Results Day 2025: Your Next Chapter
Results day is coming up fast. Whether you’re getting your results on the 14th of August or the 21st, it can be a very emotional time.
You might be nervous to find out your results or excited to see what comes next. You might be celebrating your achievements or perhaps even disappointed by your results.
If you haven’t received the results you needed, your plans for the next few years may need to change. Or perhaps you haven’t got any plans at all – and now that results day is upon us, you need to decide what to do next. You might even have second thoughts about the plans you originally made.
This can be a challenging situation to be in. Seeing others celebrating their results and talking about their future can be difficult when you aren’t sure what’s coming next. But it’s important to remember that life can be surprising and whichever path you choose, you can still thrive and find success.
First things first
Before you dive into any making or confirming decisions – take a deep breath. It’s a good time to pause and take stock. There’s no need to rush into anything. You might need to decide quickly, but even then, take the time to think through what it is you want.
Remember that you’ve done the best you can on your exams, and the results will be what they are. This is just the beginning of the next phase of your life – and that’s a great thing. You’ve got plenty of time to figure everything out.
So, what are my options?
To make things a little easier, we’ve created this blog as a guide on what options are available to you at this time.
At 16 (GCSE and Level 1/2 Vocational Technical Qualifications)
Between 16 and 18, you need to stay in some form of education. Luckily for you, there’s lot of different options you can choose from. A levels, T Levels, apprenticeships and vocational qualifications like BTECs are all good programs to choose from.
To find out more about all these courses check out our blog on your choices after GCSEs for more information. There’s something out there for everyone!
At 18 (A level, T Level and Level 3 Vocational Technical Qualifications)
For those of you that are 18 and older, the options are more varied now that you’re an adult. All the qualifications listed above can be done after you turn 18, so it’s not too late to enrol on one of these courses, but it’s likely you’ll have to do this in a college rather than a school.
Apprenticeships
You might have an idea of the industry you’d like to work in or area’s you’d like to study. If that is the case, perhaps an apprenticeship could be an option for you. This type of training program can offer many levels of study and can give you the opportunity to train in a field without previous experience.
Apprenticeship programs are offered in most industries now. Read our blog on technical education routes to learn more about apprenticeships.
University
If you didn’t get the grades you needed for your first or second choice university options, you’ll need to go through UCAS Clearing. Clearing is how universities who still have vacancies at results day advertise those places. It’s worth exploring – there are lots more options than you might think.
If you’ve made the application for university, you’ll already be familiar with UCAS. But what you might not know is that through something called UCAS Clearing, you can discover courses across the UK that have available spaces on their courses.
Have a look through the UCAS website – it may help you find an alternative course.
Gap years
Something that was mentioned earlier in this blog was time. It can be difficult to see friends or classmates moving on with their lives and starting new adventures whilst you aren’t sure what to do next.
The stress of not having anything arranged can be a lot, and you might feel pressure to decide quickly so that you don’t get ‘left behind’.
But we’re here to remind you that you have time to think about your future, in fact you have the rest of your life to think about what’s coming next! If you do choose to take a gap year, however, you choose to spend that time is up to you. Some people decide to work, others travel.
The important thing is, is that you are giving yourself the opportunity to decide what you really want, without the pressure of deadlines. You could take a few months or even years. Exposure to the real world can really help us discover what we like and don’t like.
Closing thoughts
However your results day went, it’s crucial that we remember that we have control over what happens next. Whether you got exactly the results you expected, or grades that you didn’t, it’s up to you where you choose to go next. There are lots of options out there – so take some time to think about what you want next, and next and then go and explore!
Good luck in your results!
