THOUSANDS of students across Northern Ireland will tomorrow receive A-Level and AS results after exams were held for the first time since 2019 following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The return to in-person exams this year came after tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Tomorrow will see more than 25,000 pupils from 177 centres who sat A-Level and AS exams receive their grades, with results expected to fall back from the teacher awarded grades of last year.
Over the next week, a total of 57,396 students in the north will receive grades in GCE, GCSE, CoPE, Occupational Studies, Online Language Assessment (OLA) and Vocational Qualifications.
More than 30,000 GCSE students from 247 centres will get their results on August 25.
For many students this year was their first experience of external examinations with a number of mitigations put in place to allow for disruption faced during their studies.
Northern Ireland’s examinations body, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), has said it remained mindful of the effects of the pandemic and significant challenges faced by pupils with grade boundaries set to help ensure fairness for students.
The Summer 2022 Approach to Grading will see generous grading as part of the arrangements for this years results, which could see outcomes may still be higher than those of pre-pandemic years.
CCEA has also set up a dedicated results helpline to offer advice and guidance to students.
On A-Level results day tomorrow the helpline will open at 8am and from Friday until September 9, it will be in operation from 9am until 5pm. Anyone with queries regarding CCEA results can call 028 9026 1260 or email helpline@ccea.org.uk
Leah Scott from CCEA said: "This has been a particularly challenging time for everyone involved as we returned to the first full year of public examinations since 2019.
"Our dedicated helpline and experienced staff will be available to provide support with any queries students may have about their CCEA results.
"I would encourage any student to reach out to us or speak to their school if they need guidance or further information."
Mairead Monds from the NSPCC has also urged young people to seek support during the exam results period, which she said "can be a really stressful time".
"Although this is the case every year, it’s particularly difficult this year with the return of public exams for the first time in three years," she said.
"Young people have told our Childline counsellors that they have been feeling anxious and stressed about revision and exams, and some have also said that they felt under-prepared after studying from home for such a long period of time.
"We often hear that they are worried their grades will be lower than they need to get into their chosen course, and they feel anxious and unsettled because they feel it’s all out of their control.
"Some young people think their whole future depends on these results and this is their only chance to get onto the further education course or apprenticeship that they really want.
"Often, they have high expectations for themselves, or their family may have put them under pressure to perform well. Now that the results are about to come out, it’s vital that they feel supported and listened to."
Young people can get free, confidential support and advice from Childline at childline.org.uk or by calling 0800 1111 for free.
