Edexcel A level results explained
Find out more about your GCE A level results, and read the answers to some frequently-asked questions.
Important dates
| Exam session | Results released | Certificates sent to schools and colleges by: |
|---|---|---|
| Summer 2023 |
Centres: Level 3: Wednesday 16 August 2023 |
7th November 2023 |
| Students: Level 3: Thursday 17 August 2023 |
Results are released on ResultsPlus Direct from 9 a.m. (UK time) to students who've been registered for the service. If you don't have login details for ResultsPlus Direct, you'll need to check with your school or college to find out what time your results will be ready to collect.
How are A levels marked and graded?
A levels are currently being reformed in phases, which means that you may be taking the modular-style and/or the new linear A level qualifications, depending on which subject you are studying. If you are unsure whether you are studying a modular or linear qualification, you can see the A level specifications here.
You can find out more below about how both the modular and reformed AS and A levels are assessed.
The new reformed AS and A levels have been introduced from September 2015, and are still in the process of being phased into teaching. Instead of separate modules that students can take at any time, all exams for AS and A level are taken at the end of the course.
AS is now a stand-alone qualification, meaning that AS does not contribute in any way towards an A level qualification, and you would choose between studying an AS or an A level. Most colleges will operate a 1-year course for AS and 2 years for an A level.
You'll be issued an overall subject mark and grade for the qualification.
If you wish to improve your grade, you will need to resit all papers of the qualification (please note, some non-exam assessments can be transferred).
- AS level grades will be awarded on a 5-point scale of A to E.
- A level grades will be awarded on a 5-point scale of A* to E.
If you don't get enough marks to pass with an E, you'll be awarded a U which means 'Unclassified'.
Frequently-asked questions
The 'raw' mark is the actual mark you achieve on an exam or for your coursework.
UMS stands for ‘Uniform Mark Scale’ and the UMS mark is a conversion of your raw mark used to indicate how well you did in a unit. These do not apply to linear qualifications.
In modular qualifications, units can be taken at different times throughout the course. Question papers and non-exam assessment (NEA) tasks may vary slightly in difficulty from year to year. For example, a score of 53 raw marks in one paper for one exam session might represent the same level of achievement as a raw mark of 49 in the following exam session. The Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) ensures that these two raw marks receive the same value when contributing to the final grade.
If you would like to know your raw mark for a particular unit, you will need to speak to the exams officer at your school or college or use our mark converter.
Linear AS/A levels
For linear AS and A level qualifications, there are no unit codes, as the one subject code automatically enters you for all of the exams.
| Subject code | Begins with |
|---|---|
| AS level | 8 |
| A level | 9 |
You can resit our Edexcel A level units as many times as you want and request a new overall grade. Providing you've been entered under the same Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI) number we'll always use your best result when calculating your overall grade.
If you're studying any of the following Edexcel A level Mathematics qualifications and have previously been issued an overall grade, you need to make sure that your school or college have entered you for all of the cash-ins you are entitled to.
- Edexcel AS Mathematics
- Edexcel AS Further Mathematics
- Edexcel AS Additional Further Mathematics
- Edexcel A level Mathematics
- Edexcel A level Further Mathematics
- Edexcel A level Additional Further Mathematics
This is because cashing in for these qualifications can lock your units to that qualification, preventing us from working out the best possible grade.
If you're unsure whether you've been entered for all of the correct cash-ins, the exams officer at your school or college should be able to help.
If you don’t take all of these units you can still cash in, as long as you were put forward for them all. For example, if you studied a unit but chose not to take the exam, you wouldn’t get a mark for that unit but could still get an overall grade. On your results slip this would show with the '#' sign, indicating that the grade for your cash-in is ‘incomplete’ (for example, ‘E#’).
Sometimes illness, injury or other personal circumstances can affect your performance during an assessment. In these cases, it may be possible to issue you with a calculated result or extra marks. This is referred to as ‘special consideration'.
If you think you may be entitled to special consideration, you should speak to the exams officer at your school or college. They’ll need to make a request on your behalf and send us any supporting documents to help us make a decision.
Special consideration isn’t shown on the statement of results you’re given by your school or college but is indicated on ResultsPlus Direct by a flag. If you don’t have access to ResultsPlus Direct, you’ll need to check with your exams officer whether special consideration has been applied.
We can correct errors such as misspelled names very quickly but you need to speak to the exams officer at your school or college to request any changes.
These requests must come from someone at your centre as we have no way of identifying students who call or email us. If we can’t identify you, we can’t make changes to confidential information.
When will you send my results to UCAS?
If you are completing your A levels this autumn and are a UCAS applicant, we'll send your results to UCAS shortly before December results day. They collate your Pearson results with any other results you have from other awarding organisations and send these to the universities and colleges from which you've had offers.
There are a few reasons why UCAS may not have received your grades. See the table below for some common problems and their solutions.
Reason |
Solution |
|---|---|
You're missing a grade |
If your grade doesn't appear on your results slip, it may mean that your school or college hasn't asked us to add your module results together to produce an overall grade. The exams officer at your school or college can resolve this by getting in touch with their Pearson Customer Service Account Specialist. |
| You have been entered for a late cash-in | If your school or college got in touch to ask us to calculate your overall grade after we sent them your results you don't need to do anything - we'll send your results to UCAS within 24 hours of your grade being issued. UCAS will then update your application. |
Your personal details don't match |
Sometimes we're unable to update the UCAS results database because the details we have are different from the details on your UCAS application. Please check that the personal information is correct on your results slip and matches the information on your UCAS application. If it doesn't, ask your exams officer to update our records. |
| You've been issued a new grade after a review of marking | If you've been issued a new grade, you don't need to do anything - we'll send your results to UCAS within 24 hours of your grade being issued and they will update your application. |
Clearing is a UCAS service that matches students to courses that still have places available. It's a real option if you didn’t apply for university, or if you want to go but didn’t get the grades you needed.
For more information on whether you can apply through clearing, speak to your careers advisor or visit the UCAS website.
Lists of courses with places available are published on the UCAS website and in national newspapers after results day. Not all universities, colleges or courses have vacancies in clearing, but you don’t have to stick with the subjects you originally applied for – you may find something you are better suited to or that you are more interested in.
For more information on the clearing process, check out the UCAS website.
If you didn't get the A level results you were hoping for, there are other ways of getting into a Higher Education course, and ultimately receiving a university degree. Find out more about BTEC Higher National Qualifications.
Results and certification
