A-level and GCSEs 2023 | Results Day

With A-level Results Day 2023 right around the corner on Thursday, 17th August, and GCSE Results Day a week later on Thursday, 24th July, these are nerve-wracking months for everyone who took exams this year.

As students and their families await the big day, we've spoken to a range of GCSE and A-level students to discover the truth about how difficult the exams were in 2023, the new grade boundaries and the trend in entries.

Were the first normal set of exams since 2019 easier or harder than students thought they would be? Was the exam season challenging in another way, and what about this year's grades? Are students concerned? We find out.

The new 2023 grade boundaries

Ofqual has confirmed that grading for GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2023 will be similar to that of 2019, taking into account the impact of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This means that students will be awarded a grade that reflects their performance, despite any disruption they have experienced since 2019 (when students would have been in Year 8 and Year 10).

Examiners, however, will make allowances when setting grade boundaries so that overall results are comparable to those of previous years. This means a student should be just as likely to achieve a particular grade this year as they would have been before the pandemic in 2019.

As with every year, there is no limit on the number of students who can achieve each grade. Students will be awarded a grade that reflects their performance. So, for example, any number of grades can be awarded a 7 at GCSE or C at A level. The only exception is grade 9. This is decided using an approach based on a mixture of statistics and examiner judgement.

That said, there is some anxiety among students and parents about being in the first year of Ofqual's glide path.

"When I apply for jobs, I doubt employers will remember who was graded an A** during the pandemic and who was made to adhere to pre-pandemic grading with a lesser grade."

Sanjana, an A-level student

"I've seen the grade boundaries for GCSE on social, but I don't know if they are right or not, but I'm hoping we aren't the year to suffer due to what happened in the lockdown."

Amrit, a GCSE student

2023 key trends in GCSE and A-Level entries

The provisional figures for GCSE, AS and A-level entries in England for summer 2023 also show that there has been a significant uptake in Further Maths at A-level at almost 25 per cent from 3,730 to 4,655.

Computing A-level entries are also on the rise - up 14.5 per cent from 15,210 last year to 17,420 this year.

Languages have significantly declined this year as German, Spanish and French A-level entries fell.

At GCSE, art and design entries are down 3.3 per cent; music fell 11.8 per cent, drama 7.4 per cent and performing arts 16.4 per cent.

How did the exam timetable different this year?

This year GCSE and A-level students again benefitted from extra spacing in the exam timetable. GCSEs were spread over four weeks, with spacing between papers and half term.

The more extended exam period was initially put in place to allow students who had tested positive for Covid to isolate between papers, but after feedback from students and schools, it was found that the extra time helped students with revision and intervention sessions at school.

"My friends didn't like the drawn-out exam timetable, saying they lost motivation by week 3 of the exams, but I preferred it. The half term gave me time to do more, and our school offered revision sessions every day."

Niall, a GCSE student

"There's so much new content to learn in the A-level specs, and some of the content for subjects is huge. Personally, I welcomed having a more spaced-out timetable. It gave me more face-to-face time with teachers and more time to study."

Hannah, A-level student

What do students think about this year's exam papers?

Our latest research shows that 57% of our students rated the GCSE exams as difficult this year, with Physics, Maths, and Chemistry being cited as the most challenging papers.

That said, 71% of students did feel there was an appropriate level of difficulty, and nearly half of all students felt the exam questions accurately reflected the content and skills learnt throughout the GCSE courses.

However, 57% of GCSE students also believe that their performance during the exams may have been affected by lost learning during the pandemic years.

By comparison, 67% of A-level students surveyed felt their A-level papers were more difficult than expected, especially in Further Maths and Chemistry, with the large majority of students feeling that their performance was affected by lost learning during the pandemic years.

According to a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are not alone in this feeling. The review found students lost out on about 35% of a school year's worth of learning during the pandemic. In particular, in maths and sciences

"Our school was good. They knew we hadn't sat formal exams for GCSEs, so we have had timed tests all year. By June, they felt normal."

Sam, A-levels

"Seeing all the chat online about predictions for topics was stressful in the exam run-up, and in the end, none of the 'predictions' were right. What helped was doing past papers over and over."

Mia, GCSEs

"Everything was so much harder than I expected, but I hope that's just panic and my grades are what I need for Uni."

Becca, A-level student

"We kept being told that A-level grades were falling back to pre-pandemic levels this year, which stressed many of us out. But the papers were fine, and I've also heard examiners are expected to lower grade boundaries so that the grading will be fair for students with a learning loss."

Leah A-levels

How did having a tutor help

With figures showing that 30% of young people aged 11-16 report having had private tutoring in the UK, this figure is up from 27% pre-pandemic and the joint highest figure since the time series began in 2005 when it was 18%.

Over 71% of our students feel that having a tutor was a good investment; GCSE and A-level students feel tutoring helped them not only to feel more confident in exams but helped them to:

1. Hone their exam technique.2. Practise previous past papers with help.3. Understand advice on study/revision techniques.4. Work on their exam confidence.5. Cover topics that had been missed at school.6. Be motivated to work harder.7. Cover subjects and methods missed at school.

What to do if you are unhappy with your exam results?

With all that in mind, if on results day you are unhappy with your results, talk to your school or college before you do anything. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, your school will contact the exam board on your behalf and ask for your marks to be reviewed.

If you still think you have been unfairly graded after a review, you can ask your school or college to appeal. In Scotland, you can appeal directly to the SQA for free.

You can also re-sit any GCSE in 2024. GCSE Maths and English exams also take place in November 2023.

If the A-level grades you receive this year differ from what you had hoped, there are still plenty of options available. First, speak to the university or college; they may accept a lower grade if they don't apply through UCAS Clearing.

Use your application's 'View matches' button to see courses we've personally matched you to. Or use the search tool to browse thousands of courses available in Clearing.

If you want to retake your A-levels, it involves sitting the exams at the end of the 2023/24 academic year to achieve better grades and move on to the next stage of your education or career.