A level results day 2026

@Tebheag, good luck with the remarks, sounds like he was very close! And best of luck for job hunting, hope he makes a breakthrough soon.

@manywanderings and everyone, I’ve just started a fledglings 2026 thread, could be a good place to discuss uni kit etc:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5567080-fledglings-2026-support-discussion-and-looking-after-each-other?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

Is there a thread on here about kit for university? I'm starting to sort kitchen kit and not exactly sure if I'm getting too much or not enough. Already have cutlery and plates and bowls and a chopping knife, but pans? How many? What size? Someone also suggested an airfryer!

Sorry to hear so many kids are struggling.
DS had email from collrge about posdible remarks. As Accountancy was 1% of next grade he has asked fir that to be done just waiting on how to pay the £10.00. He email Geography to see if it is worth it but not heard back was also 1% off.
Still no.luck on apprentiships but does have an interview for a shop job which will get him some spending money, while he continues too look, as he was starting to get down so fingers crossed it goes well.

As has been said, if he needs to grieve, let him. Don't try to fix it. He won't cry forever. Just tell him you know he's disappointed and you're all set to help him start preparing for the place he's got as soon as he's ready.

She just has to go through the feeling and ride it out, and you have to let her. It's such a big emotional rollercoaster, they are very young, it's often their first experience of failure that matters, and their sense of perspective is skewed by the total lack of life experience.
She won't always feel this way - it just needs time. (And honestly, as someone involved with mark reviews, if it's only for vanity and not for a uni/apprenticeship place, don't bother - ask her how she will feel if the mark goes down. Which it might. She's scrambling for a way to feel better, I get that, but riding it out and gaining some resilience from it will serve her far better in the long term.) There may also be a point at which you just have to bluntly tell her to stop being so bloody silly.

It’s so hard when you are supporting them like this. Last year, my DS was broken by his grades. We drove him home from the school and he just wouldn’t get out of the car. He was sort of frozen. We were so worried.
Honestly it just took time. He did retakes in the end but he had to take that decision himself. We just had to sort of hold him until he was ready to take the next steps.
Good luck with it all.

They’re sort of grieving in a way. My DC just went silent and held it all in stoically which was worse than crying it out imho.

We didn’t really say or do much really other than just let DC process it themselves and come to terms with their new path. Once they started uni it was all water under the bridge and friends who had got into the universities they’d missed out on weren’t having a great time. So it’s all swings and roundabouts for different reasons.

Had to go through the same thing a year later with DC2 who had longer to process and make a uni decision with grades in hand as took a gap year. And didn’t have the energy to retake.

I'm struggling too, but my one did not get into firm, which was the dream, missing it by one grade. I'm virtually on suicide watch here and would appreciate advice on how to be. I have tried consolation, leaving him alone, talking up insurance, reinforcing that he has not let anyone down...he just keeps crying, as his image of himself is shattered.

Also I’d really appreciate advice on how to deal with her as I’m struggling! So far I’m just talking about Uni non stop. And I’ll go into her school to help sort out the review as she wants me to go along with her . I’m just a bit flummoxed about the sadness when she’s successfully got to the next step and by any standards has done exceptionally well.

DD got into her firm which is her dream uni but got a grade below predictions in 2 subjects and is also inconsolable. It’s hard when you’re so proud as they’ve done so well but all they see is failure. It’s got to be the system and pressure on them, to me this is insane. We’re having one of the subjects reviewed as she’s only a mark below the boundary. The other subject at no point in 2 years did she ever drop a grade from the predicted grade and she is really shocked. Even for this one she’s only 6 points below so really has done well. I really hope once at Uni she can find some perspective. And all I want to do is jump about being proud and happy!

Please tell your daughter that once she has her degree, no one will ever ask for her A-levels again. I did have AAA, but I did four and also got a D! I thought my life was ending! I didn't get into Cambridge so I had to "settle" for UCL. And I loved it! I now have a PhD and honestly, at each stage people just cared about the most recent degree.

Super, thanks very much, @Fabfabfab, have checked in 🙂

That’s so lovely, thank you. 🥰 I like that phrase and will pass it on (along with the hug).

@ComingInByAnsible and everyone else with a DC going to Warwick, I've just set up a thread in Higher Education if you want to join

@Lemons1571 sorry to read of your DS's difficult couple of days.

