Robbie Meredith
NI education correspondent

Almost a third of GCSE entries in Northern Ireland have again been awarded the top A* and A grades.

That is much higher than in England or Wales.

More than 32,000 students have received their GCSE results in Northern Ireland today, with 31.7% of GCSE entries awarded A* or A.

That compares to 31.6% in 2025.

In English language and maths, which are compulsory subjects, over a quarter of entries were awarded grade A or A*.

Robbie Meredith
NI education correspondent

About 32,000 students in Northern Ireland have received their GCSE and some vocational qualification results.

Precious, a student from Integrated College Glengormley, in County Antrim, achieved two A*s, six As and one B.

"I'm very, very happy," Precious says, adding: "I was really nervous last night, but my mum was more nervous."

Oliver, from the same school, says he exceeded his expectations with five A*s and five As.

"It's been a nervous wait, but I'm really happy to have gotten my results," he says.

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

Nearly a quarter of maths and English GCSEs in England were taken by people aged 17 and older this year.

They made up 24.3% of maths and English grades – up from 23.4% last year.

Their pass rates are lower than last year. And, as is the case every year, they are also much lower than the pass rates among 16-year-olds.

In England, 19.8% of English language entries and 15.3% of maths entries from people aged 17 and over were marked at grade 4 - the pass rate - or higher.

Some of those older students will be mature students sitting exams for the first time, but most will be young people resitting papers.

In England, pupils who don't get at least a grade 4 in GCSE English and maths have to continue studying for it alongside their next course - their A-levels or their T-level, for example.

Resitting is not a requirement, according to the DfE, but colleges will generally enter students into exams when they think they are ready.

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

The GCSE results are similar to last year.

Here's a breakdown of the proportion of GCSEs marked at 4/C in each nation:

• 67% in England, down from 67.1% in 2025
• 62.3% in Wales, down from 62.5%
• 83.6% in Northern Ireland, up from 83.5%

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

The national data giving us an overall picture of GCSE results and how they compare to previous years has just been released.

The overall GCSE pass rate has remained stable - with 67.3% of all grades across England, Wales and Northern Ireland at 4/C and above.

That’s only very slightly down from 67.4% last year.

What we’re seeing is a picture of consistency, broadly, after years of flux in 2020 and 2021 when exams were cancelled because of the Covid pandemic and results were based on teachers' assessments.

In fact, today’s pass rate is exactly the same as it was in 2019.

The proportion of top grades - marked at 7/A or above - has also remained steady, rising very slightly from 21.9% last year to 22% this year.

We’ll be digging into the data today to work out what’s happening beyond those headline figures.

Emily Holt
Reporting from Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy

Reagan has achieved merits in his business and sports science BTecs, as well as an eight in GCSE English, and is very pleased to have passed maths too.

"I got exactly what i needed, I'm delighted," he says.

"Maths was difficult and it was looking like I wasn't going to do well, but I'm so happy."

He says it feels great that he doesn't have to resit maths this year, and he is now going on to do three A-levels in psychology, PE and criminology.

Whether you're happy with your exam results or you're unsure of what to do next, we want to hear from you.

We've got a panel of experts on hand to answer your questions later this morning.

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BBC Bitesize

For parents and carers, it can be hard to know what to say to your child on results day.

From worries to not getting the desired results and supporting your child, Bitesize Parenting has spoken to educational psychologist Professor David Putwain for his advice.

Putwain, a professor of education and early childhood studies at Liverpool John Moores University, says: "Let your children know that you’re available to help and plan options for what to do if they didn’t receive the grades they’d hoped for.

"Remember that education, and the pressures on children, are very different to what they were 20 or 30 years ago. It’s best to avoid a ‘what worked for me’ approach. Let your child lead.

"Schedule something nice for after results (before or after they’ve celebrated with friends) to acknowledge their achievement - whatever it was."

• Read more from David Putwain on BBC Bitesize here

We've been reporting from Lees Brook Academy in Derby, where students were surprised by a confetti cannon as they arrived to collect their results.

Year 11 student Olivia tells the BBC: "It’s really exciting. I’m really happy with what I got - nines, eights and sevens."

She's thrilled to be heading off to sixth form. Her mum is chuffed too - she describes today as a "special moment for the whole family".

A fellow student says he's pleased he got the results needed to qualify for an apprenticeship, which he describes as “getting the hands-on work, as well as doing the education you need".

Image source, Reuters

Earlier we heard from Education Secretary Lucy Powell that the government is introducing a new "stepping stone" qualification - between GCSEs and further studies - to break the resit cycle.

She's also been talking about this with BBC Radio 4's Today programme - and says it's not right that students resitting and struggling to pass maths and English are being branded as "failures" and thrown "to the scrap heap".

Powell says introducing a level one qualification for the subjects is not "lowering standards" for academic excellence.

She adds: "I profoundly reject the suggestion that a technical or vocational qualification is somehow for not-so-clever kids, or is a lower standard or expectation."

Patrick McCabe, 16, has cerebral palsy and completed all seven of his GCSEs in the space of five months using eye-gaze technology.

He was inspired to sit the exams after seeing former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow appear on CBeebies' Bedtime Stories in 2022.

Burrow was the first non-verbal person to read the nightly bedtime story, using the same technology Patrick would later use to complete his exams.

Burrow died of motor neurone disease in 2024, aged 41.

Patrick, who describes himself as "hard-working, resilient and a little bit cheeky", says the process was challenging: "I wasn't able to write my workings out, so I had to do them in my head which was very difficult."

Bethan Lewis
BBC Wales family and education correspondent

Image source, Yaroslav

Year 11 pupil Yaroslav, who moved to Wales from Ukraine in 2022 with his mother, is among those getting his results this morning.

He has his sights set on becoming an engineer to "help my own country".

He says the support he received from teachers at Caldicot School in Monmouthshire has been "amazing", adding that he is looking forward to continuing to learn Welsh.

"I am a guest and I want to respect the language," he adds.

Vanessa Clarke
Senior education reporter

We've been following 16-year-old Sophia, from Derby, during the exam period this summer.

She was really nervous about getting her English language grade, but has just found out she's passed and is delighted.

She says she is "very shocked" as she worried she might have had to resit, and says she "can't believe it".

It means she can go on to do an apprenticeship in childcare.

She's hoping to celebrate with a meal out later with her mum Serena and dad Michael, who say they're very proud and "always believed she would pass".

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says students receiving their GCSE results today should be "proud of the work that got you here".

"Whatever your results, remember there isn’t just one route to success," he writes on X.

He says his government is creating "more opportunities" for young people to choose the "path that's right for them, whether that's academic or technical".

"Every young person should have the chance to fulfil their potential," he adds. "I’ll make sure they do."

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

Image source, Oscar

Aspiring engineer Oscar says he’s feeling excited but "a little nervous" ahead of collecting his GCSE results this morning.

The South Devon University Technical College student, from Ivybridge, says his college offers education in core subjects as well as a specialist technical route in either engineering or health science.

"It's essentially the same as a regular GCSE, but on top of exams you will have practical work teaching you the subject you're trying to learn," says Oscar.

Mum Vicky says Oscar and the college put in so much effort and she's glad results day is finally here after a long wait.

"There's a lot of opportunities in the South West for engineering so it feels like the right place to have started that journey," she adds.

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!