results-day

Don’t believe the hype….

| skwarepegrowndhole

This is the weekend between Level 3 (A-levels, T-levels, BTECs) and Level 2 (GCSE, BTECs) results, and for families who are waiting for both sets, you have my deepest sympathies!

Since Thursday morning, the media (social, online and print) has had stories about how this year’s results compare to previous years, and how many students are about to head off to university. The main headlines have been how the results are up this year, and the number of entries achieving A* or A is up for the second year, as are the top grades for T-level (Technical levels are a relatively new qualification) and other vocational level 3 quals (such as BTECs).

This all makes further education/sixth form education sound great, they’ve all done amazingly well, so congrats to them, and the Department for Education is amazing too as the top grades are up again.

It’s not that simple, and these stories about higher grades and getting university places can make the world seem a little darker if you or a teen you look after didn’t get higher grades, and hasn’t been able to find a place at university. I feel your pain right now. We went through this 10 years ago, and it was tough. The headlines don’t matter if your house can’t share the joy, and although alternatives may be found that actually carve out a better path, it might not feel like that right now. Things will all work out, the sun will shine again, but for now, take time to breathe, and sit with them in the shade until they’re ready to see the sunlight again.

To repeat myself, it’s not as simple as higher grades this year that are building on the higher grades from last year. It’s more complicated than that. In 2020 and 2021, A-level and GCSE grades were not generated by the exam boards:

2020 – teacher grades that then got fed into an algorithm that looked at the school, the area and previous results and came up with grades that were heavily criticised by schools and students.

2021 – centre assessed grades that were more rigorous and subject to scrutiny, and although still not perfect, were better than 2020.

In 2022, students went back to formal exams and assessments, but the marking took into account the previous 2 Covid years, and so results were higher as the marking was kinder.

In 2023, in England (this was not the case in the other nations) assessments went back to pre-Covid marking, and in 2023, A-level grades dropped from the previous 2 Covid years. Purely anecdotal, but my son’s cohort all got at least one grade lower than predicted in each subject.

So, in 2024 in England, the results were higher, and were back to pre-Covid levels in England, which isn’t really a surprise as the GCSE and A-level results were not taken in lockdown years, and this year the results are slightly higher again – but not as high as the press would maybe have you believe from their headlines. In 2023 26.5% of entries achieved A or A*, and in 2025 it was 28.2%. So a rise of less than 2% over 2 years. In Wales the top grades have dropped by 0.4%, and in Northern Ireland, they have increased by 0.1%. Not exactly anything for the press to shout about – but well done to all of those who got these grades, you have plenty to shout about.

Information about the inequality gap has also been a little vague in the press. This year more boys than girls achieved the higher grades (9.8% compared to 9.1%), but boys were also more likely to achieve lower grades (21.2% compared to 18.5% of girls), and I only heard one news article mentioning this.

More worrying for me, are the regional and school gaps. More young people in London, the East and the South Easter got the higher grades compared to the rest of the country, with the North East getting the smallest percentage of higher grades. The school you go to can also impact the grades you have, with students from independent or selective schools more likely to get the higher grades. That doesn’t mean that young people in comprehensives in Sunderland won’t get fantastic grades, it just means that you are more likely to get higher grades if you attend an independent school in London or the South East.

The media pick and choose which bits of information they post, and the same will happen on next Thursday as GCSE results are published. I predict similar regional variations, and similar sensationalising headlines.

At the end of the day, the young people getting their results this August are still part of the Covid generation. Their first years at secondary school were interrupted by lockdown and online learning. They missed out on face to face interactions, and so whatever their results may be, they are all amazing!

All grade information here was taken from https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2025/08/a-level-t-level-and-other-level-3-results-2025-the-main-trends-in-grades-and-entries/

Results day(s)

| skwarepegrowndhole

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, many 15-18 year olds will be on edge. The last 11+ years have all led to the moment when they open the email or go to school or log onto a portal. In that moment when they look at their results, they will know if they have been a success or a failure in education……..

Except, in the real work, that’s not how it works and that’s not how it ends. Headlines in the press and on social media about A-level and then GCSE results being up or down, about a north/south/east/west divide and how girls or boys have been better or worse this year are there to make us believe that this is it. Whatever those results, they will follow us and haunt us for the rest of our lives – but they won’t.

Education is becoming more and more monetised. A Government document released earlier in July this year is titled ‘Key Stage 2 attainment and lifetime earnings’ (link here) and in it, the levels in KS2 SATs are linked to what that 11 year old may earn in their lifetime. What a load of rubbish, and how awful to have a report that looks at SATs results and how much tax these CHILDREN may pay in their lifetimes. Nothing about happiness, health, mental well being or anything important, just their potential lifetime earnings. There will be similar research out there for GCSE/level 2 results and A-level/level 3 results, and these obviously will include Scottish Nationals and Highers.

Young people’s exam results matter – I am not saying they don’t. What happens over the next year or two will be directly influenced by their results. University, apprenticeships, work, college places may all depend on the numbers of A, B Cs and 9-4s, but life does go on if the required grades don’t appear on the results slip.

What we need to do as we approach results days (and apologies to any readers in Scotland, this is a week too late, I will do better next year) is be there for our young people. I’ll write a more detailed post about what to do if the grades for uni haven’t been met and publish this on Wednesday, but as a general rule, be there for them. Let them feel whatever feelings they are experiencing. Do not berate them or tell them off – what’s done is done. You can’t rewind time, you can’t change the outcome, you can’t shout at the teachers. What you can do, is offer them unconditional love and support, and then, when they’re ready, help them to decide what comes next, be that resits, a different uni course, alternative employment or a year out.

Sometimes getting unexpected results is a good thing. Results that are better than expected can open more doors, and results that are less than expected can open new doors, and both of these can lead to more opportunities. I have personal experience of this (my A-level grades were not what was expected) and also as a parent, and I know it can be tough.

Whatever the results, and whatever way your young people have experienced education (Academy, LEA state school, private school, special school, AP, college, home school, unschool, online school or something else), they’ve done it. At 16 they are through primary and secondary, and they have the freedom to choose school, college, employment or apprenticeships, and at 18 they are done with formal education. Whatever their results day brings, they’ve done it their way, and you should be incredibly proud.