Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving their A-level results
The number of As and A*s awarded have increased to 44.8% from 38.5% last year
Because of the pandemic grades have been determined by teachers' estimates, rather than exams
Scottish Highers, National 5s and Advanced Highers results are also being confirmed
Students in Scotland received grades decided by their teachers after provisional grades were awarded in June
Hundreds of thousands of students who studied for BTecs - practical qualifications aimed at specific jobs - are also getting their results
They have also received teacher-assessed grades - although some practical assessments were carried out under social-distancing guidelines
The A-level results follow last year's chaos when grades were initially calculated based on an algorithm
This meant teachers estimates were used in most cases in 2020
The head of exams watchdog Ofqual says teacher assessments give a "more accurate reflection" of what students can achieve
Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor
How A Level and GCSE results are calculated
Results day is here and getting those grades can feel like a triumph or a disaster.
But there are always more options than you think for your next step.
Here’s what you need to know about how your grades are calculated and how to appeal if you think a grade is wrong.
Image source, Peter Symonds CollegeAyomide Olumade has been telling friends of the 2 As and 2 Bs she's obtained at Peter Symonds College in Winchester.
"The past year has been a real struggle, but with the help and support of my family and teachers I got what I wanted, I got through it," the 18-year-old says.
"I really hope everyone getting their results has success today like me.”
If exams are sat in autumn and the higher of either the Teacher Assessed Grade or the exam are allowed to be used, will the lower result have to be declared on Ucas university applications? - Rachel Jones, Tyne and Wear
Courteney Sheppard from Ucas says:
In England, exams will be held in October under normal conditions. Any student can take one of these if they were originally due to take the exam in the summer.
The university or college looking at your application will base it on the higher of the two, if you submit your application after both results have been received.
However, if you haven't received your autumn exam grades, you need to list the grade you achieved in summer, and list your autumn grade as "pending".
Ucas will then pass on the new grades once they have been received by the awarding body.
Once you have received the grades from any exams taken in October, you will then need to contact your chosen university or college.
Read more and get help from our exam experts here
Image source, PA MediaThe pass rate for Scottish school qualifications dropped slightly in 2021 but scores were still well above pre-pandemic levels.
The percentage of pupils achieving A to C grades in their Highers fell from 89.3% in 2020 to 87.3%.
But that total is still significantly above the 75% pass rate from 2019, and a record high number of awards overall.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority also confirms the A to C attainment rate for National 5 was 85.8%, compared to 89% in 2020
And for Advanced Highers it was 90.2%, a fall of 2.9%.
Results certificates have been sent to almost 137,000 candidates across Scotland while more than 54,000 also received their results by text or email.
Scottish Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville says pupils have delivered "a strong set of results, achieved under extraordinary circumstances".
Read more here.
Quote MessageThis has been a very challenging year for everyone and today is a results day like no other
Fiona Robertson, SQA chief executive
BBC Breakfast
Alastair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents institutions across the UK, spoke to the BBC earlier this morning.
He says while his organisation has been predicting "record numbers" of students going to university this year, the "vast majority" of them will be able to get into the course they want.
Asked if there will be enough accommodation for these record admissions, he tells BBC Breakfast: "It’s not a big surprise that there are more students this year... we know that demand is high.
"Universities have been planning that so students should be confident that they can get a good place at university and starting in the autumn."
Jarvis adds that students should expect universities to provide the "vast majority" of activities in person, including seminar groups, support services, freshers' week activities and sports and cultural clubs, but it would depend on the institution so advised students to ask about this.
He also gives some advice for students who haven't got the grades and automatic university place they hoped for today, explaining that they should first call their university and explain the situation.
Image source, Getty ImagesA record number of students have been accepted on UK degree courses this year, Ucas figures show.
A total of 435,430 people, from the UK and overseas, have had places confirmed, up 5% on the same point last year, according to data published by the university admissions service.
Among UK applicants, 388,230 have been accepted - an 8% rise compared with results day last year.
A record 395,770 students have also been accepted on their first choice of full-time course in the UK, up 8% from 365,500 at the same point in 2020.
As we have been reporting, hundreds of thousands of young people are receiving their exam results this morning - as top grades for A-level results reach a record high in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It's the second year in a row where students have not sat their exams because of the pandemic.
Image source, PA MediaStudents at Archbishop Blanch School in Liverpool, receive their A-level results
Image source, PA MediaLeila Jarvis hugs her mother after receiving her grades at Kensington Aldridge Academy in London
Image source, PA MediaIanre Dada was also among those collecting their results from the school
The rise in top grades at A-level means the proportion getting top A* and A grades has risen by almost 75% since the last time conventional exams were taken in 2019.
With more top grades and record numbers applying for university, it will put pressure on places for the most competitive universities and courses.
This morning, admissions service Ucas said a record 396,000 students have been confirmed in their first choice course.
Image source, Loughborough CollegeShivani got 2 A*s in A-levels in accounting and economics this morning to add to the A* she got last year in maths.
She says it’s not really sunk in yet but she’s pleased.
"It's strange not to have sat exams this year and it might seem more real if I had."
She now has the grades to take up her place at Loughborough University.
Image source, Getty ImagesThere’s been a sharp increase in the top grades awarded at A-level after a second year of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As and A*s increased 6.3 percentage points to 44.8% from 38.5% last year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
All exams were cancelled for a second year in a row, with grades this year being decided by teachers from a range of tests, coursework and mock exams.
