Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

Let’s look in a bit more detail about the differences in pass rates between England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The proportion of GCSEs marked at grades 4/C and above was:

• 67.8% in England, down from 73% in 2022
• 64.5% in Wales, down from 68.2%
• 86.6% in Northern Ireland, down from 89.8%

The proportion of passes in England has fallen by just over five percentage points since last year.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, the drop is smaller - between three and four percentage points.

There have been a lot of questions about the differences in grading for different parts of the UK ahead of results day this year.

England has broadly returned to 2019 levels, while grading was more generous in Wales and Northern Ireland.

School leaders in Wales have said “a glide back” to pre-pandemic levels was better than “a crash landing”.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb was on Radio 4's Today programme a little earlier.

He said education systems have long been different between the four devolved nations, and that "it's a very fair system".

"It's important to get back to normality" in England, he adds, to "maintain the value and integrity of GCSEs and A-levels".

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

The fall in the pass rate this morning matters because in England - where most of you who've taken GCSEs live - students need to pass GCSE maths and English with grade 4 or above in order to move on to further qualifications, such as A-levels or T-levels.

If you didn't get this, you should still be able to start whatever course you choose to next - but you will have to resit your GCSE while you do it.

Today's results mean there will be more students who will need to resit in England than there have been in the past two years.

The proportion of top grades - 7/A and above - has also fallen.

It's 22%, down from 26.3% last year.

That’s much closer to 2019, when it was 20.8%.

Now that results are out, our colleagues at Radio 5 Live are taking listeners' questions on Level 2 results day and have a batch of experts on the line.

You can get involved by watching and listening along using the big blue play button at the top of this page.

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

GCSE passes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have fallen for a second year running – with 68.2% of all grades marked at grades 4/C and above.

That’s more or less back to where it was in 2019 - the last year exams were sat before Covid - when it was 67.3%.

It's a substantial fall from recent years - it was 73.2% in 2022 and 77.1% in 2021.

The fall in passes will mean disappointment for some of you, but it’s got nothing to do with anyone's individual performance.

It’s part of a plan to bring grades back down in line with pre-pandemic levels, after sharp rises in 2020 and 2021, when exams were cancelled and results were based on teachers’ assessments.

The drop is steepest in England, where it was always the plan for grades to be brought back in line with 2019 levels today. In Wales and Northern Ireland, grades were always meant to be a bit higher this year.

More to come.

Becky Padington
Reporting from Meadow Park School, Coventry

“I’m happy but a part of me is disappointed with my results for two subjects – science and religious studies," says Zahra about her BTec and GCSE results.

Zahra says she achieved higher grades in the mock exams - but her teachers have been positive saying the overall grades she received today are good.

Despite her disappointment, Zahra is being positive and is happy with the other grades she’s achieved.

Zahra plans to celebrate by making the most of an offer for free food from Nando’s – like many others who are receiving their exam results today.

Every year, senior examiners decide the minimum marks needed for each grade. These get published on results day.

In England, exam boards' grade boundaries are already available at these links:

• AQA GCSE grade boundaries 2023, external
• Pearson (which covers Edexcel) GCSE grade boundaries 2023, external
• Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations, external(OCR), external GCSE grade boundaries 2023, external

In Wales, the main exam board WJEC, will publish grade boundaries on its website at 09:30. You can find the link here, external.

And for those taking GCSEs in Northern Ireland, broad subject grade boundaries are already available on the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) website, external. Grade boundaries for specific papers will be available after 09:00 here, external.

Becky Padington
Reporting from Meadow Park School, Coventry

Aarool, 16, has just found out he has achieved an impressive nine 9s, a 6 in religious studies, and a distinction in his BTec in sports studies.

The entire hall was clapping and cheering when he opened his results.

Aarool said he originally thought his GCSE exams "went alright" and wasn’t expecting to get these results.

The secret to Aarool's revision was taking repeated short breaks.

“I would revise for 20 minutes, played something like computer games for 15 minutes and then went back to revising again for another 20 minutes - and repeated this.”

He plans to celebrate by have a well-deserved night out with friends.

