Image source, MERRILL ACADEMY

A boy who spent a year in hospital after being diagnosed with a brain tumour has defied the odds and secured the GCSE grades he needed to attend college.

Jason Ledford, from Alvaston, Derby, was left unable to walk, talk or see after two 11-hour operations in 2019.

The 16-year-old was determined to sit his exams despite the disruption to his studies.

His long hospital stay has inspired him to become a nurse.

The Merrill Academy student's results will now enable him to study health and social care at Derby College.

Jason says that while his left side is still weak and his balance is "not great", he is "getting there" and his "ambition" is to work in one of the wards he was on during his hospital stay.

"I know what a difference it makes when you have a nice nurse - mine were amazing," he says.

GCSE students have received another set of record grades this year.

Top grades (7/As and above) rose to 28.9% from 26.2% last year.

Grades 4/Cs and above - seen as passes - rose to 77.1%, up from 76.3%.

Exam officials say it reflects that no one has had a bad day in an exam and that pupils had multiple chances to show their best potential.

England's exam watchdog Ofqual said the system was fair, each centre had its assessment policy reviewed and samples of work were checked during a "quality assurance" process.

Exam boards say that below 1% of grades were changed in the checking process.

Covid disruption means exams were cancelled for 2020 and 2021, both of which saw significantly higher results for GCSEs and A-levels.

What will happen to GCSEs next year?published at 13:10 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

13:10 BST 12 August 2021

What's going to happen next year? Year 10 pupils have missed much of their normal work - Emma Thomas

Catherine Sezen from the Association of Colleges says:

Rest assured that the key decision-makers are aware of the impact of the past 18 months on young people across the age range at schools, colleges and universities.

Plans for exams in 2022 are being considered at the moment to help ensure that current year 10s will have the best possible opportunity to achieve the grades they deserve, while taking into account the challenges the disruption to learning they have faced.

Read more and submit your own questions

If you are just joining us on GCSE results day, here is a quick summary of the main headlines this morning.

• It's been another bumper year of GCSE results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - with top grades (7/As and above) rising 2.7 percentage points to 28.9%
• Northern Ireland had highest grades with grades A* and A awarded to just under 40% of entries
• In Wales, 73.6% achieved at least C grade or above, roughly the same as 2020, but again a sharp rise on 2019
• Pupils in Scotland received their results for the National 5 - the GCSE equivalent - on Tuesday, with the percentage of As up, to 46.7% from 42.3% in 2020.
• Exams were cancelled across the UK for the second year in a row because of the pandemic
• Teachers submitted grades for the more than half a million pupils on GCSE courses this year, using evidence such as mock exams, course work and tests
• Schools Minister Nick Gibb defended the results, saying it was "the best alternative to exams" in the circumstances and pupils could be "confident" of the grades.
• In England, independent schools had the biggest increase in top grades. It comes as Labour is calling for the education secretary to be sacked over the gap in A-level results between state and private schools

Image source, Sydney Russell school

Michelle is “over the moon” with her five 9 grades and four 8s.

She’s a bit surprised she got so many 9s, although she expected to do well, as she’s worked so hard.

Dad Samuel says he is proud of her achievements and it’s what she deserves.

He says: “She’s worked really hard over the years from Year 7. The teachers know the children better.”

Michelle, of Sydney Russell school in Dagenham, says she’s found studying for her GCSEs over the past two years “a real life test”.

She says: “It was stressful and exhausting because I had to sit down at a computer screen for five to six hours. But I liked the way our school gave us a one-day break to focus on activities to support our mental health.”

She’s not made a final decision on what to study next year.

“I’m hoping I can find some subjects I can enjoy and there will be no more disruption."

Will employers see 2021 grades as less valid?published at 12:43 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

12:43 BST 12 August 2021

Will employers judge students' grades from 2020/21 as being less valid or meaningful than other years? - Josh Allen

Catherine Sezen from the Association of Colleges says:

Young people and adults receiving GCSE grades today at schools and colleges up and down the country should be proud of their achievements.

Behind the scenes a lot of work has been going on to help explain the exceptional circumstances of this year to those with a keen interest, such as young people themselves, parents, carers and employers.

Remember too that what employers are looking for is a range of skills and attributes, not just grades.

