A-level results day 2024: Grades and Ucas clearing explained

Top A-level grades have risen for students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the first time since 2021.

Overall this year 28% of all grades were A* or A - up from 27.2% in 2023.

However the figures vary between the three nations, rising in England but falling in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Here is what you need to know about everything from grade boundaries to clearing.

You can normally pick up AS and A-level results in person anytime from 08:00 BST.

However, some students receive their results via email.

Check with your school or college about the arrangements in place for you.

Each exam is graded on a scale from A* to E.

Grade boundaries show the minimum number of marks you need for each grade.

They are decided by examiners and published on results day.

Qualifications Wales, which oversees Welsh exams, had been prepared to use statistics to set the grade boundaries to prevent marks dropping significantly below 2019 levels, because of a concern that performance in some subjects had still not recovered fully since the pandemic. That back-up plan was not needed.

In England and Northern Ireland the way boundaries are decided has returned to normal.

Ucas is a charity which runs a clearing process, external matching students with university and college courses which still have spaces.

Students can use it if they:

Clearing is now open and closes on 21 October.

Universities make an offer to a student to join a course based on qualifications and grades or the Ucas tariff points system, external.

Each A-level grade is worth a certain number of Ucas points. For example, an A* is worth 56 points and a D is worth 24 points.

Many students decide not to go to university and start an apprenticeship or go straight into work.

Others take a gap year, external so they have more time to decide what to do next.

If you do not think your grade is right, you should talk to your school or college.

It will contact the exam board on your behalf and ask for your marks to be reviewed.

If you still think you have been unfairly graded after a review, you can ask your school or college to appeal, external.

The exam board will consider whether a correction is needed.

If you are still not satisfied, you can request a review from the exams regulator Ofqual.

The charity YoungMinds points out that exam results are not the only measure of success, external - and if things do not turn out how you had hoped, there are lots of ways to get where you want to.

If you only just miss out on the grades you need to get on to a university or college course, the admissions office might accept you anyway or offer you a place on a different course. You could also try clearing.

It may also be possible to resit some or all of your exams. Talk to your school or college if you want to explore this route. Resits will take place in May or June 2025.

Scotland has a different qualification system., external Students take Highers, which are similar to A-levels.

Results day in Scotland was on Tuesday 6 August.

Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected], external.

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