As you can see from the pics below, students are now receiving their individual results. But in an hour's time we'll get figures through on the overall picture across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb says the ongoing gap in grades between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils - evidenced in last week's A-level results - is a "major concern" for the government.

"Everything we have done since 2010 is about closing that gap," he told BBC Breakfast a few minutes ago.

He said much of the progress to bring that gap down was undone by the disruption caused by Covid.

Gibb refused to say if more money would be available to support pupils who will have to retake their English and maths if they fail today, adding: “We will see what the results are."

Becky Padington
Reporting from Meadow Park School, Coventry

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

We’ll bring you some immediate reaction, as well as the overall picture of results across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, later this morning.

The wait is almost over for students getting their Level 2 results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

GCSE grades in England will fall roughly back to what they were in 2019, after a series of years of inflated grades during and immediately after the pandemic.

Wales and Northern Ireland will still see inflated grades this year.

Stick with us to see how everyone’s got on.

Had a bad night's sleep last night? Feeling the nerves this morning?

Results day can be really stressful and it’s important to know if you’re finding it tough, you’re not alone.

Radio 1 Life Hacks presenter Katie Thistleton has some tips to help you cope with the stress and pressure that comes with results day:

1. Be organised - Make a list and think about your next steps. Find out where you have to collect your results from and what time as well as the next steps for any potential outcomes
2. Don’t bottle up your feelings - Talk to your mum, your best friend, your dog! Be around people that make you feel calm and comfortable when receiving your results
3. Don’t compare yourself with others - Don’t feel pressured to share your results with your classmates straight away, or to post on social media. Remember how hard you have worked for your own results and even if your friends have achieved higher, that doesn’t make your achievement any less impressive

Becky Padington
Reporting from Meadow Park School, Coventry

Image source, Becky Padington / BBC

Students are slowly trickling in to the school I'm at, Meadow Park School in Coventry - I can hear them in the halls, buzzing with anticipation.

Isabelle, 16, was one of the first students through the doors this morning and, despite her nerves, she’s come in with a big smile and lots of energy.

“I’m really nervous but I’m happy the wait can finally be over," she says.

"After I saw the [drop in] A-level results and the grade boundaries last week I started stressing out a lot, but I’m feeling alright now.”

For her GCSEs Isabelle picked art, business and history. Next, she wants to do her A-levels before a degree apprenticeship in business.

Christina McSorley
Education producer

Euan found mainstream schools quite difficult because of his autism, but since moving to Abbey School in Rotherham he has flourished.

The school saw Euan’s potential and ran a GCSE in computer science - just for him.

“The teachers I’ve had this year are the best ones I’ve ever had,” he says.

As well as his computer science GCSE Euan’s done GCSEs in science, maths, English language and English literature, as well as a BTec in creative media.

“The ones I feel quite good about are the science and computer science ones. The ones I don’t feel so good about are the English ones,” he says.

Euan hopes to do a T-level at college in digital support networking, to help set him up for a career in networking and cyber security.

Image source, EPA

As a lot of you will have had ingrained into your memories for the past year, GCSE and other Level 2 results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being released at 08:00 BST this morning.

Students can go to school to get them, or they’re available online.

We'll then see what the overall picture of results is at 09:30.

And at 11:00 we'll have a panel of experts answering your questions on all things results day, so stay with us for that.

Over the last few years, school has been disrupted because of Covid – because of this, exam boards in England say they’ve been “slightly” more lenient when deciding on the grade boundaries.

But there will be a drop in grades as exam boards in England try to bring results back to 2019 levels - unlike in Wales and Northern Ireland, where we're expecting grades to be awarded more generously.

Alice Evans
Live page reporter

It’s GCSE results day - how are you feeling?

Year 11 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be opening their results from 08:00 BST with the nationwide picture of grades coming at 09:30.

Many BTec and Cambridge National students are getting their results today as well. It’s expected that overall GCSE results will be similar to pre-pandemic levels this year, after three years of higher grades.

If you’re on your way to pick up your envelope this morning, good luck – and if you’re undecided on your next steps, or your grades aren’t what you hoped, we’ll be here with advice on what to do.

We’ve got reporters around the country this morning, so stick with as we bring you live updates.