Joanne Elliott from the National Careers Service says:

Employers will want to see a mixture of hard and soft skills.

Your qualifications are hard skills, and soft skills are things like time management, planning, organisation and effective communication.

You can learn, gain and demonstrate these skills through work experience, so it is vital to gain some meaningful work experience if you can.

Image source, PA Media

GCSE student Jack Lin says the Covid pandemic has cost students "half a year of education".

"It gave us a lot of stress and we had to work extra hard to get the grades that we needed," he says. "So I think it was pretty hard for most people."

Jack, a student at Birmingham's City Academy, got three grade 7s, two 6s and two 5s, which is what he needs to go to sixth form college to study philosophy and history.

The 16-year-old, who eventually wants to be a barrister, says: "I hope my family are proud of me. I did try my best - it is what it is."

Brianna Prince, who is also a student at Birmingham's City Academy, got three grade 9s and four 8s among her nine results.

She says she has done "better than expected" after uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

The 16-year-old, who hopes to eventually study medicine at university and become a surgeon, says: "I'm really happy.

"I think leading up to it... we didn't know what it was going to be like, so I kind of expected the worst."

She says her mother is "going to be happier than I am, probably screaming and jumping everywhere".

As Wales' GCSE students receive confirmation of their teacher-set grades today, its qualifications watchdog has insisted exams "definitely have their place" in assessing pupils in the future.

It comes after one teaching union said there were "huge questions" about whether "a barrage" of formal exams at 16 was now necessary.

But David Jones, chairman of Qualifications Wales, disagrees and argues exams should remain part of a range of assessment methods.

He says different forms of assessment have been developing over recent years and this has increased during the pandemic.

He adds that there is an "unique opportunity" as part of the new Welsh curriculum to look at new approaches, but experience of exams is important.

"A lot of learners, but not all learners, go on to university and higher education and they do examinations at university," he says.

"I think we would be letting them down if we didn't give them some preparation for examinations by doing them at schools and colleges and, of course, many of our learners move on from degrees to do professional qualifications."

Qualifications Wales says exams, alongside other forms of assessment, "remain the fairest way to assess a learner's level of attainment".

Bethan Lewis
BBC Wales Family & Education Correspondent

The number of top grades given out at GCSE in Wales has increased for the second year running, according to the official results published today.

A total of 28.7% A and A* grades were awarded, compared to 18.4% when exams were last held in 2019.

Figures show 73.6% achieved at least C grade or above, roughly the same as 2020, but again a sharp rise on 2019.

Grades were decided by teachers after exams were scrapped due to Covid-19.

Qualifications Wales says it had been a "difficult year for everyone in education".

Read more in our story here

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent

As we've reported, almost 40% of GCSE entries in Northern Ireland have been awarded the top grades of A or A*.

At Ashfield Girls’ High School in east Belfast, pupils are arriving at intervals throughout the morning in order to adhere to Covid regulations.

Among the first group is Mia, who says she is “over the moon” – particularly with her A in media studies, which she hopes will help with her plans for a career in the creative industries.

“I did better than I thought I would," she says.

"I couldn’t have done it without the help of our teachers, who did so much extra to get us through during the lockdowns."

Mackenzie is “absolutely delighted” after achieving an A* in all her subjects.

“I can’t believe it – we’re all feeling emotional this morning," she says.

"Studying during Covid was stressful – but we all worked together with our teachers to make it work, and the results mean it was all worthwhile."

As we reported earlier, Schools Minister Nick Gibb says this has been a "very different year" and it's right that exams were cancelled.

"This was the best alternative to exams," he says. "I think people can be confident of the grades that have been awarded this year."

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving the results of their GCSE and vocational qualifications today.

Grades are being based on teachers' assessments of mock tests and coursework after exams were cancelled for a second year in a row due to the pandemic.

But what can pupils do if they are unhappy with their result?

There are a couple of options.

You can re-take a subject in the autumn, or, if you think a result is wrong, you can appeal.

Grades can go up or down if they are changed.

The first step is to ask the school to review the grade as soon as possible.

If you are still unsatisfied with the school's decision, you can appeal to the exam board.

The deadline for this is 17 September - or 23 August for priority appeals.

You can read more here.

Image source, Sydney Russell school

We heard from Roman earlier, who was feeling calm ahead of getting his results at the Sydney Russell school in Dagenham.

