A level results day 2026

It is bonkers isn't it?! I can imagine London is much more expensive though. Agree the ensuites are very tiny and sometimes make the room smaller as well. Some of the ones at his second choice University could be classed as luxury though! We went with location mainly and also the theory that the more housemates, the more likely to meet someone you get on with!

I don't know about luxury?? These very expensive places are far from luxury. DD1 graduated from Brighton 2 years ago. 1st year was uni accom on campus. Very expensive but pretty basic. En suite yes but small and basic. Shared private houses next 2 years. Again very expensive. One bathroom for 4 or 5. Absolute complete shit tips. Moldy run down. Furniture falling apart. DD2 this year in London is an older one in a not fabulous area and again basic.
There's no luxury here. But costs are bonkers.

Although oddly enough Loughborough is an ex-technical college - my aunt worked there for many years teaching pattern cutting!

But yeah, it's just become insane. There's a Mumsnet thread somewhere where a poster said her daughter was worried that Leeds wouldn't have enough "intellectual challenge". Like...WTF?? My nephew went to UEA and his parents acted like he was joining Swampy and co in a commune - he now has a great job working at one of the big London theatres.

My daughter's at Aberystwyth - one of the dreaded "low tariffers" - she says there are plenty of smart people there but finds some don't work very hard and some are disorganised with things like essay construction. But there's plenty of challenge and good teaching there for the ones who want to take advantage of it.

Just joining the accommodation cost woes. DD is going to a London uni and the accommodation is just astronomical. She went for a mid price en suite. About 40min walk from her campus. In a smaller quieter uni accommodation. £15000odd a year. Absolutely bonkers. They also tell them they need £200 a WEEK to live in London. Luckily we are in Wales so her loan will just cover the accommodation. She also has a job in a big national clothes store who will transfer her to a London store. And I have a decent income. But that is serious amounts of money. On top of tuition costs.

That was my instinct - just go for the cheapest. To be fair none of them were cheap! Some were advertsed at about £12 a week less but when the forms came through there didn't seem to be anything at that price. I think it's because a couple of his friends were going for ensuite and he seemed to think it was the norm. Also there was a lot more ensuite than non ensuite in terms of options. I just said well you don't have ensuite at home!

I think that's awful if they can't pick the accommodation they can afford. It must be offputting to some students to even apply there.

I did mine as a mature student living at home so I don't know much about the accommodation side of things but I know most students "roughed it" in my day and it was more about friendly atmosphere than luxury!

It’s down to the system though. I can understand if you’ve jumped through 2 interviews, an extra exam and been to offer day then suddenly having to get head around a different uni is a big thing.
You aren’t suddenly less worthy of place you worked hard for.
My DD’s friend needed AStar AA for Oxbridge with A star in degree subject. He got AStar AStar A exceeding grades but the A was in degree subject. I think they were a mark or two off. He’d been consistently an A* student. They both had a remark (my DD didn’t need the A star) they found her a mark and she got it but he didn’t. I do think for those students who have gone through the additional hoops it’s a very bitter pill. I know they used to give EE offers to Oxbridge and then kids took foot off gas but no wiggle is beyond harsh.

Thank you @ComingInByAnsible and great to hear so many nice things about Warwick! Do you happen to know when the moving in date is? I know roughly when it is but not the actual date. It's just been confirmed on UCAS after a delay so hopefully more info is on its way!

A parent posted on the WIWIKAU Facebook page disappointed that her son is only going to Loughborough instead of Cambridge. I get that there is the disappointment, but Loughborough is a top 10 university, not an ex technical college languishing at the bottom of the CUG.

My DS got A* in maths and physics and A in further maths and chemistry so missed out on his Warwick offer. We’ve put in for priority remark for FM as was 3 marks off but not hopeful. Feel so gutted for him because his grades are amazing but he’s so disappointed. Insurance is Bristol which will be amazing and in some respects will be a more fun experience but now the battle of finding accommodation late in the day 😳

I suspect some drop out completely over accommodation.
Or sign and hope they pick up a pt job.
I think some unis you can transfer to different halls if there’s space but it’s tricky if made friends and the sheer logistics of shifting your belongings.
Only international students had en-suites my day - I overlooked the posh new block.
My dd opted for cheapest shared bathroom as it was the biggest and most social halls. Interestingly it had lots of affluent students if you are from boarding school you are used to sharing or parents went to uni with shared facilities and it’s norm.
Those on lower income or first gen to uni seemed more hung up on en-suites.

That’s great news @Justonemorecoffeeplease - well done to her! And maybe see you on the GCSE thread!

Very well done to your dd @Justonemorecoffeeplease.

Has @Lemons1571 updated that they got the results?

Just wanted to say I’ve had two consecutive results days with very different outcomes. Last year my daughter was in tears and then this year she was screaming with happiness. A bumpy 6th Form ride with a retake and a year working in a supermarket has led to her heading off to her first choice medical school. She applied to university after Y13 and it worked out well.

I too didn’t get the results I’d hoped for all those years ago but the fact that I didn’t led to my first career which was very competitive to enter and an amazing experience and it also led to me meeting my husband.

Failure can be actually the best opportunity though it hurts so much at the time.

