How to Keep Calm on A-Level Results Day 2023

With A-level Results Day 2023 right around the corner on Thursday 17th August, chances are your nerves are high awaiting the big day.

Especially if you have a conditional offer and awaiting your results to discover if you got into your firm or insurance choice university.

Whilst it is a nerve-racking time for most young people in the UK fresh out of college or sixth form, don’t worry too much, there are things you can do to keep your anxiety at bay.

Having previously done a post on everything you need to know for A-level Results Day, we’ve now put together a guide explaining how exactly you can keep calm for this important day and take care of your wellbeing.

Stick with us and you’ll be feeling chill opening your envelope!

1. Keep Yourself Busy

During the run-up to A-level Results Day especially the few days before, it can feel difficult to keep yourself from getting stressed out.

Whilst it’s natural to feel this way, you can easily get yourself stressed out and overthink, so we’d suggest distracting yourself and keeping busy.

Whether it’s seeing friends or family, doing activities that you love, reading a book, practicing new things, or even just watching a new programme.

Try your best not to mope around and get yourself all stressed out, it’s important to look after your mental health and remember that you’ve tried your best, and that’s all that truly matters, even if it doesn’t seem that way.

You could even meet up with your friends the day before you get your results, you’re all in the same boat so it will be nice to keep each other calm.

After all, this is still your summer break so make the most of it and have a good time, you deserve it!

2. Focus On Yourself

In the time leading up to results day, you should make sure to look after yourself and take some all-important ‘me time’.

Practice self-care and mindfulness techniques, such as by eating and drinking enough, getting enough sleep, doing breathing exercises to writing down your feelings in a journal and so on.

It can be hard to focus on yourself when there’s things going on like this as you may be feeling like you’ve been waiting you entire life for this moment.

However, the last thing you want to do is get overwhelmed by stress.

If you are feeling like you’re struggling with your emotions whether it be high anxiety levels or low mood, then there’s help and support available for young people.

Here are some resources you can make the most of to support your wellbeing:

• NHS – Learn more about stress symptoms and ways you can manage them.
• Young Minds – Explore tips and advice for dealing with results day stress.

3. Ensure You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

The night before A-level results day can make sleeping feel impossible, but it’s important to try and get enough rest before the big day.

If you spend the night tossing and turning, watching episode after episode of a TV show or scrolling through TikTok, you’re going to feel worse in the morning and you won’t feel energised.

Going to bed early means that you’ll wake up feeling refreshed and have high energy levels for the busy day ahead.

If you feel like you’re going to struggle to get to sleep, you could get some lavender pillow spray which is great for calming nerves and creating a relaxing environment.

4. Talk To People

We know that its nerve racking waiting to receive your A-level results, it’s impacts your future after all!

However, if you’re really struggling with results day stress then you should talk to people about how you’re feeling whether it’s your friends, family, significant other or college tutors.

You’ll feel a lot better venting how you’re feeling to others and getting support from them.

Plus, there will be other people in the same boat as you too who will understand the worries you’re experiencing.

The worst thing you can do is keep it all in, its best to have a support network during times like these.

You can even make use of online forums for students to talk to others who are awaiting their results or seek out advice.

5. Be Prepared

To reduce stress on the day, we’d suggest making a plan and preparing everything you need for results day in advance.

Such as, have a think about what time you plan on picking up your results, how you’re getting to your school or college or how to access your results online.

Its important to know what grade requirements you’ll need to get your firm or insurance offer, you can do this by logging into UCAS track system and checking your application.

Make sure you know your UCAS track login details before results day too!

It’s good to have a paper and pen at the ready to jot down any important info and have a charged phone, encase you need to make any calls to universities or colleges.

If you want to be even more organised, find out about any contact details beforehand.

6. Decide How To Receive Your Results

Before A-level Results Day comes around, you should think about how you want to receive your results.

Whether it’s going to your school or college to open them, or checking on a digital platform to find out what grades you’ve achieved.

You should plan to take someone with you when getting your exam results in person like your parent or guardian or meet up with friends.

This way you’ll have support available if  you need it or better yet, you’ll have people there to celebrate with you and bring in the positive vibes!

If you feel like, you’ll be better off opening the envelope alone or opening it when you get home without any added pressure then do whatever works best for you.

7. Try Not To Panic

Try not to panic if things don’t go entirely as planned on A-level Results Day 2023.

There are plenty of options available if you don’t get the results you hoped for and don’t get into your firm or insurance universities.

You can use UCAS Clearing service where university applicants are matched to university places that haven’t yet been filled.

You can even apply for full-time or part-time jobs or apprenticeships if you don’t feel that university is right for you after receiving your results.

Take a gap year to take time to think about what the right path is for you is another option. Try to remember that if you don’t get into university, it doesn’t equal failure!

Equally, don’t panic if you got higher than your predicted grades and want to swap to a different course of university than you had planned.

There may be a lot of planning involved especially if you’re moving to a new place for your studies, but you don’t need to stress yourself out too much.

There will be plenty of time to sort out everything you need to before embarking on your student journey.

So, try to spend a few hours thinking about everything before making a final decision.

8. Stay Active

Are you feeling blue before A-level Results Day? If so, a great anxiety and stress reduction technique is exercising.

No matter if it’s going for a walk, doing yoga, jogging, running, dancing, or playing sports, by getting your body moving you will release feel-good endorphins.

Studies suggest that running is a great way to clear your mind and reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, so why not try it out?

Pop in your headphones and press play on your favourite playlist or podcast!

The choice really is up to you how you’d prefer to stay active, just try to get out there and exercise at least two to three times a week and it will do wonders for your physical and mental health.

9. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others

Comparing yourself to others is something that everyone does from time to time.

Not only is it counterproductive, but it can also impact upon your mental health and cause you to feel stressed and anxious if you constantly look at other people and criticise yourself.

On A-level Results Day, try to focus on your own progress and growth, rather than comparing your achievements with other people.

Focusing on yourself and being proud of your own achievements is the most important thing.

If you’d rather keep your results to yourself, don’t feel pressured into disclosing your grades to others even if they’re your friends.

You don’t have to tell anyone unless of course you feel happy to share.

10. Remember Whatever Happens, Happens

You cannot change anything at this stage, you’ve already sat your exams, completed your coursework and finished your A-level studies, so no matter what happens next, it’s out of your control.

Chances are, you will have done your absolute best and worked super hard over the course of two years at college or sixth form, so let whatever is going to happen, happen.

Fingers crossed everything will work out the way you want it to, and if it doesn’t, then that’s also fine.

It isn’t the end of the world, and there are plenty of things you can do if things don’t go to plan.

If you’re really unhappy with your A-level results you can appeal to the exam board to see if there is anything they can do – you can cross that bridge if it comes to it!

And that’s a wrap! We hope you’re feeling a lot calmer and are able to manage your nerves for the big day ahead.

Fingers crossed you get the results you’re hoping for on A-level Results Day 2023 and get your dream university place, we believe in you!

Most of all, make sure that you take care of yourself in the weeks leading up to the important day.

Keep in mind, what works for one person may not work for another, so you should discover what’s right for you.

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