He has now discovered that he got four 7s and four 8s in his GCSEs.

“I’m definitely satisfied but in a sense, I feel I’ve been bumped down a few grades due to some exams being very different and out of the ordinary this year compared to other years," he says.

Roman's now aiming to do an economics degree in a few years' time.

Image source, Sydney Russell school

Rejus is ecstatic with his two 9s, three 8s and a bunch of 7s. A violinist in a number of orchestras, he’s aiming for a career in music.

“I was really, really nervous and in a negative state of mind, especially over these past two days," he says.

"I thought I was going to get lower results. So it’s a lot of relief."

Rejus has asthma and is classed as vulnerable so he missed a lot of time in the classroom compared to his friends.

“It was difficult working from home when everyone was in the classroom. I didn’t get as much attention from teachers but I worked hard and caught up."

Rejus has found this year overwhelming and chaotic.

He says: “When the school closed, it was quite extraordinary and fun for a while. But after a year, it really sunk in how many resources and how many lessons we’d missed.”

Mum Elmyra says she’s really proud his hard work has paid off.

Image source, PA Media

Rekha Shell-Macleod, head of school at CORE Education Trust's City Academy in Birmingham, says the process of teachers deciding grades for pupils has been "challenging", but she is confident the school's results are robust.

"Our results haven't been inflated - they are broadly in line with what they were and have been in previous years as well, which is reassuring," she says.

"It just goes to show that everything we have done has been completely robust and, most importantly, it's about the students - making sure that they get the results they deserve and are able to move on to the next place in their learning."

The school used a mixture of evidence to decide grades, including mock exams, homework and book work.

She adds that the school also submitted samples to exam boards, who were happy the grades were fair.

Image source, PA Media

Olympic medal-winning twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova are among those collecting their GCSE results today.

It comes just weeks after they were part of the women's gymnastics team that won bronze in Tokyo.

The 16-year-olds plan to stay on at Aylesbury Vale Academy, where they will both study sport and management at sixth form.

"We are very happy and pleased, we both got the pass and are very thrilled," says Jessica.

"It was very difficult and it would not have been possible without the support from our teachers and coaches.

"If there were days that we had to miss school because of training, they would give us the resources and help to catch up."

The pair were part of Great Britain's first women's team to win an Olympic gymnastics medal since 1928.

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

There has been a rise in the number of top GCSE grades in Northern Ireland.

Grades A* and A were awarded to just under 40% of entries, up from 37.1% in 2020.

This year about nine in every ten entries were awarded A to C grades, a similar proportion to last year.

Girls continue to outperform boys when it comes to the top grades.

Just under half of entries from girls in 2021 received A* or A grades compared to about a third of entries from boys.

Image source, Richmond Park Academy

Georgia at Richmond Park Academy says the past year “has felt surreal”.

“Time seemed to just pass and it didn’t feel like a year at all. We had to study at home and at times it was really hard.”

Elisabeth, who is going on to study A-levels, believes it is unfair for anyone to suggest their results are worth less than those from previous years.

"It’s better that we have been assessed and rewarded for our actual work. It would be wrong to give us lower grades - we should be rewarded for our achievements."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Since September, the BBC has been following Wales High School near Rotherham in South Yorkshire, as it grappled with social distancing rules, self-isolation and closure.

Staff had to mark and assess students' work after exams were cancelled for a second year in a row.

Its headteacher Pepe Di'Iasio and three GCSE pupils - Liam Betts, George Carnall and Kelsie Wilson have been telling Radio 4's Today programme about how they're feeling on results day.

Di'Iasio says: "We are quite excited this morning because hopefully this marks a real watershed in the end of what has been one of the most uniquely challenging years.

"What we're hoping for is that we can celebrate the achievements of our Year 11 students today and then start to look forward to what will be a really exciting year in which we can return to some of those norms of the past."

George says he feels "really good" about his results, as he's done better than he expected, adding: "I'm now starting to get a little bit more excited for sixth form now."

Kelsie says she is "relieved" with her grades, as she also has done better than she expected.

"I know I've worked very hard for it when we've been in lockdown, so I'm happy and surprised!" She says.

Liam says he did some assessments for his results and has achieved the grades he expected.