Results day: supporting students with their next steps

Exam results season is almost upon us. Thursday 13th August marks the release of A-level results, while a week later, on Thursday 20th August, GCSE students will find out how they did.

It’s an exciting and stressful time for students and teachers alike, but it’s worth remembering that seeing pupils opening their envelope isn’t the end of their journey, or the final verdict on their maths skills. Rather, it’s just the start of a decision-making process that will set out their future.

Teachers have an important role to play in this. By offering advice and sharing the benefits of your experience, you can help students choose the options that best fit with what they want to do next.

Pathways after results day

Whether they’re opening up GCSE or A-level results in August, the main questions for students will be similar. Do they opt for an academic route – either at sixth-form or university – or something more hands-on, such as apprenticeships or T-levels?

For many GCSE students, the most obvious path is sixth form or further education college to begin A-levels, with maths being a key choice for anyone interested in future careers in fields like engineering and technology.

A more vocational approach, though, could be T-levels. As a two-year alternative to A-levels, these qualifications still involve spending the majority of time in the classroom. However, students can also gain practical experience, with 20% of learning being undertaken as a 45-day placement with an employer. Completing the full course earns students the equivalent of three A-levels and UCAS points recognised by universities, so it doesn’t mean a future path to higher education is shut off.

For many A-level students, results day will be about confirming if their grades meet conditional offers from their chosen universities. However, there remain options for those who didn’t meet – or exceeded – expectations.

The clearing process is already open, and is often the next step for those without a confirmed place – but it’s far from a fallback. Clearing is a genuine option for a significant proportion of students, with more than 50,000 people finding a university course through this channel every year.

It’s also not just for those who don’t get their hoped-for results. If your students did better than expected, clearing can also highlight options that they may previously have discounted.

For those not looking for an academic route, traineeships and apprenticeships are viable alternatives – and often let young people put their maths skills to immediate practical use. There are options for those getting both GCSE and A-level results, with apprenticeships offering up to the equivalent of a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Helping students decide on their next steps

For many teachers, results day is about helping students navigate these options and find a path that’s right for them. In many cases, offering emotional support is as important as practical guidance – especially if students are disappointed with their results.

You could potentially help with this by:

• Being always available
• Avoiding comparisons
• Preparing for every outcome
• Knowing the clearing timeline
• Signposting impartial careers advice
• Being honest about options like resits

Disappointment is a natural part of the process – not everyone will get the results they expect. But it’s important to help students stay positive and not add to any pressure they face, and remind them that there will always be options available. In the moment, it can be all too easy for students to narrow their thinking and focus on what they can’t do, rather than what they can.

It could be helpful to encourage students to make choices that are right for them for the long term – not just what feels ‘safest’ right now. You might also consider talking with students about what you feel will truly suit them, to help them avoid kneejerk reactions to their results.

Results day can be an emotional time, but decisions don’t have to be made immediately. It’s worth reminding students of this and having conversations about what will be best suited to their ambitions – remembering this doesn’t always have to be academic.

Building confidence and carrying skills forward

Whether at GCSE or A-level, by results day students should have built confidence in key maths capabilities that will serve them well going forward, including effective use of calculators.

These skills don’t end on results day. The operations and understanding of maths developed over the course of their studies will carry forward into their next stage, whether this is further academic study, vocational training or the world of work.