Exam Results Gift Ideas

We make cards, pin badges and prints in the UK. We don't sell laptops, textbooks or bedding sets, so this is a straight guide with the card at the end.

Results day gifts are tricky because you have to buy them before you know the result, and the point isn't the grade anyway.

Buy for the effort and the next step, and the gift works either way.

Finish it with a card

Buy the card first - it works whatever the envelope says.

Whose a Clever Girl (Funny Graduation Card) Whose a Clever Girl (Funny Graduation Card) £3.75 Illustration of a smiling graduate in a cap and gown on a congratulations graduation card for him. Congratulations! You Did It Graduation Card For Him £3.87 Graduation card for her featuring a cheerful illustrated character wearing a black graduation cap and gown. Congratulations! You Did It Graduation Card For Her £3.87 Whose a Clever Boy (Funny Graduation Card) Whose a Clever Boy (Funny Graduation Card) £3.75 Whose Gonna Make The Brews Now? Leaving Card Whose Gonna Make The Brews Now? Leaving Card £3.87 Greeting card featuring a cartoon illustration of a pint of dark Guinness stout wearing a black graduation cap. Cheers! Congrats On The Graduation (Guinness Graduation Card) £3.87

Browse congratulations cards

Under £20

  • A card and cash, which is what most teenagers genuinely want and no one admits.
  • A print or poster for a bedroom wall or a future halls room.
  • Cinema or bowling tickets for the same evening, so the day ends well.
  • A good notebook and pen for the next course, or a decent water bottle for college.

£20 to £50

  • Headphones, which is the single most-used gift for anyone starting sixth form or university.
  • A meal out with whoever got them through it.
  • Clothes or trainers they've been asking for, kept simple.
  • A day out - a theme park, a gig, a match - booked for the following week.

Gifts that work whatever the results say

  • A card that praises the effort rather than the grade. It reads right in either outcome.
  • An experience that has nothing to do with school.
  • Cash towards driving lessons, a trip or a first phone bill.
  • Your time: a day out with just you, arranged for after the dust settles.

What to avoid

  • Anything conditional on a grade. Promised rewards for specific results age very badly.
  • Study guides for the next course. Not today.
  • Comparisons with siblings, cousins or your own results in 1994.
  • A big group celebration before you know how everyone in the group did.

Browse congratulations cards

How to write it so it lands

  • Buy for effort, not grades.
  • Never make a gift conditional.
  • Cash in a card is a real gift.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

What do you buy someone for exam results?

Money in a card, headphones, an experience, or a meal out. Buy for the effort rather than the grade so it works either way.

How much do you give for GCSE results?

£10 to £25 from wider family is common, more from parents or grandparents. A card alone is perfectly acceptable.

Should you give a gift if the results were disappointing?

Yes. Give it anyway and praise the work. Withdrawing a gift over a grade is the thing they'll remember.

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