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How to appeal your A Level results

Unhappy with your grades? You may be able to appeal your A Level, BTEC or other results and get better marks. Read our advice on how.

exam papers for students

Requesting a review of your A Level results

If you believe your results are wrong, speak to someone at your school or college. This could be your teacher, your personal tutor or your principal. They should be able to discuss your options and tell you about the appeals procedure.

You may decide to challenge an A Level, BTEC or another result if:

  • Your school or college made an error when sending information to the exam board
  • Your school or college believes the result is incorrect
  • You have proof of wrongdoing against you, such as discrimination

You won’t be able to submit a request for a review directly to the exam board yourself. Your school or college must do this for you. If you sat your assessments independently, speak to the centre that submitted your results.

The exam board will review your result and change the grade if they agree it’s wrong. It could be re-marked above or below the original grade. If the grade doesn't change, then you or your school might have to pay for the review.

Make sure to check any review deadlines with your exam board. This year you will have until the 31st August to request a priority review of the marking for your exam. The final deadline for the review of marking and to get your results back is the 28th September 2023. 

Appealing A Level results

If you asked for a review of your results and aren't satisfied with the decision, you can appeal to:

  • Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) if you're in England
  • WJEC (Welsh Joint Education Committee) if you're in Wales
  • CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) if you're in Northern Ireland.

You'll typically have to appeal within 15 days after getting a decision on your review.

You’ll have to go through your school or college to appeal to your exam board. Your work won't be re-marked but the exam board will look at the evidence provided by your school or college and assess whether you were given a reasonable grade.

Your exam board will keep you informed of the status of your appeal. If it rejects your appeal, it'll explain why.

How long does an appeal take?

No more than four weeks is typical. Your exam board will aim to process your appeal as soon as possible, but the time it takes will depend on the number of appeals your exam board has to process.

What happens to your university place?

If you’re reviewing or appealing A Level results, contact your university or college and let them know as soon as possible. They may agree to hold your place until a review decision has been made. Keep them updated with any changes.

If your university can't hold your place, or the appeal is unsuccessful, you can apply to other institutions through Clearing. You can see what’s available in Clearing when waiting to hear about your results.

  1. READ MORE
  2. Clearing Hub
  3. Guide to UCAS Clearing

Resitting your exams

You can choose to sit exams in the autumn after getting your results. Be aware that if you choose to sit exams, you may not be able to start university in the same year. Some unis might offer January start dates, so check this.

Another option is to defer your place for a year, and resit exams in the autumn or summer.

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