My DD was predicted A A/B AB and had offers of AAB and ABB – for various reasons she got BCC which was obviously disappointing. But after a day on the phones she had a place to study at Uni of Leicester, a place that IMHO flies under the radar, and turned out to be a great option for her.

Hope your DS sorts out his next steps soon. All the best to him.

I took A levels in the early 80s and AFAIR you could only hold two offers. I recall I had to cancel one application (slightly complicated process) as I already had an offer from my first choice and my second choice so there was no point going for interview to Manchester (interviews much more common in those days – I had three).

Yeah it’s ridiculously frustrating because he didn’t finish any of his papers either, and one of them was an 8 hour written exam. He ended up getting top marks on all of the coursework for the engineering, and only needed a mid merit for a distinction star, but because of the 8 hours of writing and no extra time he just didn’t finish any section of it. Ended up getting a pass so distinction overall.

If the GCSEs don’t come out perfect (especially English/history/RE given that they’re writing heavy) don’t worry too much because you’ll have time in college for them to properly assess whether extra time is needed, or whether rest breaks work. I think the key is to prove that without the time restriction she can answer everything, and that without a time restriction they’re just testing her speed not her knowledge.

She can do it :)

I think these sort of platitudes, along with Einstein/me cousin/I failed my A-levels and still did very well are totally unhelpful at this moment. Just because it worked out for some people doesn't mean it will for them, and there's a long wait to see if it does.

They may be helpful in a few months' time when she feels more settled and has started uni.

Let her lick her wounds. Let her know you love her for who she is, and be upset with her without making it about you. Pretending that exam results don't matter is unfair because she knows they do. Maybe if she can get her papers back and a teacher go through them with her, if a teacher will do that, will give her some closure.

Then plan something for next week she can look forward to. Day out, weekend away etc. And have time to talk. Talk about what she is doing, her options, if that's where she wants to go, or avoid it if she isn't there yet.

Just let her know that you are there for her, and will do what is in your power to help. Anything that lots of people say, thinking they're comforting, is very rarely a comfort.

@manywanderings
He thinks he can go with "just a few clothes" - and won't need much with him.

Ds was very cross with me last year when I bought a second pair of trainers. How could I be so silly to think he might actually benefit from having another pair of shoes at uni. It was laughable that he might need it. So he took three pairs of shoes to uni: trainers he wore, trainers he swore he would never use and were a waste of space, and steel toe capped boots required by the course.

Dd otoh took I think it was 17 pairs in her first year. Tbf 4 of the pairs were different dance shoes she needed for her course.

I have already retired (having been through the process of a level results twice). I would side with your daughter. I went to an elitist school, but chose the wrong a level. An essay subject would have suited me better than maths. I ended up with only 2 a levels.

I think this is why I went on to get Spanish A level, a masters and a PhD. My career progression did not change one iota but I ended up putting to bed my self doubt. I only realized why I had gone through so much to get my PhD when I put on my red gown at graduation.

So rather than using that overused “things happen for a reason” I would rather stress that “today’s results do not define you”.

Warn her that she may well still be asked about her grades during Freshers. I think it is a bit of a conversation starter. After that no one will be interested.

Give her an extra hug from me.

thread here for any parents of incoming Durham freshers

www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5566801-parents-of-durham-freshers-2026?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

You don’t know how much this has reassured me! My DD is waiting for GCSE results, at grammar school so clever kid and terrible mocks. Diagnosis and medication February the absolutely worked non stop. She deserves great grades but due to no time to get evidence for extra time didn’t finish some essay papers. I so hope she gets what she deserves!

Thank you so much for your reply. 🙏 That actually is really helpful and I’ll pass it on to her. They are told for 2 yrs that these grades will define them/shape their futures…it’s hard to now tell them the opposite, but I’m trying to convince her that this is a blip in her bright future, rather than the end of it. She’s slowly, slowly coming round.

Thanks for your reply. 🙏 The predictions were always thought to be optimistic, but she fully expected AAA, as she hadn’t scored below that in 2 years, so it was a massive shock.
Fortunately, she went through clearing and found a course she’s excited about, so she’s no longer as upset about the change of venue, just the grades. We’re trying to focus her more on what she has to look forward to, but she just has to go through this period of shock/loss/disappointment & we have to hold her until she does. ❤️