A-Level Results Day 2024: what to expect

When is A-Level Results Day in 2024?

A-Level Results Day is on Thursday, the 15th of August 2024 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. From 8 am, you can collect your results from school or college. The status of your university application will be updated on the UCAS Hub on Thursday too.

If you're in Scotland, Scottish Results Day is on Tuesday, the 6th of August 2024. If you are registered with MySQA, you'll get an email or text with your results at around 08:00 when they’re published.

What time are A-Level Results to be released?

Schools and colleges open from 8 am on Thursday for you to collect your results. Each school or college may have a different system for collecting your results, so check before you arrive. Your UCAS Hub with the status of your university application will be updated from 8:15 am.

What are the A-Level grade boundaries?

Each year, the different exam boards will review their grade boundaries and adjust them in line with the performance of the students that year. After results are released, you can find the grade boundaries on the exam board websites. These include:

• AQA grade boundaries
• Perason grade boundaries
• OCR grade boundaries

How do my results compare to others?

For 2024, it's been reported that 82% of students got into their first choice university which is the best result since 2010! There has also been an increase for those receiving top grades with 27.8% of all grades marked as A* or A. In England, a record-high of 42% of students studying Maths received A* and As. In Wales and Northern Ireland, top grades have fallen compared to last year.

What do I do on A-Level Results Day?

A-Level Results Day is a pretty hectic day for everyone! Take a deep breath and take things one step at a time.

Find out what time your school or college opens so you can go and get your results. Even though you can get your results online, it's still best to go to school, in case you need to assess your options after you get your results.

On A-Level Results Day, you should have with you:

• Your phone
• A pen
• A copy of your personal statement
• Your GCSE results
• Calculator – if your phone doesn’t have one (to work out your UCAS Tariff Points)
• Your UCAS letter – with your UCAS number and conditional offer grades
• Copy of your references, and their contact details
• Do you have any Clearing open days or virtual tours available?

If you go into school, then you just need to bring a notepad and a pen to write down helpful advice and information from your teachers and careers advisers.

How to prepare for A-Level Results Day

We know how nervous you’ll feel the night before and the morning of. Here are some ways you can prepare to help calm yourself ahead of the day.

Know the process

Make sure you know how processes like Clearing work. Look into the different services that UCAS offer like Clearing Plus and make sure you know all about your school’s appeal process or what the process is for retaking your exams.

Check Out Courses in Clearing!

Research universities and courses

You might not be entering Clearing, but it’s always best to prepare, just in case. Have a look at other universities and their courses and see if any of those might appeal to you if your grades are different than you expected. You can also download the Clearing app where you’ll receive live updates on Clearing places available.

Questions for your university

Think about what you need to know from your university too! Prepare a few questions that you need to ask them, such as:

• Can I still apply for accommodation?
• Is there a chance to speak to any current students?
• What support services does the university have available?
• Do you have any Clearing open days or virtual tours available?

Make sure you're prepared

Prepare to succeed! Make sure you know everything you need to do on Results Day. The best way to do this is to make a list of everything you need to do.

You should be prepared to:

• Speak to your university
• Sort out and finalise your student finance
• Organise student accommodation

If you've done all those things, then you're free to go and enjoy your summer! Spend time ticking off the things you've bought for your university checklist and enjoy the sun!

Relax!

At this point, things are out of your hands. There’s nothing more you can do, so just relax and take the time to de-stress.

What if I missed out on the grades for university?

Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of options open to you! You can look into retaking your A-Levels and then reapplying next year. This gives you the chance to improve your grade and means you can still attend the university you've got your heart set on.

Another option is Clearing. Clearing is a process that allows students who achieve different grades than predicted (better or worse) to choose a different course.

Equally, if you don't know what you want to do, you can always take a gap year! Gap years can be anything you want them to be, whether that be doing an apprenticeship abroad, getting a job, or travelling! A gap year is a great chance to put life on pause and evaluate your options.