Bethan Lewis
BBC Wales family and education correspondent

Thousands of pupils are receiving their GCSEs amid major changes to qualifications in Wales.

Year 10 pupils get marks for revamped GCSEs for the first time - a year into courses which have been criticised for placing "extreme pressure" on staff and pupils.

Wales' main exam board, the WJEC, said it had already made changes and was doing "everything that we can" to ensure results were "fair and balanced for all learners".

Pupils will also get results for vocational qualifications, and the Welsh Baccalaureate will be awarded for the last time at this level before being replaced with new skills courses.

In 2025, 62.5% of pupils achieved A* to C - 0.3 percentage points up on 2024.

Emily Doughty
Reporting from Lees Brook Academy in Derby

The confetti cannon went off at this school in Derby at exactly 08:00 as students started to pick up their results.

Instant reactions are ones of cheers and laughter, and there are lots of happy tears too.

Gem O'Reilly
Reporting from Lift Bexleyheath, south London

The atmosphere here is one of excitement and anxiety as the teachers set up for pupils arriving at 08:30 BST to retrieve their results.

Lift Bexleyheath got 62% of grades 4 and above last year for GCSEs but this year they know they’ve surpassed that.

And the teachers have been working hard to prepare the pupils not just for their results, but future-proofing them.

Rubeka Luthfa, the principal here, says it’s important to make sure all the students are supported and their next steps are “secured from the point they leave the gate”.

“They have a range of different options to make that decision about what they’d like to specialise in the future. For example we’ve introduced cyber security as our sixth form offer."

Students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are starting to open the envelopes containing their GCSE, BTec and Cambridge results.

We have reporters at schools and colleges around the country, stay with us and we’ll bring you all that reaction.

We'll also have practical advice for you if your results did - or didn't - go how you wanted them to.

Good luck!

More now from Lucy Powell, who tells BBC Breakfast that the government is looking at changing the current system around resits for English and maths qualifications.

Currently, in England, if a pupil doesn't get a passing grade in GCSE maths and English the first time around, they need to keep studying for them alongside their following courses, such as A-levels or T-levels.

But the education secretary tells the BBC this is "one of the barriers" that is stopping pupils going further, as only one in every five pupils who resits English and maths is passing them.

"It's knocking their confidence, it's not giving them the passport they need," she explains.

As a result, Powell says the government wants to introduce a new "pathway qualification" at level one - below GCSEs which are level two.

"That would be a sufficient gateway to get onto the next path," Powell adds.

The education secretary says she's hoping to bring in this change by 2028, though admits this is ambitious as "qualification reform takes some time" and employers need to recognise this is a "good qualification".

In just 10 minutes, students will begin tearing open envelopes and finding out their GCSE, BTec or Cambridge National results.

Schools and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will now be filling up as the anxious wait to see how they’ve done comes to an end.

Some will be excited, others will be nervous. A few may feel both these things.

And for the first time, students across England will be able to access their exam results via an app from 11:00 BST.

Stay with us and we'll bring you the latest.

Education secretary Lucy Powell says she's hoping her own daughter receives the GCSE results she's after this morning.

Asked if she will be with her daughter for the big moment, Powell tells BBC Breakfast that she cannot because she's on the show.

"As usual it's a parenting failure on my part," she jokes.

"But it's an exciting day for young people who have worked really hard, and for their teachers and families who have supported them," she adds.

Powell says she feels that the stakes of GCSEs are higher than when she took them, adding that she wants young people to "be able to feel they have a passport, a gateway, a pathway" to that "next stage".

Emily Doughty
Reporting from Lees Brook Academy in Derby

Students are starting to arrive here in Derby, preparing to open their results at 08:00.

Although they say they aren’t nervous, friends James and Noah both claim the other is showing nerves.

“You speak a lot when you're nervous,” James says to Noah. “And you're speaking a lot now.”

James's mum Helen is here for emotional support, but says she is more nervous than both the boys.

She tells me she's the one who's in need of emotional support right now.

Pre-results nerves are very common and can manifest in all sorts of different ways: sleepless nights, short tempers, loss of appetite, nausea, anxiety; the lot.

First of all, it's important to remember that you're not alone. Thousands of students around the country are probably feeling the same way.

While you might not be able to get rid of these feelings entirely, there are ways to manage them. Here are a few tips from the NHS to help you decompress:

• Focus on calming, long, slow and deep breaths. Count to five as you inhale and exhale
• Go outside, breathe in the fresh air, and get a change of environment
• Engage your senses to ground you. What can you see, touch, hear, taste and smell?
• Listen to music
• Talking through your feelings can help you make sense of them in your head and make them clearer

Image source, Getty Images

Last year the GCSE pass rate - results at a grade 4/C or above - was 67.4% across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, very slightly down on the 67.6% seen in 2024.

