How to Deal With Results Day Anxiety

Students work hard for years to complete their GCSEs and A-Levels. It’s not surprising that when results day comes, anxiety sets in as they wait to find out if the last few years of hard work has paid off and they can take their next steps. 

As parents, it’s important to make sure that they don’t have to go through the stress of results day alone.  

When is A-Level Results Day 2024? 

A-Level Results Day is Thursday, 15th August. 

When is GCSE Results Day 2024? 

GCSE Results Day is Thursday, 22nd August. 

What Happens on Results Day? 

As a parent, knowing what to expect on results day gives you the confidence to explain to your child what they should expect on the day if they ask you any questions. 

A-Level and GCSE results day are both similar as students will be going to their schools or colleges to collect their results and finding out their next steps. 

What Happens On A-level Results Day 

A-Level results day provides the added pressure of getting into university, especially for students with a conditional offer who are relying on their grades. 

Students will usually be able to collect their results from 8am, but this can depend on the school or college so it’s worth finding out beforehand.  

UCAS will receive their results at 8:15am and update their UCAS Hub where they can find out if they are successful in getting into university or not.  

If UCAS Hub doesn’t update by mid-morning, it could mean that they haven’t been able to make a final decision on the application yet, so get in touch with the university and find out what’s happening. 

If all goes well, students will receive confirmation of their acceptance and they can start getting ready for Uni! 

What happens if they don’t get accepted? 

It’s important to remind them that not being accepted by their first-choice university isn’t the end of the world. They could still receive an unconditional, or course change offer from their first choice. If they decide to decline this then they’ll go into clearing which means they can decide to apply for other courses. 

They may also have an offer from their insurance offer. Remind them that this is a great achievement and that missing out on their first choice isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

How Do Exams and Results Affect Mental Health in Teenagers?

It’s difficult to know exactly what teenagers are thinking and how they are feeling, but it is likely that they are feeling at least slightly anxious about their results. 

• 15% of GCSE students may fall into the category of being ‘highly test anxious’.  
• 16.4% of the post-secondary students reported themselves to be ‘highly test anxious’. 
• Female students are proportionally significantly more test anxious (22.5%) than male students (10.3%). 

Source - Putwain & Daly 

These statistics provided by a study by Putwain & Daly show that a large proportion of students struggle with anxiety in exams. 

With the recent pandemic and the changes to the curriculum, these figures are only on the rise. 

According to a 2022 survey by the Association of School and College Leaders, 82 per cent of headteachers had reported stress and anxiety to be higher than pre-pandemic. 

How to Manage Results Day Anxiety 

The anxiety of results day is largely due to the anxiety of not knowing what's going to happen. Not knowing what grades you’re getting, how people are going to react and what happens next can be a very scary thought to deal with on your own. 

That’s why supporting your child is vital during exams and results, knowing they’re not on their own can have a massive impact on how they deal with their stress and anxiety, and can even help to reduce it. 

Reassure them that there are steps they can take if they don’t manage to get the grades, staying positive and giving them the support they need will help to take away some of the anxiety they are dealing with. 

Learn More About Anxiety in Children and Young People for FREE 

Teenagers and children who suffer from stress and anxiety will often feel as if they are alone with their struggles.  

Understanding what they are dealing with can have a huge impact in both your life and theirs, as it will help them to let you in and help them. 

It can be difficult to find out where to start, but we have an in-depth free online course that is perfect to help you understand mental health issues in children and young people, and how to help resolve them. 

This free level 2 short course is fully accredited and will help to give you a full overview of the different mental health issues faced by children and young people, whilst giving you effective ways to support them. 

If you’re interested in signing up to this course, click the link below and register your interest today: https://theaimgroup.co.uk/courses/level-2/children-and-young-peoples-mental-health