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A level results day: what can I do if I don't get my first choice university?

Ofqual has announced that GCSE and A-level students can sit their exams in autumn if they are unhappy with their calculated coursework grades: PA
Ofqual has announced that GCSE and A-level students can sit their exams in autumn if they are unhappy with their calculated coursework grades: PA

Students are finding out their A-level results today.

But 2020 grades are being set differently because of coronavirus. Instead of exams, students are given predicted grades by their teachers, with moderators checking the results align with the average of previous years.

Many students picking up their grades today are worried they could be disappointed - especially high-performers in disadvantaged areas.

On Tuesday, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson made a last-minute announcement that pupils in England could use their mock exam results if they were higher than their final moderated grades.

But what can you do if both your final and mock marks mean you don't get into your first choice university?

Students getting their A-Level results in a previous year. (Getty)
Students getting their A-Level results in a previous year. (Getty)

When is A-level results day?

Results are being announced today - Thursday, August 13 - with GCSEs coming a week later.

But the usual scenes of celebration outside schools are unlikely to take place, as social distancing measured will need to be observed, meaning many will receive their grades by email.

How are A-levels being marked?

With exams cancelled due to coronavirus, teachers have submitted predicted grades for their students to exam boards, using previous performance as a guide.

Exam regulator Ofqual has moderated these grades using a statistical model based on each school's recent performance and students' previous exam results.

Exams were cancelled after schools closed for most children in March (PA)
Exams were cancelled after schools closed for most children in March (PA)

In Scotland, a quarter of teachers' recommended grades were adjusted downwards last week, which caused a huge row - leading to the Scottish Government performing a major U-turn and re-issuing results based solely on teachers' estimates.

But there could be even more downgrades in England - headteachers have said up to 49 per cent of their schools' results have been downgraded.

However, the number of As and A*s are expected to rise on previous years.

How can you tell if you got into your first-choice university?

Ucas, the university admissions body, updated its online portal at around 8am on Thursday to show whether applicants have got into their first-choice or insurance choice institution.

What should you do if you don't get in to your first choice?

England's Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has revealed a "triple lock" for A-level students, meaning they can choose the grade that is highest from:

  • Their moderated teachers' estimate grade

  • Sitting an optional exam in the autumn

  • If their final moderated teachers' estimate grade is lower than their mock grade, the school can appeal for the mock grade to be used instead.

Ofqual has barred individual students from appealing for academic reasons - but schools can appeal on behalf of students if they get “a very different pattern of grades to results in previous years”.

You can also appeal to use your mock exam results if it is higher than the final moderated predicted grade.

The Government announced this rule change on Tuesday, after the Scottish government announced they would revert thousands of moderated results to predicted grades when more than 120,000 results were downgraded.

But the exams regulator said students should contact the university they had a conditional offer for if they lose their place if grades are lower than expected. That university might offer them an alternative course, which is called a changed course offer.

Students sitting exams in a previous year (PA)
Students sitting exams in a previous year (PA)

Otherwise, students could get a place on their second choice, depending on exam results.

If neither of these options happens, check on Ucas' Clearing service to see what courses still have vacancies. Ucas is running "Clearing Plus" this year, which means the service will personally match you to courses that could suit you.

Experts have said clearing is a "buyer's market" this year, with nearly 25,000 courses listing vacancies at universities in the UK and Northern Ireland.

But the head of Ucas has suggested it will be a “good year” for youngsters in Britain who want to attend university in the autumn as institutions will be competing to fill courses at a time of uncertainty.

A potential fall in overseas students amid Covid-19 – alongside a drop in 18-year-olds in the population – could help school leavers in the UK secure a place, Clare Marchant, Ucas’ chief executive, has suggested.

Professor Julia Buckingham, president of Universities UK (UUK), which represents institutions across the country, told students that universities will be as flexible as they can and urged students to look at the courses available in clearing.

"Our advice to students is to carry on as planned, which means if you miss out on the grades for your offer don’t panic," she said.

“Speak to your teachers for their advice and get in touch with your first-choice university as soon as possible – universities will be as flexible as they can in these unusual circumstances – and look at the courses available through clearing.”

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