Just got your A Level results? Not done as well as you expected? You’re not alone.

Reports show that the proportion of A and A* results have fallen this year for the first time in more than two decades.

This summer’s results show that 26.6% of A Level exams received the top two grades, down from 27% the previous year, despite the overall pass rate rising once again.

The drop in top grades means that this year’s clearing process is going to be even more competitive, with 79,000 students still waiting for a confirmed place and more than 10,000 already applying through clearing.

“The critics of grade inflation have got what they wanted. The dip in the number of top grades being awarded will neutralise some of the accusations of A Levels being dumbed down. However, it will also leave tens of thousands of young people – and their parents – in a state of panic today,” said Jan Thompson, director of the Association of Professional Tutors.

“New rules on the offers that universities can make mean that more students than ever will lose out on their first choice institution. More students than ever now face a tough choice between trying their luck in clearing, or hitting the books once again and retaking the subjects in which they missed the mark,’” she added.

So what can you do?

1)      If you haven’t got the grades you need for your university place, read through our step-by-step clearing guide, or go more in depth with our clearing magazine. Get on the UCAS site, which has a full listing of all courses available through clearing.

2)      Opt out of university, with all its tuition fee hikes and debt ridden students. Find out more about school leaver programmes with some of the biggest companies in the UK.

3)      Retake your exams. It won’t be fun, but if that extra year means you get onto the course or university you want, it will be worth it in the long run.