Supporting students and parents during COVID-19

We will check and review that information alongside other evidence we have, including historical performance at your school/college and the results for these assessments in prior years to make sure it is comparable. As a result of this review, which we refer to as a ‘statistical standardisation’, we may need to adjust grades up/down. This will determine your final unit and/or qualification grade(s), which might not be the same as the one(s) your teacher/tutor provided.

For those of you due to have sat an exam/external assessment between 20 March and 31 July 2020, we will also use this information to help us calculate the grade(s) for that. We will also consider any of your previous results for sitting these exam/external assessment(s) and any potential resit improvement together with information about the different relationships between the different components.

For those of you due to complete the BTEC course this summer, we will then add the points for these different unit grades to calculate your overall qualification grade.

We have created this infographic to help explain the process for graded BTEC qualifications. For BTEC pass only qualifications, we are validating the pass rate using several sources of evidence and conducting quality checks in order to calculate results. 

Please note that the process is slightly different for those of you studying our BTEC qualifications related to childcare (Levels 1-3), fitness services (Level 3), hospitality services (Levels 2-3) and dental technology (Level 3). These qualifications may involve adapted and/or delayed assessment, as detailed in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), because they involve a licence to practise or competency-based element.

When will you find out your results?
For those ofyou taking a BTEC with no exams/external assessments, qualification results will be issued on a rolling basis from late July to early August. We will notify your school/college when it is available.

For those of you taking a BTEC with an exam/external assessment, you will find out your final qualification result on results day, which is the same day as A Level and GCSE results days this year:

• 13 August 2020 – Level 3 BTEC Nationals and Level 3 Technicals
• 20 August 2020 – Level 1/2 BTEC Firsts/Tech Awards and Level 2 BTEC Technicals.

Appeals and next assessment opportunity
If you think a mistake has been made with your result(s), you can appeal the result(s) by asking your school or college to put forward the appeal on your behalf. Although it will not be possible to appeal on the basis of disagreement with the teacher/tutor’s professional judgement for the grades and/or rank order information submitted to us.

If you are unhappy with your result(s) and/or appeal outcome, you will be able to sit/resit the exam/external assessment in the next available window (e.g. autumn 2020 or January/summer 2021, depending on the BTEC qualification).

Those of you continuing your BTEC course in 2020/21 will also be able to submit/resubmit assignments for units where you have received a calculated result.

Progression
Ofqual, the qualifications regulator, has confirmed that these results will carry the same weight as in other years and should be treated the same by employers, colleges and universities.

For those of you studying a BTEC Level 3 National, they will carry the same number of UCAS points as in previous years. UCAS has created some helpful resources for those of you who have applied, or who are considering applying to higher education. We are regularly updating UCAS and universities about the process for issuing BTEC results this summer, so they can support you appropriately.

Further support and information
We have created this set of questions and answers (FAQs) for you and we’ve also put together a set of resources for you, supporting mindfulness, learning remotely/at home, and your wellbeing. You can also follow us on Twitter @BTECStudents for regular updates.
In addition, Ofqual has created this guide for parents/carers and learners.

If you have any further questions, please contact us via your school or college.

We wish you all the best with your studies, results and progression plans.

Best wishes,

Cindy Rampersaud
Senior Vice President, BTEC and Apprenticeships