Your questions answered
Find answers to the most frequently-asked questions for Results Day 2022.
Vocational Assessment and Awarding in 2022
How are UK BTECs going to be awarded this year?
Ofqual has set out their plans for awarding qualifications in 2022 and their plans to return to a normal approach to grading by 2023. They have confirmed that 2022 will be a transition year, to reflect that we are in an adjustment period and that your education has been disrupted.
Ensuring grading is fair to all learners is our guiding principle and approach to awarding BTEC qualification results in 2022. We would like to assure you that we aim, as far as it is possible, to ensure that you are not disadvantaged nor advantaged compared with your GCSE and A level peers This year, we are moving back to unit-level grade reporting.
We have created this guide for you which explains how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
What is a U-TAG and how will it work for vocational qualifications this summer?
Last year those students completing their qualification were awarded a Qualification Teacher Assessed Grade or Q-TAG. For those learners who weren’t completing their BTEC in 2020/21, ‘Unit-Level Teacher Assessed Grades’ (U-TAGs) were permitted for all assessments that were due to take place between 1 August 2020 - 31 August 2021 but could not go ahead.
Your school or college will have submitted these U-TAGs to us at the end of 2021 and, once they had been Quality Assured by Pearson, these results were released to centres on 13 January 2022. All unit level achievement from prior years have been converted into Unit grades to enable certification based on the normal rules, and these unit grades will contribute to your Qualification grade at the end of your course.
We have created this guide for you which explains how U-TAGs will be part of your final qualification grade this year.
All Awarding Organisations were asked by the Department for Education and Ofqual to put in place some key adaptations to BTEC internal and external assessments in recognition of the disruption to education since 2020. You can find what adaptations Pearson BTEC put in place in this guide. Your individual School or College will be able to advise which adaptations they have used in 2021/22.
Our primary aim this summer is to ensure BTEC learners are not advantaged or disadvantaged in comparison to their peers taking General Qualifications this summer. As you are aware, the structure and assessment for BTEC and GCSE/A Levels are different, so we cannot use the same mitigations to reduce the impact of the pandemic.
Ofqual have stated they expect that Awarding Organisations with Vocational Qualifications to take note of the approach being taken for General Qualifications in terms of the standard being at a mid-point between 2019 and 2021, and their expectation that outcomes for those qualifications will not be as high as 2021.
We have taken this into account when considering the mitigations for BTEC for 2022. The package of mitigations will ensure that BTEC learners have parity with GCSE/A Level learners in terms of the standard at qualification level for 2022. This includes:
- UTAGs for assessments due to be undertaken in 2020/21.
- Streamlined assessment for up to 2 internal units, depending on size of BTEC qualification taken in 2021/2022.
- Reviewing where grade boundaries are set for BTEC external assessments, after marking has been undertaken and in consideration of a variety of factors (including level of demand of the assessments, context in which they were undertaken).
- Special considerations for those who miss external assessments and cannot sit them later, or for those eligible whose exam performance was affected.
We have created this guide for you which gives you more detail on how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
How will I get a final grade if I wasn’t able to sit external assessments in Jan/Feb/March?
Pearson, along with some other Awarding Organisations, made changes to the special considerations policy, for the January and February series. This was to enable students who were not due to complete their course in that exams series to be permitted to apply for special considerations, meaning they would not have to defer their assessment. Units available in the January and February series are available to be taken in the summer exam window.
Your school or college have the information about special considerations and any applications which have been submitted, you should talk to them in the first instance about whether you were eligible.
Why has this system for assessment been chosen in 2021/22?
The government has confirmed that all planned assessment should go ahead this academic year. The government and Ofqual have asked awarding organisations to consider appropriate adaptations that assist in the mitigation of the impact of learning loss since 2020. Pearson has published its adaptations, you can find out more, in this guide; and your individual School or College will be able to advise which adaptations they have used in 2021/22.
Qualification grading will follow the pre-pandemic ‘normal’ rules. This means that schools and colleges need to ensure that all teaching and learning is completed, all grades have been reported, and all external assessments have been attempted. All unit level achievement from prior years (including U-TAGs from 20/21) have been converted into unit grades to enable certification in 21/22, based on the normal rules, and these unit grades will contribute to your Qualification grade at the end of your course.
We have created this guide for you which explains how U-TAGs will be part of your final qualification grade this year.
I keep hearing about grade boundaries, what does that mean, and will that affect my final grade?
Pearson sets externally assessed grade boundaries after every exam series for each unit. This means they can change from series to series. This enables Pearson to maintain standards and adjust to reflect any changes in demand of the question paper.
This year we will look to award grade boundaries for externally assessed units (which are set and marked by Pearson) in the best place to achieve parity in the summer with GCSEs and A levels.
