IT can feel like the most defining moment of your life. A-level results . . . the point when everything hinges on whether you pass, get the right grades, or even fail. For those who choose to go to university, it’s the end of two years of hard work and could be the next step in the future you dreamed of. Get it wrong at this stage and it’s the end of the world.
Or that’s how it seems at the time.
This year Jersey students gained their best A-level results ever, overall achieving a 99.6 per cent pass rate compared to the UK’s 97.2 per cent pass rate. And although this is fantastic news for teachers and students, it doesn’t show how many didn’t get the grades they needed to go to further education.
These results will have determined university pla-ces for the majority of Jersey sixth-formers, but there will undoubtedly be immense disappointment hidden in these results. So what do those students do who are distraught at not getting the grades they need to go to their chosen university?
The advice would seem to be not to dwell on the disappointment. Be positive and work on a plan, whether it’s to take a year out, find a place through the clearing system, or retake exams.
Some students will be stunned by the disappointment of not getting the grades, or the future they’d set their heart on. A reaction to this may be that they can’t be bothered working out what to do next. The important thing is not to give up. It might mean another year to retake A-levels, but you can use that time to work out how things went wrong, and you will be tougher at the end of it. And although it may seem like a lifetime at 18, it isn’t. Realistically, retakes or other options, like a gap year, can work out well.
Andy Gibbs, head of careers and work-related learning (pictured), said: ‘Generally most people got what they wanted and very few went into clearing.
Don’t all rush
‘But when that happens, we can help — as well as the career teachers in the schools we have advisers based at Highlands. Students can contact the careers advisers who will talk through the process and help with any decisions.’
The main advice seems to be not to rush in making a decision. ‘One of the dangers of clearing is that you grasp the first offer,’ said Mr Gibbs. ‘When you think about how much time went into researching that first choice of university, you need time to check the offer and all the details. It’s not a decision to be made in the first few hours. You might find that suddenly you can do a course at a certain university, but it’s not quite what you wanted. You need time to think it over.’
These students can discuss how to go through the clearing system with their careers adviser, or ring any universities found through clearing at the Careers Service.
Disappointed
But university is not the only option. Young people have a wonderful sense of being able to do anything and be anything. Many feel that they have to college, quite often because they don’t really know what to do with their intelligence. Sometimes they go to college to do a course, just because they’re good at tests, not because they know what they want to do. So it could be a time for a rethink to consider other options.
‘It might be a good idea to take a year out,’ said Mr Gibbs. ‘Our job is not to tell people what to do, but to ask questions such as: is this the right thing to do? If students are really disappointed, they can come and talk to us. There will be some students who have focused on one thing — but there’s always an alternative. If students don’t obtain the grades they want, the initial reaction may be devastating. They need to see that there are positives. You can keep going forward.’
The Jersey Careers Service is open from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm on weekdays during the holiday period to help students looking for alternative courses or universities.
It also gives advice to students taking an unexpected gap year as well as those considering employment instead of staying in education.
Results
Sue Walsh from the JCS explained that the service was available for people of all ages and that there was always someone there to talk to, both before and after results were released.
They are also available to help any students who have problems with their choices after GCSE results, which will be released on Thursday. Any student looking for advice can benefit from the services without an appointment. The Careers Service is located in the department for Education, Sport and Culture at the Highlands campus and can be contacted on 449440.
Article posted on 19th August, 2008 - 3.00pm
