Our Director of Programmes, Katy Hampshire, shares her thoughts and advice ahead of A Level Results Day.
So, it’s that time of year – on Thursday 17th August, young people across the UK will receive their results for A-Levels and other qualifications, and get ready to embark on the next phase of their lives. Students in Scotland already have their National Highers and it was hugely encouraging to see an uplift in students from disadvantaged areas being accepted onto university places.
Among those receiving results will be thousands of students who have participated in Sutton Trust programmes or others like ours. With this year’s school leavers taking their first formal exams this year after their GCSEs were cancelled, and having experienced huge upheaval in recent years through school closures, strikes and the cost of living crisis, we know they’ve all had to work particularly hard and all of us at the Sutton Trust are rooting for them.
Even at the best of times, A-Level results day can be a hugely emotional and stressful day. But for the class of 2023, recent press coverage about the highly likely drop in top grades to bring these closer to 2019 levels, more intensive competition for spaces at university and the likely reduced options in Clearing, particularly at the Russell Group universities, may well be adding to their worries.