Now just bracing myself for my son’s GCSEs 😮

Son's accommodation was chosen some weeks ago at his chosen university and they wanted a £200 deposit to secure his choice. I did try and steer him to the less expensive ones but was also conscious of wanting him to have the best chance of mixing and not being too far from campus. He of course wanted ensuite and I had to run the numbers by him to show him it just wasn't affordable - we settled on something in the middle at about £180 a week. Townhouses that seemed popular and only sharing a bathroom with one other person. Having weighed up all the pros and cons of all the accommodation. Long discussions about how it wasn't fair some people could afford an ensuite and then he seemed to just accept everyone else in the house would be in the same boat! But at least we know which accommodation he'll get. One of his other University options, they said you could give two preferences but could end up being allocated anything, as you say. So I'm glad he got his first choice place! I can't imagine what it must be like if you've opted for a cheaper accommodation and get allocated an expensive ensuite and don't have the funds for that! What on earth do they do? We can only afford to give him so much a week to live on and even that will be hard!

I know, you just want to see them find something they love, get settled in and feeling happy with good prospects for the future. The uncertainty and speed around results day and scrambling to find something quickly is unsettling and stressful. Don't be afraid to take a bit of time for both of you to figure it out.

Hi

My son has gone through clearing and has an offer emailed to him from the university (Queen Mary), and he has confirmed Queen Mary as his option yesterday on the UCAS system(thursday 4pm). Queen Mary have still not confimed his offer on the UCAS website, or on the internal Queen MAry mysis system ( he was sent the login for that), Is there any chance that they could withdraw the offer now? How long will it take for him to get the offer confimed from QM?

@ThatGoldHedgehogthank you for your post. It means a lot. Such a horrible position to be in when it seems everyone else is acting disappointed by a B. Sadly we've already contacted the employer and they won't take him with the grades he has so unless the remark puts the grade up it's a no. He got through a really tough assessment process to get it in the first place as it's with a big employer, v competitive. Then lost it over 2 marks. I thought he was sorted and now we're back to square 1.

I know something will come up, eldest left with no plan at all and within a couple of months had an apprenticeship and now has a permanent job at the same company and that was a massively stressful time, not knowing what was happening.

So many children!! Do you live in a shoe?

Please dont panic...he may still get into his apprenticeship. On the UCAS tariff calculator he has 56 points for grades DEE and only needed 48 points for grades DD. Worth asking if he can still go.
Also my son left school after his AS levels with poor grades and enrolled instead in a Level 3 national extended BTEC in engineering. It is worth 3 A-levels. Its graded by Distinction (A)/Merit(C)/Pass(D).....my son just got 3 Distinctions equivalent to 3 A at Alevel which is such a turn around. His tutors really encouraged him and he loved the course which was a mixture of theory, practical and work placements. He developed confidence and was happier doing a subject he loves. His tutors encouraged him to apply for University through UCAS and now he is starting our local University in September to study Mechanical Engineering as his firm choice.
So please dont lose hope , there are multiple ways to access Higher Education and he maybe just needs a bit of extra time to figure out his path and gain confidence and maturity like my son. I feel like so what if it took my son the extra year and a bit of adversity to figure out what he wants to do. I am sure your son will get there in the end too. Solidarity tho, I know how worrying it is as ive been in your shoes.

There’s very few unis where min English loan of just under £5000 will cover accommodation.

There often doesn’t seem to rhyme or reason to room allocation. My DD’s uni they list 6. Getting none of what they listed seems a thing!

If your budget is £7000 and you get allocated the £10,000 en-suite option then it’s tough luck the uni have made you an offer.
Meanwhile some mum is stressing because her princess has got the grotty shared bathroom option and wanted the £10,000 en-suite.

I found some unis weren’t very transparent re accommodation. There was on London one that had an accommodation from figure and when you asked pointed questions and looked at small print it was a few rooms for care leavers at that price. Rest was at least £150 more a week.

Maybe they should have to say their average uni halls cost open to any student.

Weird-it messes up your stars!

3A and an A

I will say that everything happens for a reason. DD desperately wanted to go to Oxford but didn’t even get interviewed. Was really upset at the time.
She got 3A and an A in her EPQ plus has 2 Grade 8’s on separate instruments so we were 🤷‍♀️
Anyway, she ended up at an RG uni, doing the subject she wanted and had a fabulous time, got a 1st class honours.
So don’t worry, it will all work out.

I’m not familiar with Liverpool.
The issue is some unis don’t guarantee uni accommodation for insurance or clearing students potentially funnelling them into private halls.
Private tend to be more expensive and different payment terms. Uni accommodation generally waits for loan to kick in mid September, my DD’s private halls needs nearly £700 today (I’ve already paid a deposit)
Private contracts can also be 51 weeks.

I will try not to rant, but this is my bugbear! The accommodation costs. Maintenance loan often only just covers the over priced accommodation, meaning students are in debt and paying interest for 40 years on overpriced accommodation and that is wrong! York has a wide range of accommodation costs - most are high and more than the full maintenance loan in some cases. There are some cheaper ones which are probably ok (if available), but can be seen as a bit grim. Lancaster is a bit better - no real cheaper option, but all accommodation seems good and some middling options as well as expensive ones. I had a look at Liverpool and it varies but they all seem on the expensive side. I think accommodation is yet another money earning business from students leaving them with not enough to live on so we also have to subsidise them. We all lose! I don't know what the solution is but accommodation should defintely be a) a decent standard and b) cheaper.