We have created this guide for you which explains how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
The assessment arrangements in 2021 were different to this academic year, and reflected that summer external assessments were cancelled, and January 2021 external assessments took place at a Centre or School’s discretion, with many not sitting them due to the pandemic/lockdown.
Grade boundaries are set for each exam series, following completion of marking, and take into account a range of factors including quality of learner responses, context in which the assessment was undertaken and the relative difficulty of the assessment.
This year, Ofqual have outlined their expectations for the standard for 2022. This includes the expectation that Awarding Organisations with vocational qualifications consider the approach being taken for General Qualifications this year, where outcomes are expected to be at a mid-point between the results in 2019 and 2021 (with the stated expectation that they will not be as high as 2021 when summer exams were cancelled).
This means Jan 2022 grade boundaries inevitably may be different to Jan 2021, when only part of the cohort sat the exams. It is therefore not appropriate to compare 2022 with 2021.
The grade boundaries for summer 2022, will be set after the marking activity. The aim when setting these is to ensure that at overall qualification level that BTEC learners completing this summer are not disadvantaged or advantaged in comparison to their peers taking General Qualifications. A range of evidence will be considered when these are set, including the impact of the other mitigations (such as UTAGs for the last academic year and impact of streamlined assessments).
We have created this guide for you which gives you more detail on how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
What will you base grades on if learners haven’t done exams or assessments?
This year the Government has confirmed that exams, external and internal assessments should go ahead as planned, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Learners are eligible to apply for special consideration if a timetabled assessment, which couldn’t be taken, cannot be deferred. Your school or college have the information about special considerations, and you should talk to them in the first instance about whether you are eligible.
Are you using an algorithm this year to calculate final grades?
No, an algorithm will not be used. Overall grades will be determined in the usual way, as per the specification.
There is a quality assurance system in place to give confidence in the grades being issued this year, including checks in schools and colleges, and by Pearson. Teachers received clear guidance and support with grading and making objective decisions to enable grades to be fair.
We also continued our external verification process to sample learner work at our schools and colleges to help ensure consistency. Pearson also asked all schools and colleges to submit evidence for grades, and a sample was checked to ensure that the process was done correctly, and that reasonable professional academic judgement had been applied. Once the quality assurance process was complete, Pearson went through the process of final checks before the grades were released.
We appreciate the challenges learners have faced throughout the pandemic, all Awarding Organisations were asked by the Department for Education and Ofqual to put in place some key adaptations to BTEC internal and external assessments in recognition of the disruption to education since 2020. You can find what adaptations Pearson BTEC put in place in this guide. Your individual School or College will be able to advise which adaptations they have used in 2021/22.
Grade boundaries are the minimum mark needed to achieve a certain grade. Whilst you may hear about grade boundaries for GCSEs and A levels, this is used to describe reaching decisions on the entire qualification outcome. For BTECs, grade boundary decisions are only made for external assessments which make up a smaller proportion of the entire qualification (around 40%).
We have created this guide for you which gives you more detail on how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
How do you use them in BTEC qualifications?
For BTECs, grade boundary decisions are only made for external assessments which make up a smaller proportion of the entire qualification (around 40%).
We have created this guide for you which gives you more detail on how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
A group of subject matter and technical assessment experts set new grade boundaries after each external assessment has taken place. They review a range of evidence (both qualitative and quantitative) to ensure that there is fairness, validity and robustness in the grade boundaries recommended . The types of evidence included are:
- Review of the work produced by learners
- The difficulty of the assessment compared to previous assessments
- A range of statistical evidence including how learners completing the assessment have performed compared to previous years
- The impact of unit grades, for all learners, on the overall qualification grade. (These BTEC national unit grades include UTAGs from the last academic year and streamlined internal assessment)
The subject experts make a final recommendation considering all the available pieces of evidence, which for this academic year will also be the context in which exams have been sat.
We have created this guide for you which gives you more detail on how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
The grade boundary is higher/lower than previous years - How is this fair?
Part of the evidence, when we set grade boundaries, is to look at how the assessment and cohort compare to previous years. Whilst we try to ensure that assessments are comparable year on year, assessments may vary in difficulty, and it is important that this piece of evidence, alongside all other evidence, is taken into account when the final boundaries are recommended.
We have created this guide for you which explains how your final qualification grade will be awarded this year.
When will I receive my results?
| Examination Series | Learners results day | |
| BTEC Nationals | 18/08/22 | |
| BTEC Firsts, Technicals and Tech Awards |
25/08/22 |
I haven't received the results I was expecting today, what should I do?
We are very sorry to hear that you have not received an anticipated result. Please be assured we are working directly with your school or college to ensure that you receive them as soon as possible. They will be best place to advise you on progress on this.
