, and don’t forget breakfast! Now lets take a look at these in a little bit more detail.
It’s important to remember that you can go with whoever you choose to go with. There’s no rules saying you have to go with anyone in particular, it’s important you’re comfortable and go with whoever you want to go with. Don’t feel like you have to go with someone just because that’s what everyone else is doing. Whether you want the support of your family in this important moment or prefer to be around your friends ready to celebrate – do what’s right for you! You may even prefer to open them alone, that’s OK too.
First things first, don’t forget you’re phone. Now I know in the modern day we’re all guilty of using our phones a lot, GCSE results day is no exception as you’ll most likely want to take lots of photos and make a lot of calls sharing your results.
Make sure to bring a bottle of water with you, especially on a hot summer’s day. You never know how long you’re going to be out in the sun either waiting for, or hopefully celebrating your results.
If you’re likely to cry, yes tears of joy count too, make sure to bring some tissues with you – you’ll thank me later! Even if you’re unlikely to cry, you never know how you’ll feel on the day, and at the very least you might be that nice friend who has some spare tissues to share with your friend that does cry.
Finally, make sure you bring a notepad and pen. If you receive GCSE results you weren’t expecting, both better or worse, your teachers may be able to support or advise you on what to do. This could include certain websites you want to take note of, though these days, you might just prefer to write it down on your phone.
Imagine your absolute worst case results day scenario… Then imagine your absolute best case scenario! Both of them probably look very different but you need to think about where you would most like to be for both scenarios because at the end of the day, what ever you deem as ‘success’ or ‘failure’, you need to be prepared for both. You might want to open them in the comfort of your home, or perhaps at school with access to teachers’ support.
Perhaps you’d rather lock yourself away in a private toilet cubicle, it’s your day, do what you want! Just don’t be let yourself be pressured into doing it somewhere you don’t want to – that could be by friends, family or anyone else.
Firstly, don’t panic! There’s no need to worry as you have options, but the key here is to pursue one of the options promptly to assure proper arrangements are made in time. If you’re unable to get them on the day you can’t just ask someone else to go pick them up for you, you need to make sure you communicate properly with your school, college or exam center in advance. Let me explain in more detail:
Some schools will share your GCSE results with you online, but not all schools will so you need to ask if you do require them! Some schools might send your GCSE results out via email in addition to your physical copy, whereas other schools may only offer to deliver your results online if you have a genuine reason to not pick up your results in person. For example:
So again, please don’t panic. So long as you communicate with your school well, you should be able to access your results online, if deemed necessary. Make sure to open an early channel of communication with your school to see how results can and will be shared with you.
Many schools will allow a friend, guardian or family member to act as a proxy on your behalf to pick them up for you if you have a reason. However, you need to make sure you plan ahead letting your school know who and why. You’ll need to provide your school with a signed document letting them know that you consent to someone else collecting your results and who it will be – you won’t be able to ask someone else to pick them up last minute.
Make sure to ask whoever is picking them up for you to bring some form of identification (photo ID) as schools will not give your results to anyone who fails to provide proper identification. So if you’ve ever been concerned and thought to yourself ‘OH NO! What if someone else takes my results?!’, don’t worry. Your results will not be given to anyone else without your consent.
Some schools will post your GCSE results to you so long as you provide a genuine reason to do so. Remembering that every school and exam board will make different decisions, it’s important your get in touch as soon as possible to see if they will. If they do agree to post your results, be prepared to be patient as they may not arrive on the morning of GCSE Results Day.
So just to be clear, the main take away here is to not panic. If you’re unable to collect your results in person due to a genuine reason, there will most likely be an alternative way to do so – just make sure you communicate clearly and early with your school, college or exam centre ahead of time.
GCSE results day 2024 is a day of celebration, not necessarily celebrating your grades, but celebrating the hard work you’ve put into the results you’ve achieved. Sometimes you won’t always get the results you were after, even though you’re hopefully you will, but it’s OK if you don’t – you still have many options. Either way you likely have some questions, below are some of the top pieces of advice, information and commonly asked questions after receiving your results.
Parents, carers and older siblings might be used to the old letter grading system. But now, most results use the new number system. At a glance the change can look confusing. However, using the table below you can map out roughly how your grade compares to the old grading system. It’s not a direct 1 for 1 comparison but, it can help to understand the new system.
Maths and English GCSEs are two of your key qualifications that all students should look out for. Generally, a GCSE grade of 4 or higher is required for both GCSE English and GCSE Maths as a minimum, and some courses may even ask for higher grades! But, if you’ve missed grade 4 on either GCSE please do not panic, especially if you’ve only just missed it by a narrow margin because you have a few options.
Firstly, you could speak to the 6th form, college or where ever you hope to study next to keep them in the loop. You could also consider a review of marking, which is the official term for a remark, if you feel like you’d benefit from a review. Otherwise, most schools and colleges will require you to resit your GCSE Maths or GCSE English exams alongside your other post 16 studies. But don’t panic, most of these schools and colleges will also offer classes to prepare you to retake either of the GCSEs you need.
If classes are not available, it might be worth checking with other local schools, colleges or providers to see if they offer classes.
A lot of colleges provide course offers that need you to achieve certain grades to be able to enrol. But sometimes the entry requirements are ‘informal’ and you might be able to join the course anyway, though this isn’t always the case. So once again, talk to your sixth form, college or provider you’ve applied to and find out where they stand. There could be some flexibility on your grades, especially if they are close.
If you have missed the college entry requirements, please don’t panic because you still have options! You could look to see if you can study the same, or a similar course at a different college. You could also see if there are any other courses you find interesting at your original college, that you are eligible to join.
Whatever option you choose, the key is to act straight away. The quicker you begin these conversations, the quicker you can find a resolution.
A GCSE review of marking is the official term for a remark. If you decide to request a review of marking, one of the senior examiners will review how your paper was marked by the previous examiner rather than remarking the whole paper. After deciding whether the original mark was fair and consistent, they will award a new mark if they decide it was not fair or consistent.
Before applying for a GCSE review of marking make sure to think through whether you want it. Reviews are expensive so before making a decision you should consider the following. Do I really need a review? How Close was I to the grade boundary? Which paper should I get reviewed? Reviews cost around £40 and you can find the exact fees on the relevant exam board’s website:
If you decide you would like your marking reviewed, please contact your school as they will need to submit an application. Reviews can take up to 20 days, so if you choose to apply for one, it’s a good idea to request it as quick as possible.
A GCSE retake is when you resit your exam. Usually, it’s free to retake your exams the year after you get your results. But you do need to pay if you attend a private or independent school. If you’re not sure, you should check with your school or college to see if you need to pay.
If you’d like to retake your GCSE Maths or GCSE English, you can do so in Autumn. For all other exams, you’ll need to take them next year during the usual exam period. You can find out more about Exam Resits on the National Careers Service website.
If you’ve still got more questions or would like support with anything you’ve read today you can call a helpline! By speaking to a qualified adviser, you’ll get support to explore your options such as:
The National Careers Service Exam helpline (0800 100 900) will be open from 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday and 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturday throughout August 2024.
GCSE results day 2024 is on the 22nd of August (whilst A-level results day is on the 15th of August). If you can’t attend GCSE results day in person, reach out to your school. Check if they can support you in receiving your results another way.
But most of all, don’t worry! GCSE results day 2024 is your chance to come together with your friends and families to celebrate the hard work you’ve put in, no matter the outcome. Got your GCSE results and still need support? Call the National Careers Service GCSE Results Day Helpline (0800 100 900).
Good luck!