Students know better than anyone that it’s been a year of uncertainties. Which is why we made it our mission to give you all the info we could to help you begin your next steps at university. As we’ve said many times this year – you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers – and we aren’t stopping now. So, let’s tell you what you need to know about the latest announcements regarding A Levels so you can get your future sorted.
The Update
On the 17th August the Government and Ofqual announced that students in England will receive Centre Assessed Grades for their A Level results (as well as AS and GCSE) if they are higher than their algorithm-calculated grades. With Northern Ireland and Wales having already made this decision, England was the last to make the U-turn that so many students across the UK hoped and protested for.
What are Centre Assessed Grades?
These are the grades that schools and colleges determined students were most likely to have achieved if exams had gone ahead as usual this year. As we mentioned above, if students’ calculated grades are higher than their Centre Assessed Grade, their calculated grade will stand.
What happens next?
This is welcome news for many students, but inevitably it brings with it a range of new questions. We can’t speak for other institutions, but we can give you the answers when it comes to our University. So, here goes.
I was declined by the University based on my calculated grades. What should I do?
If you’re in this position, we recommend that you get in touch as soon as possible. If you were initially declined due to your calculated grades, you can contact us and let us know what your Centre Assessed Grades are, from which we will make a new decision / offer. If we unfortunately had to decline your application based on your calculated grades, then we will do everything we can to offer you a place.
I was made an offer by the University based on my mock grades, in the hope that an appeal would be successful. But now, I don’t need to wait for an appeal decision. Do I need to do anything?
If this one applies to you then here’s what you need to do. Once you have your Centre Assessed Grades from your school or college you can send them to us at: admissions@chester.ac.uk (along with your name and UCAS ID), or you can wait until UCAS send them over to us on 21st August. You can still refer your application to the University of Chester through UCAS Track prior to this, but it won’t be until we receive the Centre Assessed Grades issued by your school / college sent to us by yourself or UCAS, that we will confirm your place.
I couldn’t get a place on the course I wanted at the University, but I did accept an alternative. Can I get on the course I originally wanted now?
We’ve tried to be as flexible as possible, which means that when we were unfortunately unable to accept a student or make an offer on the course of their choice based on their calculated grades, we looked at alternatives. This included different courses as well as Foundation Year options (where the student undertakes an additional year of study at the University prior to beginning their three-year undergraduate degree.) If this applies to you, we recommend that you contact us as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to offer you a place on the course you originally wanted.
I was declined by my first and insurance choices based on my calculates grades, so I accepted an offer from the University. But now, I may be able to get a place at my original choices. How do I go about that?
We would be sad to see you go, but this is your future and you have to do what’s right for you. The first thing you need to do is contact your firm or insurance choices to see if they are now able to make you an offer. If they are, you will need to self-release into Clearing, which can be done on UCAS Track. We can’t stress enough that you should only do this if your firm or insurance choice has confirmed they can offer you a place.
Still got questions?
If you need more information or you have a question we haven’t answered, simply give us a call - our friendly team are here to help.