However, if you have been affected in this way and want to talk to us you can contact our dedicated team of advisers on 0345 618 0440, email us at students@pearson.com, or live chat to one of our advisers through our online portal. Please have your centre and learner number to hand. Thank you so much for your patience.
Progressing to uni, apprenticeships or employment
Will UCAS applications be affected?
We do not anticipate applications to be affected by this year’s assessment arrangements.
Every year nearly 100,000 students progress to university holding a BTEC qualification, either by itself, or alongside A Levels and/or other qualifications. BTECs have a long history of supporting entry into both HE and employment.
We have been liaising closely with universities and HE organisations during this period. As part of this work, we have updated all UK universities on this year’s assessment arrangements for BTEC qualifications.
Please be reassured that universities recognise the extenuating circumstances of this year for all Level 3 students and will be taking this into account when making admissions decisions.
With all the disruption over the past two years, will I be able to keep up at university?
The thought of starting university this year may feel a bit daunting, given the disruption of the past two years. Please be reassured that universities recognise this and are looking at the support in place to aid the transition of new students. There are also free online short courses, focused on research/study skills and preparing for university at FutureLearn.
I have applied through UCAS, do I have to do anything?
We will share your results directly with UCAS, and Track will be updated to show you your options from 18 August, so you should know the outcomes of offers on results day. The UCAS website is a great place to find more information on this.
If for any reason your results are delayed, please contact your chosen university to let them know. We will be working directly with your school or college to ensure that you receive your results as soon as possible. However, if you have been affected in this way, please contact our dedicated team of advisers on 0345 618 0440, email us at students@pearson.com, or live chat to one of our advisers through our online portal so that we can resolve this for you as quickly as possible. Please have your centre and learner number to hand.
If you didn’t meet your preferred university offer and decide to appeal your grades, please let your chosen university know and check what their policy is on holding places while an appeal is underway, as this may vary between institutions. Your chosen university will be best placed to advise you on whether and how long they can hold your place open.
What if I didn’t meet my preferred university offer? What do I do now?
We recommend that you contact your preferred university in the first instance, even if you have not met their offer, as they may still decide to accept you.
Universities appreciate that the impact of Covid-19 has made life difficult for applicants and they will take this into account as they award places. Universities will continue to be flexible in their admissions policies, where possible, given the level of disruption to schooling over the past couple of years.
Just as in other years it will be possible to apply for another course/university through Clearing up to 18 October via the UCAS Clearing website. This website contains invaluable information on the Clearing process.
Your school or college are also there to support you and will also be able to advise on your options and next steps.
What if I didn’t meet my preferred college/employment offer? What do I do now?
We recommend that you contact your preferred college/employer in the first instance, even if you have not met their offer, as they may still decide to accept you, especially if you have narrowly missed the original offer.
Your school or college are there to support you and will also be able to advise on your options and next steps.
I don’t agree with the grade for my assessment, what can I do?
If you're not happy with your BTEC results, there are several options available to you. Find out about our review of marking service and how to get a copy of your exam paper, and read the answers to FAQs about post-results services on our dedicated website.
Where can I find wellbeing support?
It is totally understandable If you are feeling concerned about your exam results. When you are struggling with issues of stress, anxiety or depression it is essential that you talk about your concerns. If you can, you should talk to your parents, guardians, carers or a trusted adult. If you don't know any adults you feel you can talk to, these organisations may be able to help:
- Childline – call 0800 1111
- Mind – call 0300 123 3393
- Samaritans – call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
- Or call NHS 111 or your GP – they can assist in providing the mental health support you may need
Although your school, college or centre will be best placed to advise you on how the assessment arrangements have worked in your specific case, you are welcome to contact us with any questions you may have:
- Via telephone on 0345 618 0440 from 8:30am- 6:00pm on results day
- Email students@pearson.com between 8am-4pm, Monday-Friday
- Live chat through our online portal.
Don’t forget you can keep informed by following @PearsonBTEC, visiting our student FAQ page or our dedicated student web page. All these channels are updated regularly with the latest information. Our social media is monitored from 8am-4pm, Monday-Friday.
Further help and support
We are very aware that you may need extra support in the run-up to and on Results Day, and we want to ensure you are aware of where to find information and how to contact us should you need to. Although your school, college or centre will be best placed to advise you on your specific situation, you are welcome to contact us with any questions you may have:
- Via telephone on 0345 618 0440 (Phone lines will open at 8:30am on Results Days)
- Live chat through our online portal
- Check out our student webpage which is updated regularly with the latest information.
Don’t forget you can also keep informed by following @PearsonBTEC, where we will update you with the latest information. Our social media is monitored from 8am-4pm, Monday-Friday.