EXAM RESULTS: Our guide on what to do next

If you met your grades

• Make sure your student accommodation is confirmed. If you have not yet secured accommodation, the UCAS website provides helpful guidance: www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/undergraduate-finance-and-support/undergraduate-accommodation
• Start planning your weekly budget. Compare food prices using www.mysupermarket.co.uk. For tips, visit www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/undergraduate-finance-and-support/ucas-undergraduate-managing-money and www.savethestudent.org/money

If you exceeded your grades

You might be wondering about UCAS’s Adjustment service. Adjustment involves upgrading where you go to study, by finding a spare place on a course at a university or college you did not originally apply to.

• Talk to your school.
• Register at www.ucas.com for adjustment n Contact admissions offices directly to enquire about any spare places.

If you missed your grades

Don’t despair. There are many options available and it’s worth keeping an open mind. As a first step, speak to your school.

• Call the institution where you were hoping to study. Depending on the circumstances, they might still want you to join the course.
• Re-marks - if you only just missed out on your grade or grades by a few marks, talk to your teachers about sending your exam/s to be remarked. Make sure to inform the university or college about this.
• Clearing – you can use UCAS’s Clearing service if you didn’t meet the grades of your offers, or if you never received any offers. Clearing is how institutions fill the last remaining places on their courses.
• Re-sit next year – talk to your school about retaking the exam or exams that didn’t go as expected. Some universities ask for higher grades from re-sit students, and is something to bear in mind when considering this option.
• Gap year – there are many benefits from taking a year off. It is a valuable opportunity to undertake work experience and enhance your CV.

Consider other options

Tamsin Barbosa, professional hair and make-up artist and vice principal of The Iver Academy that operates at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, says not everyone has to go to university.
She said: "First of all take a minute - or a few days - to come to terms with the fact you aren’t going to university. It’s easy to panic when your plans go wrong but realistically this isn’t the end of the world. 
"Plenty of successful people don’t go to university and a lot of creative careers don’t actually require university degrees. For the hair and make-up industry in particular vocational options are actually a better choice.
"Take some time to think about the skills you have and what you would be enthusiastic about pursuing. You don’t need to have an exact career in mind just think about whether you’re potentially interested in working outside, in office-based work or are more creative.
"Speak to friends and family who didn’t go to university and ask them about what they did after school that lead to their jobs now. Good advice from people who have been there before is invaluable."

Who to talk to

Call the Department for Education’s annual exam results helpline (0808 100 8000) for free advice. Advisers can provide information on resitting exams, gap years, vocational courses, funding and careers.

Ian Williams, one of the advisers, said: “Try to stay positive. If you’re using the Clearing service, take your time to think about the available courses. Visit the university before you commit to a Clearing place if you can.”

For advice in Slough, the careers charity Adviza is ready to help. Adviza’s Slough team consists of five advisers, who also work with ten secondary schools in the area.

Adviza has a free session today at the Queensmeere Shopping Centre, from 1pm-4pm.

Call 03300 248 258, email info@adviza.org.uk or visit www.adviza.org.uk/results

Useful websites

• www.getingofar.gov.uk (apprenticeships)
• schoolleavers.milkround.com (jobs)
• www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk (options for school leavers) or the studentroom.co.uk