A level Results Day 2026: Students celebrate university placements

Thousands of students are waking up on A level results day to find out what they’ve achieved in their exams.

On Thursday 13 August, young people across the UK receive results for their A levels, T levels, BTEC Nationals, and other Level 3 qualifications. As thousands of students open their envelopes, they’ll look to navigate their next steps in education or work.

At The Access Project, we’re celebrating with our students as they receive their results. Today, we’re sharing stories from some of our students who are off to study degrees and degree apprenticeships in September.

A level results at The Access Project

We caught up with students at Workington Academy in Cumbria.

Workington Academy is one of The Access Project’s partner schools. We work closely with groups of Year 12 and Year 13 students from under-resourced backgrounds to help them to achieve in school and make strong post-18 choices.

Abigail – Computer Science at the University of Leeds

Happy tears from Abigail, who secured a place at her first-choice destination – Computer Science at the University of Leeds.

Abigail joined The Access Project when she was in Year 12. While studying for her exams, Abigail took part in university-readiness workshops and received weekly tuition in maths.

On results day, she was one of the first to arrive at school as teachers began handing out envelopes.

“I’ve been up since 4”, she said. “I went to bed at 1am. I couldn’t sleep.”

“For the first month and a half after exams, I was fine. Two weeks ago, it hit me and I started panicking. It’s been a long two weeks.”

But Abigail had no reason to panic. Upon opening her results, Abigail was delighted to achieve two As and a B, smashing her target grades.

Abigail has lived in Workington her whole life. In September, she’ll pack up and head to Leeds to begin her next chapter.

“I was on the Leeds Futures programme. In Year 12, I had a visit there. It was my first time ever visiting a university and it just felt right. I’ve been to other unis since then and none of them had the same feeling.”

“I’ve always wanted to go into Computer Science. That’s always been my plan. I don’t know what I’ll do after uni, so I’m just going to see where it takes me.”

Finley – Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University

Finley is one of the 228,990 students who placed at their firm choice this morning. He’s secured his spot to study Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University this September.

He kept himself distracted from thinking about results day, staying busy with part-time work over the summer.

“It’s kind of been on the back burner for me until yesterday,” he said, “but this is going to determine the next few years of my life.”

Finley joined The Access Project in Year 12 and received weekly tuition in physics. Upon opening his results, he was delighted to have achieved the target grades he needed for his first-choice uni – two Bs and a C. He’s excited to take his next steps in Manchester.

“I really like Manchester, I like the city and I like the course on offer. There’s a wider range of things to study in the first year and lots of options, which is something I really appreciate.”

Amy – Paramedical Sciences at the University of Huddersfield

Amy achieved distinctions in her health and social care technical diploma. In September, she’s off to the University of Huddersfield, where she’ll be training to become a paramedic.

Today marks the end of a four-year journey for Amy, who has been on The Access Project since she was in Year 10. Amy says The Access Project supported her with university research and interview preparation.

“The Access Project was really good for getting advice about uni. It made it a lot less overwhelming, especially the student finance stuff. It can be really hard to find what you need to know. I got the idea to apply to Huddersfield from The Access Project.”

“The interviews were really hard. I did a lot of research, especially about the paramedic course so I knew about the modules, and I did mock interviews to get me ready.”

“I’m excited to meet new people and to be in a new place, but mostly, I’m excited about the course. I’m starting earlier than most courses so I’ll be getting into the action quickly. It’s kind of like getting thrown in at the deep end but I think it will be good.”

She’ll celebrate with friends later today – a moment to pause before her studies begin.

The Access Project at Workington Academy

The Access Project has partnered with Workington Academy since 2022.

Andrea McAllister, Head of Sixth Form at Workington Academy, says The Access Project supports students in Workington to find aspirations and aim high.

“We have a high number of students locally from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our students face more disadvantage and less aspiration than other places nationwide. Our local university is an hour away, and that means it’s quite challenging for some of our young people to even consider university as something to aspire to.”

Andrea says Workington Academy tries to instil key values into their students – respect, responsibility, and resilience.

“It’s always a fantastic atmosphere on results day.  So many of our young people have gone on to their first-choice offer, whether that’s an apprenticeship or university. Seeing the delight in their faces really makes the job worth all the emotions we go through to get them to this point and to make their visions become reality.”

The Access Project at Workington Academy is made possible by our partnership with The Queen’s College, University of Oxford.

London celebrations

Meanwhile, at the other end of the country, we celebrated with students at Oasis Academy Hadley in London, a valued, long-standing partner school of The Access Project. This year, their Sixth Form is celebrating their best ever set of results.

Cloe, who has been with The Access Project for four years after enrolling in Year 10, was delighted to achieve three A*s and one A grade, which means that she is now off to study English Literature and History at the University of Durham.

Cloe (pictured above) told us: “I want to share my results with my tutor from The Access Project because he was as much a part of this process as I was. The Access Project has been the most amazing thing I could have done. It was so helpful and important to my learning journey and I am really grateful for the effort and work that was put in for me.”

Scott Baker, Head of Sixth Form, said “I am immensely proud of everything that our students have achieved. It is a testament to all of the hard work that they have put in over the past two years. The students have bright futures ahead of them. These amazing results will ensure 100% progression to the best possible destination for every student.”

Our work with these talented young people would not be possible without the help of our partners and supporters. This support changes lives so that students from under-resourced backgrounds can access the high quality further education they deserve. Donate today and help change the lives of students like Abigail, Amy, Finley and Cloe.