Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

Hundreds of thousands of students are getting their A-level results today - for many there will be sighs of relief but for others it will be disappointment.

Here we explain in 60 seconds what you can do next if you didn't get the grades you expected.

We've heard this morning about how this year's results haven't quite matched the teacher-assessed grades of the last couple of years - but are up on the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

The proportion of top A-level grades spiked in 2020 and 2021, but that figure has fallen away slightly this year after the return of in-person exams.

Take a look at our graphic below to see how the 2022 cohort compare to previous year groups.

Image source, .

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

This year's A-level marking system has been adjusted so that grades reflect "a midway point" between 2019 - when 25.4% of grades were at A* and A - and 2021, when teacher-assessed grades led to 44.8% of entries getting the top marks.

England's exam watchdog has said the approach was intended to bring grades closer to pre-pandemic levels, while reflecting "that we are in a pandemic recovery period and students' education has been disrupted".

Similar plans were put in place for Northern Ireland and Wales.

Students have been advised not to compare their results with results last year, as the assessments were completely different.

And they’ve been reassured that most who want to go to university will get their first choice of place.

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

Top grades for A-level results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland have fallen since last year – with 36.4% of all grades marked at A* or A.

But the percentage is still higher than 2019 – which is when results were last based on exams.

It will mean disappointment for some students, but the fall in top grades is nothing to do with students’ individual performance.

It’s part of a plan announced by England's exam watchdog, , externalOfqual, to bring grades back down from the sharp rises in 2020 and 2021, when exams were cancelled and results were based on teachers’ assessments.

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

Image source, PA Media

The BBC has seen exclusive early indications sixth form colleges think their A-level results are looking as expected this year without too many surprises.

The Sixth Form College Association has shared responses to rapid questions from 67 of their 124 member colleges.

Of the 67 colleges responding, 57 said their A level grades were as expected/higher/much higher.

Students started getting their individual results at 08:00 BST.

After the national results are published at 09:30 this morning, the Sixth Form College Association will be giving a formal response to the official data.

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

Eighteen-year-old George is among the students slightly disappointed this morning with his A-level grades.

George received B, C and D grades. He is hoping to go to Sheffield Hallam University but now needs to ring the university to check if he will still be accepted with lower grades.

He said his confidence had been affected by not sitting GCSE exams and facing that hurdle for the first time in sixth form.

“I felt massively underprepared for it," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

No matter what grades you get, university is not for everyone. There are loads of other options out there, you can consider an apprenticeship, external, a traineeship, external or a Higher Technical Qualification, external. Many are highly competitive and have the advantage of earning as you learn.

There are also entry-level jobs for those who want to go straight into work.It’s been a difficult few years for many students who have faced a lot of disruption, so if you still need time to decide you could think about taking a gap year.

Everyone’s journey is different but if you have clear vision of where you want to end up, there are normally lots of different routes to get there.

READ MORE: Apprenticeship v university: What course to take?

Education Secretary James Cleverly told BBC Breakfast that his exam results were "genuinely, shockingly, awful".

He was accepted into the British army when he was at school and "stopped working".

"I didn’t get into trouble, I didn’t misbehave, I just didn’t do any work and my exam results reflected quite accurately the amount of work I had put in."

His military career was cut short and he said he "really regretted messing up" his A-levels.

"But I got to university, I got into politics and now I’m secretary of state for education so I managed to get back on the horse as it were."

He refused to say what his results were.

There are 425,830 students celebrating being accepted into university or college today - the second highest number on record.

The return to in-person exams this year, after grades were given out by teachers during the pandemic, has seen 19% more 18-year-olds accepted into their first or insurance choice than in 2019.

And it's only 2% lower than the highest level seen in 2021, where students were awarded places based on teacher assessed grades, according to today's figures from Ucas, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, external.

Clare Marchant, Ucas chief executive, said: "I must say congratulations to all young people receiving their results today."

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "absolutely brilliant" that two-thirds of students who applied to UK higher education had got their first choice.

And she said the gap is narrowing between the most advantaged and most disadvantaged getting into university, despite concerns about that gap widening during Covid.

This year has also seen the first T-level students getting into higher education, with 370 (71% of applicants) accepted.

We heard earlier from 18-year-old Abi from Birmingham who dreams of working in marketing for Formula 1. She just received her A-level results in History, Psychology, and Biology.

"I'm really relieved and really happy with it. All the hard work was really worth it," she told BBC Breakfast of her two As and a B.

"I was hoping to go on to do a degree-level apprenticeship in marketing and these grades are perfect for that."

