A Level Results 2024: what to do if your grades aren’t what you expect

A Level Results Day 2024 is just around the corner on 15 August. If things don’t go as expected, it can be a very stressful time, especially if you need certain results to secure a place at university. 

If you’re disappointed with the outcome on the day, you still have options. Your hopes of attending university aren’t automatically crushed, in fact they’re still very achievable. You might just need to redirect slightly. 

Consider some of the following options if your grades aren’t quite what you’d hoped for. 

Call your university 

If your grades are lower than you were anticipating, the chances are that you aren’t the only one in this position. Your first-choice university might still be willing to accept you with lower grades or they might be able to transfer you to another course. Before doing anything else, call your university’s admissions office to see what’s possible. 

Go through Clearing

UCAS Clearing is designed to help universities fill any remaining empty spaces on their courses. If your grades are lower than expected, you can go through the Clearing process to try and secure a spot at another university. 

UCAS Clearing 2024 opened on 5 July and will close on 21 October. 

You can apply through Clearing for a number of reasons, including if you:

• Fail to achieve the grades for your conditional university offer
• Fail to receive any offers you want to accept
• Decide to apply for university after 30 June for the following academic year 
• Achieve better grades than you expected and want to apply for a different university

If you don’t get the grades to be accepted into your firm or insurance choice, your application status will automatically change to ‘You are in Clearing’. From there it will be your responsibility to call the universities you’re interested in and try to get them to accept you.

If you’re worried about potentially having to apply through Clearing, you can start preparing in advance by making a list of courses and universities you might be interested in. You’ll only have one Clearing choice at a time, so be sure that you have secured a place and want to confirm a university before you enter it on UCAS. 

Remember, going through Clearing is not necessarily a negative thing. Some of the best universities in the UK offer courses through Clearing. 

Resit or appeal results

If you feel like your results aren’t representative of your abilities then you could choose to resit your exams. To do this, contact your school or college and tell them you’d like to resit. Bear in mind that you’ll have to retake them at the same time as the next year’s cohort, so you might have to redo a year of school or delay an application to university while you wait to do this. 

If you don’t think that your results are accurate or you are very close to the grade boundary, you can appeal and get the papers remarked. Don’t delay - you should do this as soon as possible after receiving your results. Talk to your school or college and they will be able to contact the exam board on your behalf and ask for your exams to be reviewed. If you are still dissatisfied after this review and feel the results are unfair, you can ask your school or college to appeal and the exam board will re-review if a correction is needed. 

Take a gap year 

If your A Level results are unexpected, you might decide to take a year out to consider and review your next steps. There are lots of benefits to taking a gap year! You could go travelling, get a job to build your CV and save money, or gain valuable skills and experience. 

If you’re going to resit any exams in the summer or you plan to reapply to university the following academic year, taking a gap year could be a good option for you. 



Consider your other options 

University isn’t for everyone. If you don’t get into your first choice or insurance uni, you might choose to take a different path. There are so many options out there which can offer equal success and opportunity. You could choose to look into apprenticeships, traineeships, or higher technical qualifications which allow you to learn or achieve a qualification which are similar (or sometimes equivalent) to a degree. 

Alternatively, you could choose to go straight into full-time employment. There are lots of entry-level jobs available in the market. If you need careers advice, you could speak to a trusted teacher at your school or college for guidance. 

Find out more about Clearing

Want to know more about how to go through Clearing? We’ve put together guidance on finding the right course in Clearing and how to apply for accommodation after Clearing.