A-level Results Day 2026 falls on Thursday, 13th August, with students across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland set to collect their grades from 8am. Speaking exclusively to Whatuni, Dr Katharine Ayivor-Nygard, a Chartered and HCPC-registered clinical psychologist verified on the healthcare platform Doctify and founder of Alula Therapy, outlined the signs that a student may be struggling with pre-results stress or anxiety.
“There is no universal checklist, and I’d steer parents away from surveillance. The most reliable guide is your knowledge of your own child and what you’re watching for is a genuine, sustained shift from their baseline. My guidance is always to stay close, keep communication open. Your ordinary presence becomes the thing that lets them tell you how they really feel.”
Examples of such changes may include being quieter, more withdrawn, restless, or clingier than usual, withdrawing from others, or experiencing noticeable changes in sleep and appetite.
On signs that may be a specific cause for concern, and what parents should do, Dr Ayivor-Nygard added: “Watch for low mood or anxiety that’s severe or won’t settle, and in particular any talk of not wanting to be alive, self-harm, or using substances to cope. If your child is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E. In a crisis that isn’t immediate, NHS 111 has a mental health option any hour.”
Ayivor-Nygard continued: “And if you are genuinely worried, especially where there’s a history, don’t let fear stop you asking directly: naming it doesn’t plant the idea, the current evidence suggests it doesn’t increase risk, and it can bring a real sense of relief to a struggling child. You’re not overreacting by asking.”
Sharing practical techniques for students, Dr Ayivor-Nygard said: “Protect your sleep, eat properly, and keep hold of the things you enjoy, because they give your nervous system a break and remind you that you are far more than a grade. Have somewhere to decompress and someone to talk to. And let yourself think through a plan B before the day, not as pessimism, but so that if things don’t go as hoped, you’re not making huge decisions in a panic.”
Dr Ayivor-Nygard also shared her thoughts on what parents, family members, and friends can do on an emotional results day: “The emotional part matters more than it gets credit for. Children tend to do better when the adults around them acknowledge feelings and sit with them, rather than fix or dismiss them. Name the feeling first, ‘I can see this feels disappointing, and it makes sense that you’re upset,’ before you reach for solutions. And if your relationship with your child isn’t the easy, talking kind of relationship, don’t despair: presence doesn’t require conversation. Sitting in the same room, offering a lift somewhere, watching a film together, all of it counts.”
Ayivor-Nygard added that if a child is disappointed, parents should not feel pressured to come up with a plan immediately. Instead, she advised using that energy “to be the steady one while your child feels what they feel, including grief for the future they’d pictured,” and to “do less than you think you should”.
Ayivor-Nygard recommended sitting with them before doing something ordinary and restorative, and celebrating the effort involved “whatever the grade said”. She also noted that around a third of graduates end up working outside their degree field. “The grades are a door, not the whole building.”
For students pushed into Clearing, Dr Ayivor-Nygard said: “Clearing can feel like a whirlwind of sudden, off-plan decisions on top of real disappointment. Try to take a beat. Give it a day or two where results aren’t the focus and let everyone settle before big choices get made. Keep some perspective; Clearing is now a mainstream route, not a consolation prize, and when UCAS asks, more than 9 in 10 students placed this way say they’re confident in their choice. Very little at this age is permanent.”
Emma Bridge, Director of Marketing at Whatuni, added: “There’s no sugarcoating this: not getting into your firm or insurance choice unis will hurt. For some it could feel like the end of the world, but trust us (and the tens of thousands of students who go through Clearing every year) it really isn’t.”
Bridge advised students who miss their grades but haven’t yet been rejected to contact the university directly, as it may still consider the application or offer a place on lower grades. Students who no longer want a course should let the university know so they can be rejected and enter Clearing.
“Clearing gives you a second chance at getting a university place on a course you’ll love. Yes, you’ll have to readjust your plans, and yes, you’ll have to search for courses and apply all over again. But going through Clearing helps to make sure you hold on to what’s most important: studying towards your future.”
Students can use Clearing if any of the following apply
- They didn’t get the grades needed for their firm or insurance choice
- They got better grades than expected and want to apply for a different course or university
- They’ve decided they want to apply for a different course or university
- They’ve applied through UCAS but don’t have any offers
- They want to go to university this year but are applying for the first time after 30th June
Offering closing advice, Dr Ayivor-Nygard said: “Before results even come out, sort through whose anxiety is whose. Their result can feel like a verdict on us, and children sense the difference between real support and reassurance we’re offering to steady ourselves. You don’t have to be perfectly calm to be helpful; being present and grounded is most useful to your child. Try to be the one who holds onto perspective: if we work until we’re 70, then at 18 there’s a whole lifetime of discovery ahead. Our regard for them should never move with their grades.”