A-level results: the gut-wrenching feeling that stays with you for years

Cultural events in the calendar are often marked by a recognisable sound; Santa’s sleigh bells at Christmas, a knocking on the door at Halloween and the countdown on New Year’s Eve. Meanwhile, A-level results day is ushered in by the reliable sound of Jeremy Clarkson sitting down at his computer and tapping out his annual tweet reminding sixth formers of his wealth and success, despite not achieving good A-level results. 

This year was no different. “If the teachers didn’t give you the A level results you were hoping for, don’t worry. I got a C and 2Us and I’ve ended up happy, with loads of friends and a Bentley,” the broadcaster tweeted. 

Clarkson’s annual tweet is something of social media legend these days, but he isn’t the only one who becomes nostalgic at this time of year.

A flurry of good luck messages, words of consolation and accounts of people’s own experiences have taken over Twitter. These tweets reveal two things; firstly, that most people over the age of 25 overestimate the number of 17 and 18-year-olds who might be following them on social media and secondly, that the memory and emotion of A-level results day is not easily forgotten.

I remember the rush of emotions from my own results day well; scrambling to check the UCAS website to see if I got into my first choice university, then driving to school, nervous and excited to see what three letters would be printed on the A4 page. Then, arriving at the school to the strangest atmosphere of clashing emotions as some students shrieked with joy and others, crushed by disappointment, sought out advice and consolation from parents and teachers. 

A-level results day, unlike GCSE results day, also carries the weight of seismic change. The grades will initially dictate the university, apprenticeship or full-time work pupils enter into and pursue for the next few years. Even the achievement of top grades often comes with the bittersweet realisation of growing up and leaving friends and family behind. Perhaps that is why, years, decades even, after we receive our own grades, results day still feels like a monumental event each year.

This year, exams were replaced by teachers’ estimates once more and the number of As and A*s awarded increased from 38.5 per cent to 44.8 per cent, making for a lot of happy pupils. Notably, 55 pupils at Brampton Manor Academy in East London secured Oxbridge places, superseding Eton for the first time and making for a results day that won’t fade from the school’s memory for a very long time.

For Clarkson, who probably does have a fair few teenagers following him, results day is also a moment to reflect on and remind today’s teenagers of the limits to the significance of a few letters on a page at 18 (even if he does do it in such a smug and irritating way). It very much feels like the end of the world at the time, but there are thousands of people who prove a disappointing grade doesn’t have to dictate the success of your future. Look at Gavin Williamson, who told LBC presenter Nick Ferrari that he had “forgotten” what his grades were. If they are forgettable to the Secretary of State for Education, they don’t need to be an insurmountable hurdle for any young person. 

No matter what results were received this week, pupils across the country should be proud of themselves. After all, if they can adapt to home-schooling and complete their A-levels in the midst of a pandemic, there isn’t any limit to what they can do in the future.