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A-level and GCSE students in England will be given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm, after a government U-turn.
It follows uproar after about 40% of A-level results were downgraded by exams regulator Ofqual, which used a formula based on schools' prior grades.
GCSE results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland come out on Thursday.
Ofqual chair Roger Taylor and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson apologised for the "distress" caused.
Mr Williamson said students and parents had been affected by "significant inconsistencies" with the grading process.
In a statement, he acknowledged the "extraordinarily difficult" year for students, after exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said No 10 had worked with Ofqual to design "the fairest possible model" but it had become clear that the process of awarding grades had resulted in "more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process".
"I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve," said Mr Williamson
The decision by the UK government brings England in line with the other UK nations.
Teachers' estimates will be awarded to students unless the computer algorithm gave a higher grade.
'Days of confusion'
In a tweet, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government had been "forced into a screeching U-turn after days of confusion".
He criticised Downing Street's handling of students' results as "a complete fiasco" and said its about-face was a "victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week".
A-level students held protests across the UK in response to grades they said were unfairly awarded.
Analysis by Hannah Richardson, education reporter
For the past decade, Ofqual has held the line against exam grade inflation like a knight of the realm - often using some quite controversial statistical techniques.
But in the case of the class of Covid-19, it could be said the government's desire to maintain standards came at too high a price.
In commissioning the exams regulator to take out an insurance policy in the form of its ill-fated algorithm, that policy arguably went too far, despite minister's best intentions.
When First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reinstated estimated grades for students in Scotland, it was only a matter of time before the other nations followed suit.
Cue Northern Ireland, then Wales and finally England.
These students are all competing for the same university places, and in the same jobs market after all.
It was only when Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and his deputy Nick Gibb saw how inconsistent the results were that they were forced to relent.
However, the crisis is far from resolved, with tens of thousands of students who thought they had lost their university places likely to get the grades they need after all.
Universities say they will do their best to accommodate them, but it is going to be a tough ask.
Ofqual chair Mr Taylor apologised for the "difficulty" caused to students over its grading system.
He told the BBC: "I would like to say sorry. We have recognised the difficulty that young people have faced coping with the receipt of grades that they were unable to understand the basis on which they had been awarded.
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He added the regulator realised it had taken "the wrong road" and decided to "change course" after seeing the "anxiety" it had caused to young people and the added "administrative burden on teachers at a time when they need to be preparing for the new school term".
He said while its approach may have had some "technical merits", it had become clear that it had "not been an acceptable experience for young people", and Ofqual had therefore decided to "change course" and allow teacher-assessed grades to be awarded.
'Thankful and excited'
A-level student Jess Johnson, who stood to lose out on a £16,000 scholarship, said she was "thankful" and "excited" about the change to results.
The 18-year-old needed an A in English to earn a place at St Andrews, along with a £4,000-a-year scholarship, but she was downgraded from her predicted A to a B and was initially told she had been rejected.
That downgrading is now set to be reversed.
Ms Johnson, who studied at Ashton Sixth Form College in Greater Manchester, said: "I think it would have been unfair if (Northern) Ireland, Scotland and Wales made the change and we didn't, so I'm very glad."
However, she questioned why it had taken so long to make the change, after A-level results came out on Thursday, saying "a lot of stress and anxiety" had been caused as a result of the wait.
'I can finally breathe again'
Alaa Muhammad faced missing out on her dream of studying medicine after her A-level results were downgraded.
On hearing the news of the U-turn, she said: "My heart is beating so fast.
"I am ecstatic, I am so so happy. I was so hopeless a couple of days ago and now I feel like I can finally breathe again."
Ms Muhammad, from south-east England, had seen her grades fall from a predicted AAB to EED.
She said she had paid more than £2,000 to take re-sits at a private college after her studies in year 12 and 13 were disrupted. She now hopes she will be able to study medicine at a top university in Pakistan.
Ms Muhammad said: "Thank goodness they had some sense knocked into them."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), welcomed the decision "to put an end to the grading fiasco".
He said: "Students, parents, and teachers will breathe a sigh of relief after days of confusion and dithering by ministers."
The move, he added, would mean there was grade inflation, but he said this was a "small price to pay for remedying the manifest injustices" caused by the algorithm.
He said it would provide an "immediate solution" for A-level students and give those awaiting GCSE results "comfort" in knowing they won't suffer the same issues when their grades are published on Thursday.
'Challenges for universities'
Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, said universities were being "as flexible as possible with applicants" but that the "late policy change" has created "challenges" for universities.
He said: "Today's policy change will mean that more students will have the grades that match the offer of their first choice university. This will cause challenges at this late stage in the admissions process - capacity, staffing, placements and facilities - particularly with the social distance measures in place."
He called on the government to "step up and support universities through the challenges created by this late policy change", adding that Universities UK was seeking "urgent clarification" from No 10 on a number of issues.
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2020-08-17 16:41:15Z
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