The top grades have increased by 75% over the two years from 25.5% in 2019 – the last time examinations were sat.
Image source, Loughborough CollegeFinn at Loughborough College got 3 A*s in his A-levels today and he says he’s ecstatic.
It means he will be able to take up his place at the University of Oxford to study Law.
After two very challenging years, Finn says he is in slight disbelief at how he's done.
But he believes the system of teacher assessed grades worked well.
Williamson: 'We expect students to be getting better grades'
Responding to concerns that students heading to university this year might face online rather than in-person learning, the education secretary indicates he expects universities to return to face-to-face teaching.
He tells BBC Breakfast: "We’ve been clear with universities that it is absolutely safe and ok to do face-to-face teaching… I want to see that happen."
He says the government wants to see "high-quality teaching" and a "key element" of that is always going to be in person.
Williamson says he will be asking the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, to "put as much pressure" on universities to resume full face-to-face teaching.
Asked separately on Sky News whether tuition fee refunds should be given if in-person teaching did not resume, he says: "Universities have got to sort of stand up their offer to their own students.
"I think that they have the flexibility and the ability to deliver face-to-face lectures, and expect them to be delivering face-to-face lectures."
Pressed further, he adds: "I think if universities are not delivering what students expect, then actually they shouldn't be charging the full fees."
Asked about whether there will be enough space for the increased number of students going to university, he tells the BBC the government has already worked with institutions on this, including increasing the number of places on medical courses and giving an extra £10m for universities to increase the number of high quality, more expensive courses.
He adds: "We’re confident that the student experience is going to be an ever-better experience."
BBC Breakfast
The education secretary is asked about a report by thinktank the Institute for Government, external, which criticises the government's "failure [and] indeed refusal", external to make contingency plans for schools and exams last summer during the pandemic.
Williamson insists the report is “inaccurate and misleading” because his department had undergone contingency planning during the autumn term in the run up to Christmas, including setting out plans for a return to exams in 2021.
Pushed on whether his department should have planned earlier for a second wave and the impact it would have on education, he adds the government has "learnt a lot of experiences" from the teacher/centre assessed grades process and he feels last year's system did not serve students "well enough".
He argues it would have "been wrong" not to reflect the lessons learned from last year in this year's policy approach to contingency planning.
Last year, when exams were cancelled due to the pandemic, results were initially based on a controversial algorithm - which saw about 40% of A-level results downgraded - before a U-turn meant teachers' grades were used in most cases.
BBC Breakfast
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been speaking to the BBC this morning ahead of students receiving their results.
Asked if he is happy with reports that almost half the students who took A-levels will get either an A or A* today, external, Williamson says while results are expected to be higher this year than in previous years, it has been an “exceptional year” for students and teachers due to the pandemic. We should be “celebrating” their hard work, he says.
He tells BBC Breakfast: “This cohort of students have had to deal with a level of disruption that no one has ever seen before."
Williamson insists the government is “right” to take “unprecedented steps” with the system for this year’s results, to ensure students can take the next step forward in their careers.
He says his department has set out “a process of returning back to normality” for next year, with hopes exams will resume.
But he says there will be “mitigations” put in place in recognition of the disruption next year’s students will have faced to their schooling.
Students getting results today can feel satisfied their grades are fair, the head of the exams watchdog says.
Simon Lebus from Ofqual - which oversees exams in England - strongly defended the system for deciding A-level and GCSE results this year.
He says teacher assessments give a "much more accurate reflection" of what students can achieve.
But he says while pupils can appeal a teacher's judgement, the bar is high.
"Exams are a bit like a snapshot, a photograph - you capture an instant," he says.
"Whereas teacher assessment allows teachers to observe student performance over a much longer period, taking into account lots of different pieces of work and arriving at a holistic judgement."
He explains the three stages of checks that results go through here.
Image source, MollyStudents receiving results today have had both of their past two years of study interrupted by the pandemic.
Molly, aged 18, from Liverpool, says she's feeling particularly anxious about getting her A-level results later.
All the disruption means that she doesn't "feel in control of my own level of achievement".
"I feel like it's been a rollercoaster," she says.
"There have been times when I feel like it's better it happened this way, and there have been other times when I think, if I could, I would redo the whole two years. The anxiety comes in waves."
Molly is also concerned her qualifications may be less valued in the future.
"I feel employers might look at our grades and say that was the year Covid happened and you didn't sit proper exams."
Find out how other students are feeling ahead of getting their results here.
A combination of coursework, mock exams and essays has been used by teachers to decide grades.
The head teacher of each school has to sign off the results and say there is evidence to back them up.
The freedom given to schools meant students have had very different experiences this year - with some doing more tests than others.
To ensure consistent judgements were made, some measures were put in place by exam boards, such as requiring a sample of student work to be submitted.
Last year, when exams were also cancelled, results were initially calculated based on an algorithm, before a U-turn meant teachers estimates were used in most cases.
You can read more in our guide to results day here.
Image source, Jane BarlowThe nervous wait for A-level students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is almost over as they receive their results today.
These grades have been determined by teachers' estimates instead of exams due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Scottish Highers results are also being confirmed after teachers awarded provisional grades in June.
And BTec students will get their results today and on Thursday.
Stay tuned for results and reaction from around the UK.