Here are they key takeaways from 2025:

• The pass rate actually rose in Wales (from 62.2% to 62.5%) and Northern Ireland (from 82.7% to 83.5%), while England saw a drop from 67.4% to 67.1%
• The percentage of all top grades, marked at 7/A or above, rose very slightly from 21.8% to 21.9%
• The gap between boys' and girls' pass rates across all three nations narrowed to its lowest on record, with a difference of 6.1 percentage points in 2025, down from 6.7 the previous year

In Scotland, pupils typically do not sit GCSEs, but take National 5 qualifications - the results of which were released earlier this month.

Our panel of experts will be on hand throughout the day to answer your questions on anything you're unsure of.

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BBC Bitesize

The last time you were in school you might've been sat in silence, scribbling down answers until you heard "pens down".

This time, instead of handing in papers - you'll be receiving them.

Last night's sleep might've been rocky, and you might be feeling the nerves.

Here are a few things you can do to make the day run a bit smoother:

Open your results where you feel comfortable: if the thought of opening your results in front of others worries you, find a quiet space and open them elsewhere with a loved one.

Avoid comparison: each person has their own unique skillset, and we often perform better in different areas. Be sure to focus on your own grades and your next steps.

Take deep breaths: when you pick results up you don't need to open them immediately, take a deep breath and take moments to pause.

Have support around you: teachers who have seen your work, friends, family and loved ones can all help celebrate and support you.

Make your schedule flexible: if you're not quite sure how your results will turn out, having time to look at them could allow you to decide on the rest of the day - don't put too much pressure on yourself to do anything specific today.

Emily Doughty
Reporting from Lees Brook Academy in Derby

Students here at Lees Brook Academy in Derby will be arriving to a red carpet welcome.

Nearly 200 of them will be walking that carpet to find out their results in couple of hours.

We'll be bringing you their reaction a little later on.

Image source, Getty Images

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to access their GCSE results from 08:00 BST, when schools will be opening for those going in to collect them.

If you are collecting your results in person, make sure to check with the school for exact timings and arrangements.

For the first time, pupils in England will be able to get their results via the new Education Record app which will deliver grades directly to their phone from 11:00 BST.

The new app - trialled with 95,000 pupils in Manchester and the West Midlands last summer - will also allow students to store a digital record of those results for future use, such as when applying for jobs or further education.

GCSEs are graded differently depending on where you live in the UK.

In England, they are graded using a numerical system from 9-1, rather than the A-E system that was previously in place.

Students need 4 for a "standard pass" and 5 for a "strong pass".

In Wales and Northern Ireland, GCSEs are still graded using letters - unless an exam taken in those nations is managed by an English examination board.

Scotland has a different qualification system, external. Those results were released earlier this month.

Image source, Ofqual

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland has a different qualification system, , externalwith Nationals instead of GCSEs, and Highers, which are similar to A-levels.

Scottish students have been able to get their results via an online app since 2019.

Results day in Scotland was on Tuesday 4 August, when the pass rate for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams rose across the board.

Statistics showed the National 5 pass rate had risen by 0.8% in 2025 to 79.2% this year.

Similarly, the pass rate for Highers was up 0.8% to 76.7% while Advanced Highers rose by 0.9% to 77.6%.

Female students also achieved higher pass rates at all exam levels than their male counterparts, while private schools performed significantly better than state schools.

And, admissions service Ucas said a record number of young Scots have been accepted into university or college.

• Our news story has the full rundown of how results played out in Scotland

Image source, Getty Images

It's going to be a busy morning for students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland receiving their exam results - here's a quick look how the day will unfold:

• 08:00 BST: This is when your GCSE, BTec or Cambridge National results will be available if you’re going into school to collect them - grade boundaries for all three will be released shortly after

• 09:30: National data will be published looking at the bigger picture from results day
• 11:00: Results for students in England are available to view online for the first time via the Education Record app

Madeleine Lake
Live reporter

Alarms are ringing bright and early for teenagers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland this morning as students prepare to collect their exam results.

After years of hard work - and the longest summer holiday of their lives - the wait is almost over.

At 08:00 BST, results for GCSEs, BTecs and Cambridge Nationals will be released.

We've got reporters at schools and colleges so we can hear from students as they get their grades and begin to decide on their next steps.

And we’ll also have experts on hand to answer your questions about what comes next, as well as analysis on the bigger picture.

If you’re getting your results today, let me join those wishing you good luck. Yes, it's a big day. But it's also important to remember that these results don't define you.

And if it hasn’t gone the way you want it to, we’ll have loads of practical advice for you throughout the day.