A-Level students are preparing to find out their results this week after a very unusual last year of school due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing the Government to close school in March. But how exactly will exam results day work this year?
Are you able to get your A-Level results this year?
Hundreds of thousands of 18-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their A-level and vocational qualification results on Thursday, August 13.
Students did not sit exams in a usual manner this year and instead were graded based upon teacher’s predictions.
The Government has said teachers can invite pupils into school to collect results, as long as it happens in a covid-secure way.
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All of the grades submitted by schools and colleges has been submitted to be checked nationally, to ensure they are fair and comparable to other years.
The methods of deciding the results are broadly similar across all four nations and for qualifications including A-levels, GCSE’s, Scottish Nationals and Highers.
The exam boards put together the information, taking into account data for previous years, and make any necessary adjustments to the predictions.
England’s regulator Ofqual said the idea was to ensure confidence in the results, to give them the same value as grades from any other year.
Can students challenge grades if they do not agree with them?
Schools and colleges can appeal to the exam board if it believes it made an error when submitting a grade or if it believes an exam board made a mistake.
Pupils can also request their schooling institution look into whether an administrative error has been made when submitting the grade.
Students cannot however directly appeal their calculated grades to exam boards, but they can submit allegations about discrimination or bias.
