Janet, from Cheshire, asks:

If an A-level student chooses to sit a real exam, will the universities treat those and exams taken next summer equally?

Experts Eddie Playfair and Catherine Sezen, senior policy managers at the Association of Colleges, reply:

"The autumn exams are an opportunity for students entered this summer to take an exam. The grade they are awarded will have equal value and so this can inform any applications they are making to university in 2021.

"The current plan is for exams next summer to go ahead as normal, with a few alterations, and they should be seen as equivalent to any other year."

You can see more answers to your questions here and you can send in a question of your own by using the form at the bottom.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been accused by a school head of ignoring the professional judgment of teachers over A-level results.

Mr Williamson was confronted by Christine Cunniffe, the principal of LVS Ascot, during an uncomfortable appearance on ITV's This Morning.

Ms Cunniffe said she had seen some of her top students downgraded by two grades as a result of the system put in place by the government for moderating exam results in England.

She urged ministers to follow the example of Scotland and abandon the system, saying students had "been through enough".

However, Mr Williamson said that without "checks and balances" to ensure consistency across the country, some schools would simply have assessed all their pupils as achieving the top grades.

Today's exam results have thrown up a lot of questions.

Experts Eddie Playfair and Catherine Sezen, senior policy managers at the Association of Colleges, are on hand to answer them for you.

Ronit, from Watford, asked:

Are there strategies in place to avoid bias against disability?

A - When producing centre assessment grades, centres will have predicted how a student would have performed assuming they had received all the additional support and access arrangements which they require because of a disability.

Hopefully, any mock processes would also have included that additional support and this is definitely worth discussing with your centre.

You can see more answers to your burning questions here and you can send in a question of your own by using the form at the bottom.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Yesterday, the Welsh government announced that A-level grades in Wales would be no lower than those the pupils achieved at AS-level the previous year.

This morning BBC Radio 5 Live spoke to Megan who was picking up her results at Merthyr College in Merthyr Tydfil with her mum Cerian.

Megan's photography result was lower than her AS, but she knows it’s now being changed and she’s secured a place at Keele University to study Media and Music Technology.

Cerian said she’s found the process more stressful than her daughter.

“I’ve been an absolute bag of nerves," she said, "[Megan's] been cool as a cucumber.

"Although the adjustment will be made, we didn’t know that when we picked up the results so we were confused, however, the most important fact is that she’s into her first choice university, she’s received all five results and she’s done remarkably well, as has everybody here given the unprecedented circumstances.”

Cerian is glad that the adjustment was announced last night.

“Scotland did a massive U-turn, well done Wales on putting a safety net in… a little bit late, but better late than never."

Megan has a special dinner and some bubbly to look forward to and is busy celebrating. “We’re going to go visit my grandparents and tell them all the news,” she said.

Click here to listen back to this morning's Your Call programme.

Image source, PA Media

Thousands of students have collected their A-level and BTec results this morning - but if they want to head off to university what comes next?

If they got the results they needed to take up their university offer then it is happy days. But if not then appeals, clearing or "resits" await.

Appeals are made through schools and colleges so if you are unhappy with your result it is worth speaking to them in the first instance.

In England there is the option to appeal based on a mock exam result, although exams watchdog Ofqual is yet to set out the criteria for a mock result to be considered valid. Northern Ireland has a similar system to England.

In Wales, pupils who received a higher grade for their AS-levels last year should receive that as their final result, with the Welsh government saying these would be updated automatically "as soon as possible".

Through Ucas clearing, external, students who did not make the grades to take up their offers can find alternative courses which suit them. The advice is not to rush into anything. Discuss what you're being offered with your school or college and don't be afraid to question university admissions teams.

There is also the option of taking exams in the autumn with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson saying a "late clearing process" is expected to be available for pupils who opt to sit A-level exams. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Universities are looking at being as flexible as possible."

He also discussed the possibility of some courses starting in January to take in late applicants.

You can find out more with our explainer here.

Image source, EPA

Sources close to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson have said England will be the only country in Europe where students can take exams in the autumn if they wish.

