How to find your A-Level results online

A-Level results morning is split between two places, and the order things appear can be confusing if no one's told you. Your UCAS Hub updates first, your actual grades come later, and those two things aren't the same.

This is a short, practical guide to where each piece of information lives, when it appears, and how to read it. If you want the wider 'what do I do next' guide (Clearing, remarks, missed offers), we've got a separate piece on A-Level results day.

It's worth knowing what each source actually tells you, because they don't show the same information.

Your UCAS Hub shows your Confirmation status: whether your firm or insurance university has accepted you. It updates from 8am on results day.

Your school or college shows your actual grades, subject by subject. These usually go up around the same time, but the exact moment depends on the centre.

Per UCAS, the Hub does not show your individual exam grades. It just tells you what your universities have decided based on those grades. So even if your Hub says 'unconditional firm' the moment you log in, you still don't know your A* / A / B until you see your slip.

Log into your UCAS Hub at ucas.com using the email and password you set up during application. If you've forgotten the password, reset it the night before. Doing it at 7:55am while everyone else is also trying to log in is a recipe for stress.

From 8am, the 'Choices' section of your Hub will show one of these statuses:

Unconditional firm. Your firm choice has confirmed your place. You're in.

Unconditional insurance. You missed your firm, but your insurance choice has accepted you.

Unsuccessful, with Clearing options. Both choices have released you, and the Hub will offer to take you into Clearing.

Still 'conditional'. The university hasn't made a decision yet. This is more common than people think on borderline cases. Don't panic, but do ring them later in the morning if it hasn't moved.

The Hub also shows your UCAS personal ID, which you'll need for any phone calls to universities, so screenshot it.

Grades come from your school or sixth form college, not directly from the exam board. You can't log into AQA or OCR and download them. According to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), results are sent to centres the day before so teachers can prepare, but students can't see them until results day morning.

Most centres open from 8am and hand out a printed slip in the hall or main reception. Some send results by school email or through a portal like SIMS or Arbor. A few do both. Check your school's communication from earlier in the summer so you know which one yours uses.

One thing to flag: even though UCAS Hub updates at 8am, the grade collection at school often runs from 8am too, which means both can happen in the same window. If your Hub already says 'unconditional firm' before you've seen your slip, that's fine, it just means UCAS got your grades overnight and your university has already confirmed.

Plenty of students aren't at school on results day. You might be abroad, working, or simply not want to go in. There are three usual ways to get your grades remotely, and you sort this out before results day, not on the morning itself:

Nominate someone to collect for you. A parent, sibling or friend can pick up your slip if you give the school written permission in advance. Most centres ask for an email or signed letter naming the person.

Ask for results to be emailed. Many schools will email your grades on results day if you request it ahead of time. The email usually goes out from 8am alongside in-person collection.

Ask for results to be posted. Slower, but it's an option for students who can't access email reliably.

UCAS Hub works from anywhere. You can log in from a beach, a hostel or your kitchen, and the Confirmation status will be the same as it is in the UK.

Once you're 18, the school treats you as the legal recipient of your own results, even if your parents paid for everything along the way. In practice, schools usually let parents collect on the student's behalf if there's written authorisation, but they're not obliged to. Policies vary by centre.

UCAS Hub is yours alone. The login is tied to your email, and UCAS won't share your Confirmation status with anyone else by default. If you want a parent to see it, the easiest thing is to log in with them next to you, or screenshot the page and send it over.

One practical note for parents reading this: if your child is abroad and you're collecting the slip, ring the school in advance to confirm what they need from you (usually photo ID and a written note from the student).

Your slip lists each subject, the exam board, and a grade. A-Levels are graded A* to E, with U meaning ungraded. You won't see raw marks, just the final grade. If you want a breakdown of how you did paper by paper, ask the school later, they can pull it from the exam board portal.

On the Hub, the statuses are written in fairly plain language. 'Unconditional' means the offer is confirmed. 'Conditional' means there's still something pending. 'Unsuccessful' means you've been released. If you see 'Clearing has started', it's UCAS telling you that you can now add a Clearing choice through the same Hub interface.

Sometimes UCAS and your school disagree for an hour or two on results morning. The Hub might say 'unsuccessful' while you're standing in school looking at grades that meet your offer. Or your firm uni might still say 'conditional' even though you've got the grades they asked for.

This is usually a timing or data-feed issue, not a real problem. According to UCAS, the system processes hundreds of thousands of records overnight and a small number need manual review the next morning. If your grades clearly meet your offer and the Hub hasn't caught up by mid-morning, ring the university directly. Have your personal ID and your actual grades ready and ask them to confirm.

If the discrepancy is the other way (Hub says you're in, slip shows you missed), the Hub is usually right, because it reflects what the university has decided to do. Still, double-check with the uni before celebrating or before doing anything irreversible like self-releasing into Clearing.