Hollyoaks cast back helpline
Exams can cause huge strain in your child’s life. It is a difficult time for them to experience which is very stressful and demanding. Many children can feel pressurised and are unable to deal with the endless hours of revision.
Dealing with anxiety and nerves when receiving your results, for some, can be the worst part of it all. Help is on hand with The Exams Results Helpline which is being supported by leading Hollyoaks actors, Jasmine Franks (Esther Bloom) and Alfie Browne-Sykes (Jason Roscoe).
The Exam Results Helpline, funded by the Department for Education, handles thousands of calls every year from students all around the country and is seen as a lifeline to those who don’t know where to turn once they have got their exam results.
The Exam Results Helpline number 0808 100 8000 is a free telephone helpline staffed by independent and highly experienced careers advisers. For the first time this year Careers Advisers will also be proving help and guidance on Facebook and Twitter.
Students across the UK who have received their exam results (A levels, GCSEs and equivalent qualifications) can call in to talk through their options and to get advice about their future learning and career options.
Alfie Browne-Sykes who plays Jason Roscoe in Hollyoaks said: “Playing Jason, who has just taken his A-Levels on Hollyoaks, reminds me how stressful it can be during the exam period! It’s so important that students don’t feel alone once they get their results and the helpline provides support to those who need it. It’s not all about University either, if like me callers don’t want to go into Higher Education, the advisers can provide information on other options including careers, gap years and vocational learning.”
Jazmine Franks who plays Esther Bloom in Hollyoaks said: “I am really pleased to be able to represent the Exam Results Helpline. I remember what it’s like to get A level results and the various emotions and pressures that come with results day.”
She added: “It would have really benefitted me to know there was a helpline available in case I didn’t get the results I needed for university and so raising awareness of the helpline among students is something I’m very pleased to be a part of.”
Sarah Lockhart, aged 27, from Newry in Northern Ireland used The Exam Results Helpline to get advice for her future after her results weren’t what she was expecting.
A level results day last year
Sarah didn’t get the grades she needed to study Veterinary Science at University last year. The requirement was AAA and she achieved AAB.
Having returned to education at the age of 24 to follow her dreams of becoming a Veterinarian, there was a lot riding on results day and ‘failing wasn’t an option’.
“I looked up my results at 7am and I was in an absolute mess. All of my shortlist of Universities had rejected me apart from Liverpool and I couldn’t contact them because they weren’t open that early. I was crying for a solid hour being consoled by my parents.”
Next steps
“Unfortunately at this stage I thought I had failed until I received an email from UCAS confirming my place at Liverpool. I couldn’t believe it and words cannot describe how I felt.”
Sarah called the Exam Results Helpline to get some advice and guidance about what to do as she was convinced it was a mistake because she knew she hadn’t received the required results to get in.
She said: “The lovely lady who answered checked and checked and checked again because I made her! She was so friendly and congratulated me. We had a brief conversation and she made me feel totally at ease. I was in floods of tears all over again but this time they were tears of joy!”
And now?
Sarah has now completed her first year at the University of Liverpool and she is thoroughly enjoying it.
“University is everything I hoped it would be and more. After all the stress last year, I am so relieved it all worked out ok in the end. I have met loads of new people and the University is such a great place to be!”
How did speaking to a professional careers adviser at the Exam Results Helpline help Sarah?
“The helpline was open earlier than the Universities and had it not been there I would have had longer in turmoil that’s for sure!”
The Helpline is open throughout the exam results period, this year running between Thursday 14 and Saturday 23 August for students receiving exam results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The busiest time is always A-level results day, which is Thursday 14 August this year. Last year, the helpline received over 6,000 calls.
If a student is reconsidering their options based on results they have or have not achieved, they should contact the Exam Results Helpline on 0808 100 8000 from 14 August.
If a student has a specific query about their university application, they should contact the UCAS Contact Centre on 0871 468 0 468.
For further information, visit www.ucas.com/examresultshelpline