The number of A* and A grades awarded to teenagers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland has increased compared to last year but the overall pass rate has slightly dipped, national figures show.
Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday in a year when grading was expected to be restored to 2019 levels in all three nations.
More than a quarter (27.8%) of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.6 percentage points on last year when 27.2% achieved the top grades – and was also higher than in 2019 when 25.4% of entries were awarded the best grades.
But the overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has fallen to 97.2% this year, which is lower than last year (97.3%) and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (97.6%).
Follow our live coverage below and join in the conversation in our comments section