The summer holidays are very much in progress, exams have been over for a while, and the next milestone for your 15-16-year-olds is GCSE results day on Thursday, 25th August 2022. Most of the time, parents are often the ones who may be nervous about what to expect on the big day. Suppose this is your first child going through this experience, and you are unsure how to prepare for them or yourself. In that case, this guide will help with everything you may need to know before results day.

Pre-Results Nerves

Most parents may already gauge their child’s success from the response they may have shown after each exam, but it is still unknown until your child has their results. It can be a nervous time for parents, hoping they achieve the grades that will lay the foundations for their next stage of education, whatever that may look like.

Most sixth form colleges require a minimum of grade 5 throughout all exams, but each sixth form facility is unique. If you are unsure of the requirements, an email to your child’s desired sixth form or next educational program will let you know what grades must be achieved. Some schools or colleges may have the information on their website, which is always advised to familiarise yourself with upon choosing your teenager’s next step.

Prior to results day, make the most of the summer holidays, everything that could have been done, has been done. Use the next week or so as time to enjoy the break from exams, planning and stressing. Distraction is the best option to help subside the nerves of you and your child.

If you prefer, or your teenager seems to be beyond worry, sit down with them and discuss backup plans if they don’t get the results they require for what they may wish to do. Not achieving the exact results needed is not written in stone. There is an option to resit the exams, and we offer online tuition for any student who may wish for extra support with GCSE resits. However, once you have a backup plan, there is nothing more you can achieve until your child receives their results.

The Grading System Explained

You may have heard your son or daughter discussing 9s instead of As and are unsure what the numbers represent. As a parent, it may have been some time since you experienced GCSEs if you did at all. However, regardless of when and if you completed them, it is very likely that the system does not reflect the same one you had experienced.

The change from letter grades to numbers began in 2017 and was rolled out in every subject by 2019. Instead of A*-G, the grades now rate from 9-1. Although there is no exact correlation between the old and new grades, a rough guide is available below.

9 – Top end of an A*

8 – Bottom end of an A*

7- A grade

6 – Top end of a B grade

5 – Bottom end of a B grade, the top end of a C grade

4 – Bottom end of a C grade, the top end of a D grade

3 – Bottom end of a D grade, the top end of an E grade

2 – Bottom end of an E grade, the top end of an F grade

1 – Bottom end of an F grade, the top end of a G grade

U- Unmarkable mark has not changed

This new grading system was to help cover a more extensive scope of ability amongst students, helping to achieve a more accurate grade against their potential in assessments and exams.

The Pandemic Effect on 2022 GCSE Results

There may be a significant worry for this year’s parents of students receiving their GCSEs due to the pandemic that began when their children started their vital examination years. Parents may be concerned about the impact two years of inconsistent school may have had on the results. However, there was a nationwide deplete in education for all students across the board, meaning that this year’s students were all in the same boat.

Once again, if there is a severe discrepancy with grades due to the impact of the pandemic, you can apply for a resit, and with private tuition, you can offer your child the best outcome possible. Most colleges and higher educational facilities will still allow students to continue to study if they are resitting one exam to achieve the desired grade.

What to Expect on the Day

Your child may be highly nervous and might not be themselves in the lead-up to results day. This is the biggest day they may have had in their academic life, so they may need extra support and reassurance. As parents, you will be able to relate to the feeling of severe anxiety from your own exams or work achievements, so bearing this in mind, if they don’t quite achieve the outcomes they had set their hearts on, they may feel a bit overwhelmed and disappointed. Reassurance and support are vital for students who may feel disappointed to encourage them to get back up and continue. Being their pillar of support, they need reminding that there are options to consider, but they may need a day or two to spend some time getting their head around things before discussing the next step in detail.

However, if your child received the results they had aimed for or even achieved better, you can help them prepare for where they intend to continue in September as soon as the celebrations are over.

GCSEs Are Not the End

As leaders in GCSE tuition in Birmingham, with many years of experience and tutors with in-school expertise, we can offer the best advice for students who may have missed out on their desired marks for one reason or another. Whether it is resit of a specific subject or resitting the entire year, we can help provide extra support with GCSE holiday workshops or GCSE tuition for year 9 – year 11.

After the big day, if you wish to find out more about our GCSE resit support programmes, you can look through our pages and enquire online, or you can call us directly on 0121 769 2795.