Exam results: what to do next

Whatever your school's results, understand what to do on results day, and download our list of questions to challenge and support your headteacher at your next meeting.

New
on 24 July 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 44691
Contents
  1. On results day
  2. At your first meeting after results day
  3. Monitor how results feed into your school improvement plan

On results day

The chair of governors should be responsible for discussing the school's exam results with the headteacher. During this discussion:

  • Identify and celebrate successes
  • Ask the headteacher for their thoughts on the results to get a sense of whether the outcomes were expected or not, before asking questions
  • If the results are poorer than expected:
    • Be honest and focused on supporting and challenging the headteacher rather than trying to tell them what to do
    • Be sympathetic - this will be a difficult time for all school staff
  • Decide how to present results to the rest of the board (for example, including a breakdown of data for individual groups and subjects)

You or your headteacher should communicate the results to the board. Make it clear to the board that the data is unvalidated and some results may change. 

Use your first full governing board meeting after results