THE A-level results are published tomorrow - and stressed-out students are being offered advice to help them cope with the good or bad news that might be coming their way.

For many, the results will mean delight and will secure them the university place they want. But for the ones who are disappointed, the message from the experts is - don't panic, it's not the end of the world.

There will be plenty of information available on the Internet as well as phone lines and television text services.

But careers advisers will also be available across North Yorkshire for one-to-one advice sessions from Thursday onwards.

Gail Nash, community team leader for education at York Careers Centre, said advisers would be on-hand in schools and colleges where they had been requested, or could be contacted for an appointment at any of the careers centres in the area.

She said the first step for students was to ring the university or college where they had been offered a place to double-check they had definitely been rejected - if they had only dropped one grade, they might still get a place.

Then they could sit down with a careers adviser and discuss what to do next and look through what courses were still available.

Gail said: "We always say it isn't the end of the world, they have just got to take stock of what's happened.

"We're face-to-face and we're local and we go through the options with them."

She said sometimes it was possible to ring a university or college and sort out another place that day, but sometimes the student would have to wait a few days to see if they had been offered another place.

"Often the telephone lines are very busy to admissions tutors," she said.

She said some students found that although their grades were not high enough for the first choice place, they were higher than those needed for their reserve place and they might not want to take it up.

"One option here is to get out of the system for a year and apply for another course for the following year."

The careers centres also have information about taking a gap year or about taking up Modern Apprenticeships or other job training schemes.

"The main thing is nobody should feel they can't get support and help."

A-level results from schools and colleges in this region are to be published in Friday's Evening Press.

Fact File

Careers Centres

Face-to-face advice, information on courses, Internet facilities:

York 01904 656655

Selby 01757 703538

Scarborough 01723 373009

Harrogate 01423 871722

Northallerton 01609 773537

North Yorkshire TEC

Advice on Modern Apprenticeships with local firms and gaining NVQs:

Learning helpline 0800 515547 or www.dontquitnow-nyorks.co.uk

BBC Student Essentials

Advice and help on how to deal with disappointing exam results with information on course vacancies, leaving school or college, finding student accommodation and understanding student loans:

0808 100 8000 or www.bbc.co.uk/essentials

Teletext

Instant clearing information and advice, updated every 15 minutes, plus resident educational agony aunt and psychologist, Susan Quilliam:

C4 page 640 or www.teletext.co.uk

PICTURE: THE MOMENT OF TRUTH: Flashback to last year's A-level results day at Huntington School, York