A-level results day 2022: Live updates as students across Leeds receive their grades

Here are some of our favourite pictures from the day as pupils across the city got their results:

Woodkirk Academy principal Tim Jones said both students and staff at the school should be proud of what the results they have achieved this year.

“They are the result of a huge amount of hard work, resilience and a commitment to excel in the face of the challenges presented throughout the study towards these qualifications,” he said. “I am delighted for our students and I wish them all the very best for the future; I look forward to hearing about their successes.”

Warwick-Giles, vice principal and director of sixth form, added: “There has been much talk in the media of significantly lower grades and comparisons to previous years being impossible.  We ask our students to be the best they can be and I urge them to consider the grades attained relative to their individual aims and targets.

“For the huge majority, the outcomes reflect the outstanding work ethic that has been demonstrated and I am delighted that so many have successfully secured a place at their first-choice destination.  Well done to them all and good luck as they move on to pastures new.”

Our reporter Alex Grant, who spent the morning with students at Elliott Hudson College, writes:

The stage was set. Students milling around the auditorium as a buzz of nervous excitement filled the air. A buzz that could mean only one thing – it was exam results day.

A level results day is when dreams can be made and quashed in equal measure – with one open of an envelope determining the immediate futures of many young people.

Students up and down the country as well as across Leeds have been discovering their results today.

At Elliott Hudson College, located next to Leeds’s White Rose Centre, the scene was no different this morning as the hall began to gather with the nervous excitement there for all to see.

This year’s group of students have been widely referred to as ‘Generation Covid’ as the most disrupted school leavers since the Second World War.The challenges the pandemic has brought on for pupils and staff alike, from lockdowns to online learning to cancelled GCSE exams, have been immense.

Lee Styles, Principal at Elliott Hudson paid tribute to his pupils and staff for what they have been able to achieve.

“These young people have been through the most extraordinary educational journey over the past three years – these were the cohort who during their Year 11 were told to go home and that school was finished,” he said.

"They then had a year of high levels of restrictions, remote learning and another national lockdown then they have had to sit external examinations.

"Beyond anything they need to feel that they have done an amazing job, which regardless of what their outcomes are they will have done because they have had to go through an experience that no one ever has before.”

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Georgia Brooks, who collected her results at Elliott Hudson College today, spoke about the dread of actually opening the envelope with her results inside. Good news awaited inside though as she got the grades needed to secure her place to study classics at Cambridge University.

She said: “At first I couldn’t open them. I just sat with the envelope in front of me and when I did open them it just didn’t register. I’m just so happy.”

If you’ve collected your results today and want to share your story with us, send your picture and details to [email protected] and you could be featured.

While the names of the exams and what it takes to get the top grades might have changed over the years, the emotions of the day are something that are still the same - nerves, joy, relief and maybe a few upsets along the way.

For those who went through it all many years ago, this collection of pictures from our archive are sure to evoke some memories.

Leeds City Council’s executive board member for education has shared a message of congratulations for young people getting their results today, noting they’re the first since 2019 to have sat summer exams rather than have grades generated based on internal assessments and coursework.

Coun Jonathan Pryor said: “I’d like to congratulate everyone on the results they have received today, which as always, are the outcome of a lot of hard work, effort and determination, as well as the high quality of teaching in our schools and colleges.

“To say that the last couple of years has been challenging for everyone in schools and other learning settings would be an understatement. Pupils across the system have shown remarkable resilience in overcoming the challenges to their education caused by the pandemic.

“Schools and colleges are on hand to offer additional advice and guidance, and I want to thank all those staff for the support they are providing to young people in the city as they consider their next steps.

“Our ambition to be a Child Friendly City means working to ensure that all of our children and young people are given the best possible chance of getting the qualifications and skills they need to succeed in the years ahead. Additional support, advice and guidance is available to those young people still considering their future options having received their results today from the Start in Leeds website.

“I would like to wish all our young people the very best as they choose and take their next steps.”

There is support available for students who did not get the results they were hoping for and those who need help figuring out what’s next.

Students can use Leeds City Council’s Start in Leeds platform to access information, advice and guidance about the further education opportunities available.

The Next Steps page also signposts learners to the council’s Employment Hub that provides one-to-one support with CVs, job searching, application forms, interviews and general careers advice and guidance.

The Start in Leeds Next Steps page can be accessed here.

Our reporter Alex Grant has spoken to Elliott Hudson principal Lee Styles, who shares some insight in what results day is like for the teachers and the challenges that the pandemic has posed for the students collecting their results today.

Back at Elliott Hudson College, Diana Furtado has picked up her A level results. She’ll now be heading off to Durham to study economics and politics.

“I’m really happy and proud of myself. It was hard but I’m so glad I got it. All the effort I put in was definitely worth it. I’m going on holiday to Portugal next week so I’m looking forward to relaxing a bit.”

The national picture is now starting to emerge. These are the main figures in this year’s A level results:

Katie Spencer, another of the students picking up her results at Elliott Hudson College today, is now set to start a law apprenticeship.

She said: “It’s a relief to finally know where I’m heading. I only needed Cs but I managed to do better which I’m especially pleased with.”