Results Day… for many students it is an incredibly stressful day, many questions come to mind… “What if I don’t get the grades?”, “What if I don’t get my first choice university?”, “What if my college or sixth form aren’t happy with my grades?”…  “Where do I go?”.

While stressful, it isn’t anything to worry about because there are always options regardless of what grades you get. We asked our audience on our Instagram page (@TheAlphaApps) to send in questions regarding results day, and in this blog entry are our answers/advice.

What can I do if I don’t get any GCSEs?

Not anything to worry about! Speak with your form tutor or careers advisor on the day, or even call the sixth form/college you intend on going to (from September) they will be able to help find you a suitable course while allowing you to resit GCSE Maths and English.

What happens if I don’t get the required grades for either of my uni offers?

The first thing you should do is call up the two universities you chose and see if they will still take you on. In some cases, if you are just one grade off, they may still take you on! If not, you have the choice of going through the clearing process or… take a Year our! Use this as a sign that you can up-skill yourself by doing voluntary work, set up a side business or simply get yourself a job! Then re-apply next year. The possibilities here are endless. One of the biggest worries at this stage is “the shame of not going uni when all your friends are or family expect you to.”, just remember; everyone takes different paths in life, it does not mean you are going to be less successful. In fact, some times, the thing you want to happen the most, is often the best thing that never happened to you, who knows what people; experiences or opportunities taking a gap year can lead you to.

I can’t study the A Levels I wanted to. What do I do now?

Go resit your maths and English! Often it’s because of this, however, if it’s not and you plan to go to university… A Levels are not the only route to doing this! Level 3 BTEC Courses offer a greater opportunity for you to go to a great university because many of them not only teach you the knowledge that an A Level course will, but unlike most A Levels, many BTEC courses offer the chance for you to gain work experience in your field of study, giving you real practical skills that look incredible on university applications. That’s something A Levels can not offer you! So forget the silly stigma attached to BTEC, they are in most cases better for you than taking an A Level.

How does results day work?

You normally go to your school around 10:00am and will be guided to a room where you are given an envelope containing your results.