What to Do if Your Child Doesn’t Get the Exam Results They Need

When is exam results day in 2024?

AS level and A level exam results day will be on Thursday 15 August 2024.

GCSE examination results day will be on Thursday 22 August 2024.

It is normally the case that students will collect their grades from colleges and schools, first thing in the morning, although it is wise for students to check with their schools and teachers in advance.

Thankfully, we will not see the debacle of 2020, when exams were cancelled and the marking of A-levels caused an uproar because of the use of an algorithm applied by Ofqual. Something like 40% of A-level results were downgraded from teacher predictions which, following the uproar, were reviewed and the use of the algorithm was binned in 2021.

Is Covid-19 impacting on the exams?

This was the last year that students were given assistance, to take account of the long term impact of Covid-19. Students in England were given extra help in 2024, in physics, combined science and maths, acknowledging the disruption they experienced as a result of the pandemic lockdowns.  Students were given formulae and equation sheets.

In respect of the results, examination grades in 2023, in England, were almost back in line with pre Covid levels.

What happens if you miss your required A-level or GCSE results?

Even if you miss the required grades for your chosen course of study, you may still be accepted. It is important to check with your first choice university, college or sixth form, before taking further action.

If you do not receive the place you were hoping for due to missing out on your predicted grades, then it may be possible to have your exam results reassessed to see if a mistake has been made.

How to challenge A-level or GCSE exam results

There are various processes available to challenge A-Level or GCSE results.

These can involve, for example, the following:

• requesting that your exam is re-marked;
• applying for Special Considerations;
• challenging any potential malpractice or maladministration. The process for getting A-level and GCSE exam grades reassessed is called a Review of Results (RoR). This doesn’t involve your exam being remarked from scratch, but rather your exam board checking the way your exam was originally graded.

For many students, these results determine the next step of their academic journey and therefore it is important to take action quickly, as there are short timescales to appeal examination grades.

If you would like our assistance to challenge the grades you have been given, contact the Education law team on educationteam@ibblaw.co.uk or call 0330 175 7620.

We offer an initial fixed fee consultation, to provide advice on what action you may be able to take. If you would like to know more about this, contact our senior legal administrator, Rachael, at educationteam@ibblaw.co.uk or 01895 207230.

Rachael can send you a link to an online booking suite where you can select a day and time that is convenient for you to speak to one of our specialist education solicitors, by video call, about your examination results.

Is it worth challenging GCSE and A-level exam results?

In the 2020-2021 academic year, there were 17,610 grades which were challenged by students. Overall, 6200 grades were changed following appeal.

The most common basis for an appeal, for GCSE, AS-level and A-level was “Unreasonable exercise of academic judgement: determination of grade.”

In the 2021-2022 academic year, there were 2460 grades challenged by students, representing a decrease from 2018-2019 where 3205 grades were challenged by students. Of the 2460 grades challenged in the 2021-2022 academic year, 610 were changed as a result of an appeal.

The most common basis for an appeal, in 2021-2022, was “review of marking-marking error”.

For all qualifications covered by government data, 73% of upheld appeals resulted in a grade change in 2021 to 2022.

How long does it take to get A-level grades remarked?

UCAS asks universities to make decisions about university places by 31 August, so if you want to get your grades reassessed, then you ideally need to have it done before this date.

To speed up the remarking process, you can ask for a priority review of marking. However, this takes up to 15 days, so there is no guarantee it will be completed in time for the 31 August deadline.

If you miss this deadline, then universities can still consider reassessed grades received after this deadline on a case-by-case basis, but it is possible your chosen course might be full by this point. In this case, you may be able to receive deferred entry for the next academic year.

When are the GCSE re-sits?

The resits for GCSE English and Maths takes place on 5 November 2024. The resits for other examinations takes place during the 2025 examination season.

Consult our specialist expert Education law solicitors

At IBB Law, we are passionate about making sure students get the best outcomes from their education. If you are concerned about your child not getting the examination results that they need for their chosen course of further study, we will be happy to advise you.

IBB Law specialist education solicitors, who work full time in the field of education law, have an excellent track record of helping families and young people navigate even the most challenging education law issues. You can be confident that you and your family are in safe hands. On a daily basis we act for children and young adults who face difficulties with their studies at school and university.

In addition to being able to help pupils and students challenge their GCSE and A-level grades, we have helped many students successfully challenge decisions by universities in relation to academic performance. These include challenges in respect of degree classification, coursework, attendance, allegations of plagiarism and appealing grades.

To book your initial consultation or to find out more about how we can help, please contact the Education team on educationteam@ibblaw.co.uk or call Rachael, our senior legal administrator on 01895 207230.

Rachael will advise you about our fixed fee initial consultation. If you would like to proceed she will send you a link to an online booking suite for you to book a day and time for a remote video meeting with one of our specialist education solicitors.