GCSE Results: What You Need to Know

Are you waiting for your I/GCSE Results? This year will be very different as students collect their results having not sat a single exam. Whatever the result, students deserve to be congratulated after completing their final two years of secondary school during a period of distance learning.

There has plenty of talk in the media about how students will be graded this year. But what happens if you don’t get grades required or expected? Whatever the outcome on Results Day, there are always options – so don't panic. In this guide we look what I/GCSE students need to know, and what you can do if things do not go exactly to plan...

Check whichschooladvisor.com from August 13 for a comprehensive round-up of I/GCSE results in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, and the UAE.

When and how will I get my I/GCSE results?

I/GCSE results will be published from 8am (GMT) on Thursday, August 20. Even though grades have been awarded differently this year, they will look exactly the same as any other year on the results slips and your certificates.

How does the grading work for 2020 I/GCSEs?

In the absence of any exams, exam boards are using a statistical model developed by OFQUAL that takes into account the following when calculating how a student has fared in their exams: previous attainment, the results of previous students at the same school, and the students predicted grades from mock exams submitted by teachers in March.

What do the I/GCSE grades mean?

Changes introduced in 2014 by saw the replacement of the A*-G grades with 1-9 grades for many GCSEs and some IGCSEs. As a general guide:

• 9, 8 or 7 is equivalent to an A* or A grade
• 6, 5 or 4 is equivalent to a B or C grade
• 3, 2 or 1 is equivalent to a D, E or F grade
• U mark is judged as ungraded

Can I request a remark?

Speak to your school or college first. They can appeal to an exam board on your behalf if they believe the exam board used the wrong data when calculating grades or incorrectly communicated the grades calculated. You can’t appeal your grade because you don’t agree with the centre assessment grade or rank order position submitted by your school or college.

OFQUAL says: “It’s important that you understand on what basis you can and can’t appeal your results when deciding your next steps. Only your school or college can submit an appeal on your behalf.”

The deadline for any appeal is September 17, 2020.

You can also contact QFQUAL’s Exam Results Helpline at nationalcareers.service.gov.uk

Can I retake I/GCSEs?

You can’t appeal your grade because you think you would have done better in your exams. But, if you feel that your grades don't accurately reflect your performance, you can choose to sit exams in the autumn series or in 2021.

You can choose to take as many subjects in the autumn as you want to. But if you want to take a particular subject, you will need to take all the exam papers in that subject.

OFQUAL says: “If you choose to take exams in the autumn or next summer and achieve a different grade from the grade you received this summer, you will be able to use the higher of the 2 grades to show to universities, colleges and employers in future.”

Exam dates for I/GCSEs are November 2 to 23, and the deadline for entries is October 4 for English language and maths, and September 18 for all other subjects.

Read more: Where to study I/GCSEs in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, the UAE.