Some Isle of Man A-level students sent results a day early

Students at Ballakermeen High School were asked to delete the email and ignore its contents

Some A-level students have been sent their results on email a day early by mistake.

A high school in Douglas on the Isle of Man confirmed the communication was meant to be timed to go out on Thursday morning.

Ballakermeen High School said emails had "accidentally" been sent early and pupils were asked to "delete and disregard" them.

How the mistake happened was currently being investigated, the school said.

There is a national embargo on the results until 08:00 BST Thursday, in line with England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

'Unfortunate'

A Ballakermeen High School spokesman said "no advantage" could be gained by those who were seeking to secure a university place as educational institutions would not take calls in advance of the embargo.

Although the situation was "not particularly helpful", normal preparations for the official release of the results on Thursday were continuing at the school, he said.

Sixth Form staff would then be on hand to support students with their university choices and finding a place through the clearing system if necessary, he added.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said: "All applicants will be receiving the decisions on their applications at 08:00am tomorrow, and while it's unfortunate that some applicants have found out their results before, this has not impacted the decisions made by universities and colleges.

"And this year, applicants will receive an email from Ucas tailored to them, which will clearly outline their next steps and other options they may want to consider."

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture has been contacted for a comment.