How to appeal your A level results if you're not happy with your grades

Results day this year is uncharted territory for A-level students because all exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus.

Students receiving results today will get grades based on teacher predictions which have been moderated by an algorithm. It takes into account factors including the past performance of their school.

The aim is to make sure results are broadly in line with results from previous years and to make sure the results have the same value as those from previous years.

But there are fears that the teacher assessed grades have been moderated unfairly, and without taking into account individual circumstances.

Some students have dropped two or three grades below what their teacher predicted.

In Scotland a similar system was scrapped after accusations of unfairness and students were given the grades teachers originally predicted for them.

What to do if results are not as expected?

Students who do not get the grades they were expecting today have two other options. They can retake the exams in the autumn or their school can appeal on their behalf. Pupils cannot appeal against their grades themselves.

Schools can lodge appeals on behalf of students if they can show that grades are lower than expected because the school has changed in some way and therefore previous cohorts are no longer representative of this year’s students.

And in an 11th hour change, education secretary Gavin Williamson said schools can also appeal if a student did better in their mock exam than in the result they are given today.

However there's still an issue

Details about how schools can do this have not yet been published.

Ofqual said it will not release details of the standards of evidence required to appeal grades based on mock results until next week.

The regulator said it is working “urgently” to “operationalise” the government’s plan.

A spokesman for the JCQ which represents exam boards, also said it is currently working out how to implement the government’s announcement.

He said: “There is a comprehensive set of appeal options in place and we are urgently reviewing the government’s announcement about mock exams being considered as part of the arrangements. There are important details that need to be considered over coming days, and we are working on those with Ofqual and the Department for Education at pace.”

Universities in England have been told to keep places open for students if they appeal against their A-Level results.

It means if students miss the required grades but successfully appeal they could still start next term.

Students can also today enter Clearing if they do not get the grades they need for their university place.

If they did much better than expected, they can use Ucas Adjustment to 'trade-up' and potentially apply to a university with higher grade requirements.

There is help out there

The National Careers Service is running an exams helpline: 0800 100 900

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Students await A Level grades after U-turn on mock exams- LIVE