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Once your GCSE exams are all done and results day approaches, you might be feeling all kind of things: excited, nervous, overwhelmed… Don't worry, this is completely normal and, as always, Bitesize Study Support has you covered!

We've made this useful guide with all the advance information you may need about GCSE results day 2024 to make sure you are as prepared as you can be. Read on if you want to be in the know.

This year, results for your GCSE exams are released on Thursday 22 August 2024. You can collect your results from your school, but some schools may still opt to post results or send them digitally, so check with your teachers.

If you are collecting your results from your school, your teachers will let you know what time the school opens and which classroom you collect your results from. Times vary from school to school, so don't assume that your school will open at the same time as a friend's.

First, take some time after your exams to have a well deserved rest – you've earned it! You'll have done all the hard work in the exam hall, so now is the time to let your hair down before preparing for results day and the next steps of education or employment.

The Bitesize Study Support website has lots of guides and advice from experts and students who have experienced results day themselves. It's worth checking some of them out. Hearing stories from others who have been through similar things to you may help with your feelings, here are some more tips to help calm your nerves ahead of results day.

If expert guides are more your thing, then check out our tips from mental health campaigner Natasha Devon about how to prepare for results day. Natasha says that after your exams you should turn your attention to things you can control like looking after yourself and planning for the future. She suggests planning something fun for the afternoon after you get your results such as going to a park with friends. You can find more ways to get yourself results-day-ready from Natasha here.

You should consider bringing a few things with you when you pick up your results:

• A fully charged mobile phone to call your family to let them know your results, and of course to take those all important results day selfies!
• Photo ID, just in case you need it
• A bottle of water – it can get hot in August!
• A family member or trusted adult to give you support
• A pen and piece of paper to write down any information.

If you are unable to collect your results in person because you are on holiday, or for any other reason, such as illness or being unable to travel to school, you can arrange in advance for your school to send your results to you via e-mail or post.

E-mails will usually arrive at 8am on results day, post may take a little longer – but this can vary from school to school so please check with your teachers. Speak to your school if you will be away and would like to receive your results remotely. They will explain the process and give you information on what you need to do.

If you have a change of plan on results day, and haven't arranged to receive your results in advance, don't worry – the envelope containing your results will be posted to your home address. Give your school a phone call on the day and explain and they should be able to help you out.

You can also nominate someone else to collect your results on your behalf, but you will usually need them to sign a letter and bring photo ID. It's best to check the rules with your school if you want to collect your results this way.

GCSE results slips and your GCSE certificates aren't the same thing. The results slips that you'll receive in August show you what provisional grades you've achieved, whilst your GCSE certificates will show your final grade and are needed as proof for universities and employers.

The reason the grades on your results slips are provisional is that you can make an appeal against your grades if you think that there has been a mistake. You could ask for your papers to be remarked or to have a clerical check carried out. For more information on the appeals process you can read this guide about what to do if you're unhappy with your GCSE results.

Your exam board will send your GCSE certificates to your school about 3 months after results day. Your school will let you know when they are ready to collect – you can visit the school to pick up your certificates or arrange for your school to post them to you. Schools have to keep your certificates for 12 months after they receive them, so don't worry if you can't collect them straight away.

As you may need to show your certificates to universities or employers it's important to keep them safe, but if you do lose one, you can order a replacement 'certified statement of results' from your exam board – there may be a cost to order this.

What you need to do next will depend on the results you've achieved and what your plans for the future are. We've got lots of information on your next steps on the results day section on our exams and revision page. Here you will find a stack of videos, guides and information pages to help you understand what your next steps may be.

If you're taking a vocational qualification such as V Certs, BTEC Tech Awards or KS4 City & Guilds Technical Awards instead of, or alongside, GCSEs the first point of contact if you have any questions or concerns about your results is your tutor or course leader. They'll be able to advise you on your next steps. You can find more information and guidance on individual vocational qualifications directly on their exam board sites.

You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.

If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact , where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There are more links to helpful organisations on 91�ȱ� Action Line.

This article was last updated 22 August 2024.