They said teaching unions were "all on board" with the standardisation model, which was subject to a full public consultation.

And they added that 75% of students do not achieve their predicted grade - so it is not a reliable measure on its own.

Predicted grades alone would be equal to grade inflation, the sources added, which would be criticised as unfair.

Image source, bbc

Today's exam results have thrown up a lot of questions.

Experts Eddie Playfair and Catherine Sezen, senior policy managers at the Association of Colleges, are on hand to answer them for you.

Mohib, from Stockport, asked:

Can you specifically appeal one grade/subject, or will all your grades be reviewed if you appeal?

A - The process is designed to apply to each subject entry separately, so potentially one or more of your grades could be the subject of an appeal.

You can see more answers to your burning questions here and you can send in a question of your own by using the form at the bottom.

Image source, PA Media

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the government for acting late on exams and called for individuals to be able to appeal, rather than schools or colleges.

Speaking after meeting pupils at a school in Darlington he said: "Of course there are always those who are pleased and those who are not, but that reflects an individual's application in an exam on the day.

"Of course that can be upsetting if you haven't got the grades you wanted after having sat an exam.

"Here, what we have got is young people being told the system has told you that you are not worthy of that grade. That's the injustice that is felt very deeply."

He also called for appeal fees to be waived.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

This is a strange year for A-level results in every way – with grades arriving for exams that were never taken.

In more usual times the headlines would have been about this being a record year for top grades – with almost 28% getting A*s or As.

But instead this has been an exam results day full of uncertainty, with head teachers warning about volatility below the surface of rising grades.

Almost two out of every five results were lower than the grades predicted by their teachers – and heads are warning of a confusing pattern where results have gone down.

But at the same time, those trying to get to university might find that they’re able to get in with lower grades than in previous years, with the promise of “super-flexible” admissions.

The confusion extends to what happens next. Because for those getting bad news today, it could still be good news through the appeals process.

Thousands of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have had their A-level results downgraded from teacher estimates, after exams were cancelled because of the coronavirus.

Official data for England revealed that the standardisation process meant nearly 40% of pupils received lower grades - the figure was even higher in Wales.

School leaders have said some lower marks appeared to be "unfair and unfathomable" while Labour's Keir Starmer said "something has obviously gone horribly wrong".

Today's A-level results showed:

• Almost one in 10 A-level entries received an A* - the highest grade
• Over a quarter of entries received either an A* or A
• 78.4% of entries were A*-C (up from 75.8% in 2019)
• Psychology is now the second most popular subject, after maths
• And girls outperform boys, except in A*s

Meanwhile, vocational students studying BTecs and other qualifications have also received their results - though many said they felt less impact due to the coronavirus because of the way their courses are assessed.

For those students hoping for university places, it is expected to be a "buyer's market", with the admissions service Ucas saying universities would be "super flexible", even for those who have missed grades.

Today's exam results have thrown up a lot of questions.

Experts Eddie Playfair and Catherine Sezen, senior policy managers at the Association of Colleges, are on hand to answer them for you.

Mat, from Angmering, asked:

Will they allow for Level two BTec exam resits or not?

A - I would suggest that you talk to your school or college about BTec Level 2 resits. Technical and vocational qualifications have more assessment windows than GCSEs and A-levels. The school or college is best placed to advise you on next steps.

You can see more answers to your burning questions here and you can send in a question of your own by using the form at the bottom.

Image source, PA Media

For the top A* and A grades, independent schools in England saw the greatest improvement on last year - up 4.7%.

This compares to a 1.7%, 2% and 0.3% improvement for top grades for England's academies, comprehensives and colleges respectively.

The Sixth Form Colleges Association has called the system for calculating A-level grades "flawed and unreliable" after almost all colleges said grades were lower or much lower than predicted.

George Nick Gorzynski, a pupil at Woodhouse College in north London, said he was "devastated" to be awarded BBD, after being predicted A*AB.

It means he has missed out on a place to study computer science at King's College London and is now considering taking a year out to sit his exams in the autumn.

