Results FAQs

For the June 2011 series:

• GCE A Level results - 18 August
• GCSE results - 25 August

Take a look at the Statements of results page, which explains each part of your results slip in detail.

Speak to your school/college. Your Exams Officer may need to submit a late certification request on your behalf. This will enable us to combine all your unit results into an overall grade (see Interpreting your results) for more information on how your overall grade is calculated). Late certification requests are completed within seven days. If you are waiting for confirmation of a university place, please see 'How do I let UCAS know my grades?' below.

This character is used to indicate partial absence. It will be shown next to a grade if you submitted work for some, but not all, of the subject's components.

This means a result could not be issued, which could happen for a number of reasons. Please speak to your Exams Officer.

We can rectify this problem very quickly. Your Exams Officer can arrange this for you. Please make sure that you do speak to your Exams Officer as soon as possible, as there may be a charge if we have already issued your certificate.

We will not issue updated hard copy statements of results, so you should speak to your school/college, as they will be able to provide a new statement of results.

Take a look at the Statements of results page, which explains each part of your results slip in detail.

UMS stands for uniform mark scale/score. This is a scale that converts raw examination marks into a common scale to use in a unitised assessment system.

The weighting of units may vary, so conversion to UMS makes the marks compatible and comparable. UMS gives a fixed scale of marks with common thresholds that are unchanged series on series. Explanation of how the UMS is calculated and applied.

Take a look at our GCSE terminal rule FAQs (PDF, 173 KB).

This explains what the terminal rule is, how it works and how it may affect your grade.

Grade boundaries for each qualification are published on the OCR website on the restricted results release date (17 August for GCE and 24 August for GCSE). These are in a downloadable PDF and include all qualifications - so you can search for the one you need.

Speak to your school/college. Your Exams Officer will be able to talk you through your results and explain how special consideration has been applied.

Contact your school/college straight away. They will be able to talk through your results with you and, if necessary, your Exams Officer will be able to submit an investigation via the appropriate route.

We are confident we have taken the necessary action in relation to errors to ensure that students receive the right results. Please take a look at the OCR update on exam paper errors for:

• A breakdown of all the actions we took to ensure affected exam papers were marked fairly and all candidates receive appropriate results
• Information on additional support available - accessible with the help of teachers and Exams Officers.

Contact your school/college straight away with your concerns. If necessary, your Exams Officer will be able to submit an investigation via the appropriate route.

Contact your school/college straight away with your concerns. If necessary, your Exams Officer will be able to submit an investigation via the appropriate route.

Your school/college can apply for a review on your behalf. There are different deadlines for applications/notifications of reviews - your school/college should be able to advise you of the best service to use. If your school/college has submitted a review on your behalf and you are waiting for confirmation of a university place, it is advisable to inform your university so that they can take this into account when making their decisions. To find out more about how your university receives results, please see 'How do I confirm my grades with my university?' below.

Speak to your school/college in the first instance. They can talk you through your results and the options available to you, including the appeals process.

Please note that we cannot accept enquiries about results or appeals from candidates or parents. These have to come directly from your school/college.

Reviews can only be requested through your school/college - we cannot accept requests from candidates or parents. Details of the fees we charge school/colleges can be found in the OCR Fees List. However, whether any of this fee is passed on to candidates depends on the school/college, so speak to your school/college in the first instance.

UCAS receives some exam results directly from OCR, which they then send to your chosen university/college. To check if your qualification is one of those forwarded to UCAS, please visit the UCAS website.

If your qualification is not listed, you will need to send your results to your chosen university/college. Once they have your results, they will check whether or not you meet the conditions of your offer and then let UCAS know if you've been accepted.

UCAS receives some exam results directly from OCR, which they then send to your chosen university/college. To check if your qualification is one of those forwarded to UCAS, please visit the UCAS website.

If your qualification is not listed, you will need to send your results to your chosen university/college. Once they have your results, they will check whether or not you meet the conditions of your offer and then let UCAS know if you've been accepted.

OCR updates UCAS with results daily, so, if your school/college has applied for a post-results service, UCAS will receive any updated results.

UCAS offers a range of services helping you to:

• Choose and apply for university courses
• Track your application to see if you have been offered a place at your chosen
• University/college (see the UCAS website for further advice and support)
• Understand what to do once you have received your results
• Understand your options if you haven't received your results
• Access information and advice about student finance.

Please contact the UCAS applicants’ helpline on 0871 468 0468 for advice. You may also find useful tips at:

• http://www.ucas.com/students/
• http://www.ucasconnect.com/
• http://yougo.co.uk/login.aspx
• http://twitter.com/ucas_online
• http://www.facebook.com/ucasonline

Over the results period, a national helpline is available, offering advice about future options including further/higher education, re-training, vocational learning routes, taking a gap year or finding employment. This helpline is set up by the Department for Education in conjunction with UCAS.

Exam Results Helpline: 0808 100 8000

The helpline is open as follows:

18 August: 08.00-20.00
19 August:  09.00-19.00
20-21 August: 09.00-17.00
22-24 August: 09.00-18.00
25 August: 09.00-19.00
26 August: 09.00-17.00
27 August: 09.00-12.00 noon

You can also contact the UCAS applicants' helpline on 0871 468 0468 for advice. Alternatively, if your grades aren't what you expected, there are still many options that you can explore; you may wish to apply for a university place through clearing, study further, take a gap year or even start your own business. Here are a few useful links to help you explore these options:
 
• http://www.ucas.com/students/nextsteps/
• http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/index.htm
• http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/index.htm
• http://www.studential.com/applying/Clearing_Guide_2011
• http://www.gapyear.com/
• http://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/

There are a number of organisations that you can talk to about getting a university place. Here are a few links to get you started:

• http://www.ucas.com/
• http://www.direct.gov.uk
• http://www.open.ac.uk
• http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/
• http://www.studential.com/
  

Your certificates for examinations taken in the June 2011 series will be sent to your school/college by 31 October. Please check with your Exams Officer for the exact dates they will be available to you.

Yes, but your school/college may charge you. Before certificates are issued, school/colleges should check that candidates' details are correct as, once they are issued, there will be a charge for personal detail amendments (e.g. to correct name misspellings). They may pass this cost on to you, so it's best to check with your school/college.

Amended certificates can be issued for six months, after which you must apply for a certifying statement of results. See the Lost certificates page for more information.

Yes. Your school/college should keep your existing certificate while you are waiting for the outcome of an enquiry about results. If a grade changes following an enquiry, we can issue schools/colleges with an updated certificate, upon receipt of the original. We cannot issue replacement certificates if we have not received the original.

If you lose your certificate, you must apply for a certifying statement of results. This is a document produced on certificate stationery, which represents an official copy of the results issued on the original certificate. For more information, and to download the application form, please visit the Lost certificates page.