Millions of nervous youngsters are finding out today how they fared in their GCSEs this year.
Students have been told their results will come on time, despite fears that the chaos caused by a recent u-turn will cause delays.
Earlier this week, the Government rowed back on its decision to generate grades by computers, instead grading youngsters through teachers' predicted
However, BTEC students face a nervous wait for their exam results after exam board Pearson pulled their grades just hours before results day.
The exam board confirmed on Wednesday that 450,000 students would receive revised marks to bring them in line with A-Levels and GCSES - meaning their results will not be published on Thursday morning.
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Hundreds of thousands of anxious teenagers are receiving their GCSE results, amid a fresh round of exams chaos, this time affecting BTecs.
Pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will get GCSE grades given by their schools, after a flawed algorithm was scrapped in a series of U-turns.
On Wednesday evening, exam board Pearson announced it would re-grade BTecs in line with GCSEs and A-levels.
This means BTec students will no longer receive their results on Thursday.
Pearson's 11th hour decision affects about 500,000 pupils, 250,000 of whom received their A-level equivalent qualifications last week.
The rest were due to collect their grades along with GCSE candidates this week.
In a statement, Pearson said their results "had been generally consistent with teacher and learner expectations, but we have become concerned about unfairness in relation to what are now significantly higher outcomes for GCSE and A-levels".
'Really sad'
Last Thursday there was anger after 40% of A-level grades were downgraded by exams regulators.
School and college heads were left comforting tearful pupils who had lost out on university places, and young people inundated counselling help-lines with fears and anxieties about their uncertain futures.
One 17-year-old boy who had just failed his AS-levels told the NSPCC's Childline: "I am feeling really sad.
"My friends got such good grades even though they study less than me and it feels unfair."
After angry protests by pupils and an outcry from teachers, MPs, academics and parents, the education ministers of each nation switched - one-by-one - to centre-assessed grades (CAGs), following Scotland's example two weeks earlier.
These CAG results are expected to be higher for most as it is generally thought teachers and schools tend to be more optimistic about their students chances than exam boards.
Earlier this summer, England's exams regulator, Ofqual, revealed CAGs for GCSEs were nine percentage points higher than the previous year's grades.
So to maintain standards over time, the DfE had arranged for CAGs to be modified by the algorithm, later discovered to be flawed.
The U-turns on Monday afternoon left statisticians at Ofqual, and its Welsh and Northern Ireland counterparts, working round the clock to get 5.6m correct grades for each pupil to around 3,000 schools and colleges in time for young people to collect them on Thursday.
Exams regulators for each nation will also be publishing the national picture on GCSEs and the adjusted A-level results on Thursday morning.
Public examinations were cancelled in March shortly before schools were closed to all but key workers and vulnerable children, so most GCSE pupils have received no in-school lessons since then.
'Class of Covid'
After cancelling exams, ministers pledged to create the fairest system possible to ensure these pupils, now dubbed the "Class of Covid", could get the results they deserved and progress to the next stage of their education and lives.
They were to be calculated by a combination of school assessments, pupils' rankings in each subject and Ofqual's statistical modelling - the algorithm.
But on Monday, England's Education Secretary Gavin Williamson apologised for the distress caused, and said Ofqual's standardisation model had "resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process".
'Uncertainty was the biggest worry'
Evie, 15, from Bexleyheath Academy in London says it's been a challenging year.
"Lockdown was quite tense to be honest, because you're uncertain. That was your biggest worry, uncertainty.
"You sort of just didn't know what to do with yourself, because you've worked this year just to do GCSEs and when it's taken away from you, I was a bit lost."
Cory, 16, says: "2020 has been unfortunate, but I feel like I've made the best of the situation and I've stayed happy for the whole year.
"Even though I could have shown off all my hard work, the stress of GCSEs was kind of dawning on me and I feel like not doing the exams is a big relief."
Harriet, 16, says the situation has been: "a bit of a learning curve for the government, for everyone really, because we've never had to deal with this before.
"It feels a little bit unfair because we've gone five years, four years in school to take no exam that we've been training for...
"But it's this is a lot harder on the Year 12s and Year 10s who have to do all this themselves and get ready for next year."
Geoff Barton, head of the head teachers' union ASCL, said the decision to revert to centre-assessed grades was "the fairest option in the circumstances".
Mr Barton said it was inevitable some students would be unhappy with their centre-assessed grades, but stressed that schools had followed "a rigorous and painstaking process in reaching these decisions".
He said ASCL was not aware of any plans to allow students to appeal against centre-assessed grades.
'Benefit of the doubt'
He added: "Reverting to centre-assessed grades means that, overall, more students will receive higher GCSE grades this year than in past years.
"This is because schools may, understandably, have given some students the benefit of the doubt when they are on the borderline.
