Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has praised the resilience and hard work of young people, as hundreds of thousands prepare to collect A and AS level, T Level and Level 3 vocational and technical exam results today (17 August).
The results mark the culmination of years of hard work for young people and their teachers, and pave the way for students’ next steps to university, further training, or into work.
This is the first year that AS and A Levels have largely returned to normal. During the pandemic, results were higher as exams could not go ahead. As the normal grading system returned this summer, grades will be lower than last year but similar to 2019 levels. That means, for example, a student whose work would have earned a C grade at A level in 2019 is just as likely to get a C this year, opening the same exciting doors to life after school.
The return to pre-pandemic grading is important for students – it means that universities and employers understand their performance, have confidence in their qualifications, and can use them to help students progress into opportunities that match their achievements, now and in the future.
