A levels results day is one of the highest-stakes days in a young person’s school life, and when the results are disappointing, the hours that follow can feel overwhelming for both students and parents. It is worth knowing, before that day arrives, that a poor set of results is rarely the end of anything. It is, more often, a redirect.
Give It Twenty-Four Hours
The immediate aftermath of disappointing results is not the time for major decisions. Emotions run high, panic is contagious, and choices made in the first few hours are rarely the best ones. The most useful thing a parent can do on results day itself is to stay calm, be present, and resist the urge to immediately problem-solve. The practical steps can wait until the next morning.
Understand the Options
The range of options available after disappointing A level results is wider than most families realise. Clearing, resits, alternative courses, deferred entry, foundation years, and gap year applications all remain on the table. A student who takes a year to resit and improve their grades, having understood what went wrong the first time, is often better prepared for university than one who scraped in on marginal results.
Read More: Encouraging a Love of History in Young Learners
Consider Specialist Resit Support
One-year A level programmes at specialist colleges are specifically designed to help students achieve the results they are capable of. MPW Cambridge offers intensive one-year A level and GCSE courses in a focused academic environment, with small teaching groups and experienced staff who understand exactly what students need to do differently the second time around. The turnaround stories from well-supported resitprogrammes are frequently remarkable.
Separate the Result from the Person
This point is harder than it sounds but it matters enormously. A disappointing grade is a piece of data about one set of exams on one set of days. It is not a measure of a young person’s intelligence, potential, or worth. The way a parent responds in this moment has a lasting effect on how a young person processes the setback and what they do next.
Read More: Helping Children Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity
For more on one-year A level and GCSE resitprogrammes, visit www.mpw.ac.uk/cambridge.
| About MPW Cambridge: MPW Cambridge is a specialist independent college offering one and two-year A level programmes and one-year GCSE courses, with a strong track record of helping students achieve the results needed for their first-choice universities. |
