GCSE Results Day 2021 is finally upon us (Thursday 12th August)! We thought it might be helpful to share some top tips to help you to navigate the day.
General Preparation:
- Keep Calm! Results day tends to instil a certain sense of anxiety. Find a quiet spot to take a few minutes, calm down and put your pragmatic thinking cap back on!
- Be Prepared: Confirm what time and how you will receive your results (e.g. email, in person, over the phone). Some people would rather receive results on their own, whilst others benefit from having others around them – consider what you would prefer in advance and plan accordingly.
- Focus on yourself: Emotions often run high on results day; you may wish to be surrounded by friends and it can be tempting to compare results. Don’t(!), make sure you focus on your results.
- Familiarise yourself with ...
- how your grades were determined: In 2021 your grades were determined by your teachers and submitted to the relevant exam boards. Your school will have informed you how your Teacher Assessed Grades (or TAGs) were determined, however, this document explains this process: JCQ's Guidance for students, parents and guardians: GCSEs and AS/A Levels in England.
- the grading system: GCSEs are now graded using a numerical system from 9 (the highest) to 1. A grade 7 is equivalent to an old A grade. Some IGCSEs are still using the old letter system from A*-G. Thus, you may receive a combination of letters and numbers depending on the exam boards your school used.
- Read your results carefully! Make sure you take in the key detail. Keep in mind any grade requirements you are working towards, i.e. in order to study a subject at a higher level (i.e. A Level or IB) or for entrance into another school or college. If you are planning to move school or college make sure you have the contact details to hand so you can get in touch to confirm whether or not you met your offer.
- Speak to someone: If you have any doubts or questions about your results do ask your teachers or your parents.
What if you received an unexpected grade?
If you are unhappy with both your exam board moderated and CAG grades you might want to consider the following options:
- Appeal: You can find out how the appeals process works in JCQ's: A guide to appeals processes Summer 2021 series. The deadline for appeals is the 17th September 2021.
Please Note: Schools were required to use a range of evidence, including mocks, non-exam assessment, to generate your TAG and as such it should be pretty robust and accurate. However, this is not to say you cannot question how the grade was generated to better understand the process your school went through.
- Re-sit …
- Can I re-sit? In light of the cancellation of the Summer 2021 exam series The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) stated that there will be a full series of GCE AS and A-level examinations in Autumn 2021.
- When can I re-sit? GCSE examinations will take place in November. The registration deadline is likely to be in early September, so do speak to your school ASAP if you decide this is route you would like to go down.
- Which grade stands, my TAG or the re-sit? The higher of the two grades will stand.
- What should I re-sit? We would recommend you speak to your school about which GCSEs you intend to re-sit. Given the important and significant step up to A-Level/IB study we would not recommend retaking more than 4 or 5 GCSEs alongside your A Level/IB studies as the workload will be considerable, especially if they are subjects you haven’t studied for many months. If you do not achieve at least a 4 (formerly a C) in your maths and English GCSEs, you’ll have to re-sit these to proceed to A-level study.
- How will universities view 2021 GCSE grades and re-sits? Given the unprecedented nature the 2021 academic year it is likely that universities will be more flexible when reviewing candidates GCSE grades. That said, most university courses have minimum GCSE requirements, so it would be worth checking these if you already have a course/university in mind as this may help to inform your re-sit decisions.
- What next? If you decide to re-sit we would recomend you begin to revise, as the beginning of November is only 12 weeks away! We have a number of excellent, experienced GCSE level tutors who can help with your preparation. For more details, please call the office for a chat with one of our client managers, or contact us via enquiries@keystonetutors.com.
If you are still bemused and befuddled after discussing your results and options with your school you might like to seek independent advice. Keystone’s Consultancy Team have a wealth of experience in offering educational advice, so do give us a call if needs be. We are very happy to help!