Praise, who got two Bs and a D*, is preparing to join the RAF as a nurse says she's "shocked" with her results.

"It feels amazing. Not only did I prove to my future uni that I can do this but I've also proven to myself that I can do it."

Image source, Getty Images

If you are unhappy with your grade, you should ask your school or college for help.

They can ask the exam board to review your mark - and if you still think it isn’t fair, you can ask to appeal the result.

If you believe the exam board hasn’t handled your appeal properly, you can request a review from Ofqual, the exams regulator.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the deadline to send an appeal to the exam board is 29 September. If your grade is related to your entry to university, you can ask for a priority review before 25 August. In Scotland, the appeals deadline is 30 August.

Image source, Getty Images

Students will either be heading into their schools to collect their results in person or logging in online.

If you have applied to university, Ucas, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, external, will start updating its systems very shortly (at 08:15) but it can take several hours as there are a lot of results to upload.

A record 667,000 students have applied to university this year, due, in part, to a rise in the number of 18-year-olds in the population.

Individual results to students are now being released by schools and colleges.

We’ll be bringing you reactions from students as they find out their results, and will have the national data later this morning.

Teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are about to receive their A-level, T-level and BTec National results.

The exams they sat this summer were the first ones in three years after disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Stick with us to see how pupils have done.

Kate McGough
Education producer

Emmanuela, from Central Saint Michael’s Sixth Form in Birmingham, says waiting for her results in her BTec Level 3 extended diploma in business is “stressful”.

“I’m trying not to think too much about it or worry too much,” says the 18-year-old, who needs three distinctions to get into the University of York to study Accounting Finance.

Emmanuela, who had teacher-assessed grades for GCSEs when exams were cancelled because of the pandemic, adds:“Actually doing exams this year was really helpful and it was needed.”

She says getting back into the classroom after remote-learning helped her “socialise again and not be so closed up” and she can’t wait to experience normal university life.

“I feel that going to university will break that lockdown phase even more. I love meeting new people and exploring the city, and going out of my comfort zone.”

Education Secretary James Cleverly has congratulated students who he said have had a tough couple of years but nevertheless sat exams.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said the best place for children to learn is in the classroom and the best way to assess that learning is through exams.

"This year we will see a tighter set of results than last year, not quite where we were in 2019, heading back to those pre pandemic assessment grade boundaries."

Shona Elliott
Reporting from West Bromwich

Helena was the first student to arrive at Central Saint Michael’s Sixth Form in West Bromwich today. She is waiting for her A-level results in chemistry and biology, and has a conditional offer to study veterinary science at the University of Liverpool

“I was quite nervous last night - I am hoping I have done OK but the exams were a bit tougher than I thought. My fingers are crossed," she tells me.

She says she wanted to get to the school as early as possible in an effort to calm her nerves.

“It’s nice to come in and no matter how you do today you have people who can talk to you about your options whatever happens," she says.

“I have my parents and grandparents sat waiting anxious at home. They know I’m coming in early in the morning and I’ve said I’ll let them know when I know.”

Kate McGough
Education producer

Abi, 18, from Birmingham, is waiting for her A-level results in History, Psychology and Biology. Her dream is to work in marketing for Formula 1. She’s been applying for degree-level apprenticeships and has been shortlisted for one.

“When everyone was talking about going to university I couldn’t really find a course that was for me,” she says.

“I was weighing it up and think [an apprenticeship] is just a better option for me.”

Abi, who is hoping for three As, says it was strange to be doing real exams at A-level after her GCSE exams were cancelled during the pandemic. But she was glad of the extra help offered to students this year, in response to the disruption caused.

“It was lucky that we had the advance information because of the content that we had missed. It was definitely beneficial for me.”

Image source, Getty

From 08:00 BST pupils will get their A-level, T-Level and BTec National results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Many students will head to their school or college to collect results but some will receive theirs online.

For those hoping to go to university, Ucas - the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service - start updating their records at 08:15.

Clearing is also open for those who miss out on their university offer.

A bit later this morning, we’ll find out the nationwide picture of results, and how they compare with previous years. It's expected that overall results will be lower than the last two years of record high top grades - but higher than 2019.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage - the nervous wait for students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is almost over as they receive their exam results today.

Pupils are getting their grades for the first A-level exams for three years - as the Covid pandemic meant exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and results were determined by teachers' estimates instead.

Those taking T-levels and BTecs are also getting results today.

Stick with us to follow the latest news, results and reaction from around the UK.