Grades explained

The following common grades are issued by several awarding organisations:

• F (Fail)
• U (Ungraded) – indicates that the student has failed to reach the standard required.
• X – the candidate was absent or withdrawn from one or more components of the exam and is, therefore, not eligible for the award.
• Blank/No result
  • result to follow, or
  • candidate entry sent in error, or
  • candidate has withdrawn
• Q (Query) result pending
• # (Partial absence)

Full details of the grades for each qualification can be found in the the ABL Guide:

# Partial absence

The partial absence indicator is a hash symbol (#). 

This is used where an awarding organisation has identified that a candidate was absent for part(s) of an examination, and there was no application for special consideration, or where special consideration was not granted. 

It is also used in cases where part of the evidence was not available for other reasons, e.g. late provision of a script or coursework evidence, or an administrative problem. 

In such cases, zero marks are awarded for the missing part(s) of the examination. Nevertheless, an overall grade is issued together with the partial absence indicator. 

The partial absence indicator ‘#’ will appear in the ‘grade 2’ field. 

Note: In cases where, despite the appearance of a ‘partial absence’ indicator, the applicant has achieved a satisfactory grade, confirmation of the offer may go ahead, provided the applicant has met any other conditions.

In cases of 'partial absence' where the overall grade awarded does not meet the required grade, it is recommended that no confirmation decisions are made for the time being, as it is possible the 'partial absence’ situation will be resolved reasonably quickly.

Amendments to grades

We process amendment files as soon as the main results release is completed on ABL Friday. 

Any amendments received at UCAS by midday, each day* until late October, will be available for providers the next day as part of the overnight refresh. 

Amendment files will include replacement grades for ‘query’ grades, and new results not included in the original file received from the awarding organisations, and also review or priority review of grades. 

Note: Some amendments received during the embargo period will be issued to UCAS before the results are published to applicants. The applicant may not, therefore, be aware of their earlier result.

*UCAS will process amendment files daily Monday to Friday. Files processed on a Friday will be made available to you on Monday. The exception to this is Saturday 9 August, when we will process amendment files.