He got AAC in his mock exams, so appealing to use these results is another option.

“I feel quite let down, I felt like I was working hard and I should have got better grades," he told the BBC.

He is also worried about whether he will achieve his potential if he sits his exams in October.

“For the last few months I’ve been working, trying to get some money for university. I haven’t looked at a book in a long time so I need to start getting back to that if I’m going to do the October exams," he said.

“To do it in two months seems like a bit of a push. Maybe I could do it in summer but then I would be up against next year's cohort as well.”

Today's exam results have thrown up a lot of questions.

Experts Eddie Playfair and Catherine Sezen, senior policy managers at the Association of Colleges, are on hand to answer them for you.

Edit Hervai asked:

Is the mock exam being used the last one that students took in January 2020?

A - This has not been made clear yet. We know that mocks take many forms and some centres will do more than one, so schools and colleges are waiting for a definition of a mock.

You can see more answers to your burning questions here - and you can send in a question of your own by using the form at the bottom of the page.

Image source, PA Media

"Something has obviously gone horribly wrong with this year's exam results," according to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

He tweeted: "Nearly 40% of young people have had their grades marked down and that's thousands of young people whose opportunities could have been dashed.

"Parents, teachers and young people are rightly upset, frustrated and angry about this injustice.

"The system has fundamentally failed them.

"The government needs to urgently rethink. We need to guarantee the right to individual appeals, the fee for appeals waived and nothing to be ruled out, including the U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government last week."

Merthyr College student Bradley Desmier got an E in drama, when he was predicted a C, while for photography he got a D when he was predicted a B.

"It is quite a big drop that I received and it wasn’t the best feeling to open up my piece of paper to those results," he said. "I’ve been working hard to get the grades that I deserve, and for the Welsh government to give me these it’s quite unfair to be honest.

"It’s been quite stressful, and I think Welsh students have had the worst out of it."

Yesterday, the Welsh government said students would not get results lower than those they achieved in their AS-level subjects, in a last-minute intervention.

But with grades already having been given to school and colleges, students are being told to check their results and flag up issues.

A mother of an A-level student who had his offer to study at a top university withdrawn has attacked the government.

Olive told BBC Radio London's Vanessa Feltz her son had been predicted A*A*A before the pandemic - and had a "solid place at one of the top seven universities" to study economics.

His school gave him grades of AAB - but this was then downgraded to ABC for his final result, Olive said.

His offer has now been withdrawn. She said her son is "absolutely shattered".

"The government has failed itself and it has failed a whole generation," she said.

"I say to them 'shame on you'."

Today's exam results have thrown up a lot of questions.

Experts Eddie Playfair and Catherine Sezen, senior policy managers at the Association of Colleges, are on hand to answer them for you.

Theo asked:

How does the "triple lock" affect my right to appeal my results?

A - The "triple lock" was only announced on Wednesday so it's a bit early to know how much it will affect final outcomes, but it will enhance your right to appeal.

We're still waiting to hear what the definition of a mock will be, but the impact of this change should be to help those students whose calculated grades have ended up below their mock results.

You can see more answers to your burning questions here - and you can send in a question of your own by using the form at the bottom.

Abbi, from Wilberforce Sixth Form College in Hull, is one of those students who is disappointed today.

She got a Distinction* in her engineering BTec - the highest grade possible - but for her A-levels she got Ds in maths and art and an E in physics.

“It goes to show that the ones I was supposed to do exams in that I didn’t get to, I got awful grades, I got downgraded. And the one that reflects all the work I’ve done over the past two years, I got the highest grade that I could possibly get," she told the BBC.

“It seems like some unfair grading.

“When I opened them I had a bit of a cry," she added.

Abbie said she had missed out on her place at Durham University to study engineering and would now have to consider retakes or finding a clearing place at another university.

"My future has been set back completely," she said.

“I had my heart set on Durham and it’s now not an option for clearing because there’s no clearing for my course.”

She said she was angry her results had been affected by something out of her control, adding: "I would have happily sat the exams but it was up to the government."