With GCSE Results Day just around the corner, Sarah Dalby, Head of Key Stage 4 at Worksop College, shares her advice on how to approach the day with confidence, prepare for different outcomes and make informed decisions about what comes next.
As August begins, we turn our attention to results days, and it will not be long until it is time for our Year 11s to find out their GCSE results.
To help prepare for this day, focus on the following key points:
Have a Plan
How are you going to find out your results?
At 9.00am on Thursday 20 August 2026, you can do one of the following:
- Open your envelope at Worksop College
- Open your results on the portal on your phone in the College car park, before coming into school
- Open your results on the portal at home
Miss Dalby loves live openings of the envelope!
Why coming to school on the day is a good idea:
- We want to celebrate with you, and so do your friends and family
- Expert advice is available to help you with:
- Grade boundaries
- Remarks
- Next steps
HODs, HSMs, SLT, HoKS4 and HoK5 will be available to guide you through the process and help you to make wise decisions.
Be careful: don’t just swap to study a subject at Sixth Form because you got a slightly higher grade in it than the subject you had already decided to study - you still need to pick the subjects you enjoy and want to study for the next two years!
Do Not Worry
Worksop College has prepared you for your exams through:
- Expert teaching
- Revision techniques
- Metacognition questions in tutorials and lessons
- Marginal gains advice – you all listened when I told you to eat blueberries!
You embraced all of this and approached your exams with maturity, and I am sure you have achieved the results you are hoping for.
Do not compare your results with others – they are your results, and you need to be proud of your achievement.
“My one piece of advice is not to worry. You’ve worked hard for these results and you should feel confident that you’re going to do well. It’s important to remember that very quickly you move on to bigger challenges, whether that’s A-levels, an apprenticeship or whatever comes next. So go into results day knowing that you’ve done the work, trust in that, and be proud of what you achieve. Your results are an important step, but they’re just the beginning of what comes next.”
Remember Your Parents
They may be more nervous than you, and they may have been awake for hours, so get out of bed and let them bring you to school for 9.00am so they can also celebrate with you.
See you on Thursday 20 August at 9.00am.
For parents wanting further advice about how to support their child through this day, please see the government page: Nine tips for supporting your child on results day.
About the Author
Miss Dalby has been teaching for 22 years. She holds a degree in Pharmacology and a PGCE from the University of Sheffield and was awarded Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) status in 2008 for classroom excellence. Miss Dalby has taught Biology at Worksop College for 14 years, where she also holds several leadership responsibilities, including Head of Science and Head of Key Stage 4.