"This could have implications for sixth forms and colleges... that could necessitate increasing class sizes in some courses and there may be pressure on the space that is available in some institutions."
The Department for Education said it had provided extra money to boost the condition of sixth form and college buildings in England in the coming year.
"We are continuing to work with the sector to understand how we can ensure colleges in the future can meet their capacity needs."
He said the arrest came after he was called to the area by a family member and got into an argument.
"He did push me as if he were going to arrest me, I complied, I didn't resist him, I complied all the way. I even had my hand by my sides."
Media playback is unsupported on your device
During the video, a voice can be heard saying "chill out or I'll choke you out, chill out or you're going to sleep".
Mr Ahmed is seen tapping on the floor and another voice can be heard saying "I give up" before he is told to "turn over now", with another officer helping to detain him.
"I was just thinking about my family, I thought 'He's not going to let go, he's going to keep going, he's going to finish me'," Mr Ahmed said.
"I was in pain, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't even gasp for air.
"He carried on, then he punched me in my face."
Mr Ahmed says the incident has left him unable to sleep or work.
His sister Safyah, earlier joined a demonstration outside Halifax police station by about 100 protesters.
She said she had felt sickened when she saw the video.
The protesters carried signs which read "Stop police brutality" and "You're not above the law".
"It's obviously struck a chord with everyone from every background," Safyah said.
West Yorkshire Police said that after it had been made aware of the video that was circulating, the officer involved was suspended pending an investigation.
"We immediately reviewed the footage and looked into it as a matter of urgency to establish the full circumstances," the force said in a statement.
"We have reviewed the actions of the officers involved and a referral has been made to the Force's Professional Standards Directorate.
"Our investigation remains ongoing and we have made a voluntarily referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).
"The officer involved has been removed from frontline operational duties."
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk
He said the arrest came after he was called to the area by a family member and got into an argument.
"He did push me as if he were going to arrest me, I complied, I didn't resist him, I complied all the way. I even had my hand by my sides."
Media playback is unsupported on your device
During the video, a voice can be heard saying "chill out or I'll choke you out, chill out or you're going to sleep".
Mr Ahmed is seen tapping on the floor and another voice can be heard saying "I give up" before he is told to "turn over now", with another officer helping to detain him.
"I was just thinking about my family, I thought 'He's not going to let go, he's going to keep going, he's going to finish me'," Mr Ahmed said.
"I was in pain, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't even gasp for air.
"He carried on, then he punched me in my face."
Mr Ahmed says the incident has left him unable to sleep or work.
His sister Safyah, earlier joined a demonstration outside Halifax police station by about 100 protesters.
She said she had felt sickened when she saw the video.
The protesters carried signs which read "Stop police brutality" and "You're not above the law".
"It's obviously struck a chord with everyone from every background," Safyah said.
West Yorkshire Police said that after it had been made aware of the video that was circulating, the officer involved was suspended pending an investigation.
"We immediately reviewed the footage and looked into it as a matter of urgency to establish the full circumstances," the force said in a statement.
"We have reviewed the actions of the officers involved and a referral has been made to the Force's Professional Standards Directorate.
"Our investigation remains ongoing and we have made a voluntarily referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).
"The officer involved has been removed from frontline operational duties."
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk
Nearly half a million UK pupils face a fresh round of results chaos after exam board Pearson pulled its BTec results on the eve of releasing them.
Pearson said it would be re-grading all its BTecs to bring them in line with A-levels and GCSEs, which are now being graded via school-based assessments.
The move affects 450,000 pupils, 250,000 of whom received grades last week, with the rest due in a few hours.
Heads said it was incomprehensible that changes were being made this late.
Pearson apologised and acknowledged the additional uncertainty the decision would cause. The exam board also conducts a large proportion of the GCSEs and A-levels taken by UK pupils.
However, the late decision will cause even further disruption to students seeking places in further and higher education.
Universities are already struggling to cope with the impact of grade changes on their admissions process.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he could not understand why it had taken Pearson until this late stage to realise the implications of grade changes for its BTec qualifications.
"It really does need to give an explanation of why this has happened. We feel desperately sorry for the students affected in a year when they have already undergone far too much disruption."
'Worrying timing'
Pearson said in a statement: "BTec qualification results have been been generally consistent with teacher and learner expectations, but we have become concerned about unfairness in relation to what are now significantly higher outcomes for GCSE and A-levels."
England's exams regulator has already said that the school-assessed GCSE and A-level grades are likely to be higher than last year by nine and 12 percentage points respectively.
The Association of Colleges' chief executive, David Hughes, said it had asked Pearson to look at a small number of results which had seemed unfair, adding that the "timing is worrying, because thousands of students were due to get their results in the morning and others have already got results which we know will not go down, but might improve."
