GCSE results day after months of uncertainty

Luke and Sangeeta talk to Christine Alsford in the studio Credit: ITV

Tens of thousands of teenagers in the South have been collecting the results of the toughest GCSE exams for a generation. Report and studio interview. Item features Alistair Brien, Headteacher; Louise Houghton, maths teacher, Simon Graham, Headteacher and Daley Thompson, Olympic athlete and dad.

John Ryall reports on GCSE results day in the east of the region...

Simon Graham, headteacher of St Edmund's RC School, Portsmouth Credit: ITV Meridian

Dramatic changes to the grading system for GCSEs had a major impact this year. Exams are now marked with numbers 9 to 1 (with 9 the highest grade) instead of letters A to G.

The government says the changes are delivering higher standards - but some are concerned about the impact that's having on young people's mental health.

Christine Alsford looks at the changes by talking to students volunteering with the National Citizen Service in Andover as they waited for their results, Simon Graham, headteacher of St Edmund's Catholic School in Portsmouth, Nansi Ellis from The Education Trust and Professor Alan Smithers from the University of Buckingham.