He added: "So it is vital for students that this is sorted in days rather than weeks so students have the chance to celebrate and plan their next steps.
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said Pearson was right to act but added: "This late notification will cause very significant challenges for schools, trusts and colleges.
"It simply is unacceptable that some of the most disadvantaged students will not receive their grades tomorrow and that nothing has been done to correct this over the past few days."
Labour's shadow education secretary, Kate Green, said the situation was "totally unacceptable".
"For some young people to find out less than a day in advance that they will not be receiving their grades tomorrow is utterly disgraceful.
"Gavin Williamson and the Department for Education should have had a grip of this situation days ago."
She urged the government to set a clear deadline by which every young person must receive their grades.
Pearson has now written to all schools, colleges and training providers to say the following qualifications are being re-graded:
BTec Level 3 Nationals (2010 QCF and 2016 RQF)
BTec Level 1/2 Tech Awards
BTec Level 2 Technicals
BTec Level 1/2 Firsts
A Pearson spokesman said: "Although we generally accepted centre assessment grades for internal (i.e. coursework) units, we subsequently calculated the grades for the examined units using historical performance data with a view of maintaining overall outcomes over time.
"Our review will remove these Pearson-calculated grades and apply consistency across teacher-assessed internal grades and examined grades that students were unable to sit.
"We will work urgently with you to reissue these grades and will update you as soon as we possibly can.
"We want to reassure students that no grades will go down as part of this review.
"Our priority is to ensure fair outcomes for BTec students in relation to A-Levels and GCSEs and that no BTec student is disadvantaged."
"Therefore, we ask schools and colleges not to issue any BTec L1 and L2 results on 20 August, as these will be reviewed and where appropriate, re-graded."
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Nearly half a million UK pupils face a fresh round of results chaos after exam board Pearson pulled its BTec results on the eve of releasing them.
Pearson said it would be re-grading all its BTecs to bring them in line with A-levels and GCSEs, which are now being graded via school-based assessments.
The 11th-hour move affects 450,000 pupils, 250,000 of whom received grades last week.
The rest were due to collect results on Thursday along with GCSE candidates.
Pearson apologised and acknowledged the additional uncertainty the decision would cause. The exam board also conducts a large proportion of the GCSEs and A-levels taken by UK pupils.
However, the late decision will cause even further disruption to students seeking places in further and higher education.
Universities are already struggling to cope with the impact of grade changes on their admissions process.
'Worrying timing'
Pearson said in a statement: "BTec qualification results have been been generally consistent with teacher and learner expectations, but we have become concerned about unfairness in relation to what are now significantly higher outcomes for GCSE and A-levels."
England's exams regulator has already said that the school-assessed GCSE and A-level grades are likely to be higher than last year by nine and 12 percentage points respectively.
The Association of Colleges' chief executive, David Hughes, said it had asked Pearson to look at a small number of results which had seemed unfair, adding that the "timing is worrying, because thousands of students were due to get their results in the morning and others have already got results which we know will not go down, but might improve."
He added: "So it is vital for students that this is sorted in days rather than weeks so students have the chance to celebrate and plan their next steps.
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said Pearson was right to act but added: "This late notification will cause very significant challenges for schools, trusts and colleges.
"It simply is unacceptable that some of the most disadvantaged students will not receive their grades tomorrow and that nothing has been done to correct this over the past few days."
Labour's shadow education secretary, Kate Green, said the situation was "totally unacceptable".
"For some young people to find out less than a day in advance that they will not be receiving their grades tomorrow is utterly disgraceful.
"Gavin Williamson and the Department for Education should have had a grip of this situation days ago."
She urged the government to set a clear deadline by which every young person must receive their grades.
Pearson has now written to all schools, colleges and training providers to say the following qualifications are being re-graded:
BTec Level 3 Nationals (2010 QCF and 2016 RQF)
BTec Level 1/2 Tech Awards
BTec Level 2 Technicals
BTec Level 1/2 Firsts
A Pearson spokesman said: "Although we generally accepted centre assessment grades for internal (i.e. coursework) units, we subsequently calculated the grades for the examined units using historical performance data with a view of maintaining overall outcomes over time.
"Our review will remove these Pearson-calculated grades and apply consistency across teacher-assessed internal grades and examined grades that students were unable to sit.
"We will work urgently with you to reissue these grades and will update you as soon as we possibly can.
"We want to reassure students that no grades will go down as part of this review.
"Our priority is to ensure fair outcomes for BTec students in relation to A-Levels and GCSEs and that no BTec student is disadvantaged."
"Therefore, we ask schools and colleges not to issue any BTec L1 and L2 results on 20 August, as these will be reviewed and where appropriate, re-graded."
