Thousands of students set to discover A-level exam results
Thousands of students across the UK will collect their A-level results today.
Teenagers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland will head to schools and colleges to find out their grades and learn if they have secured a university, apprenticeship or training scheme place.
Last year, the number of top A-level grades fell for a fourth year in a row.
Despite the decline, a record numbers of students were accepted on university courses.
This year, early indications suggest a slight increase in the number of A* and A grades being awarded - but also warn of potential for "greater volatility" in marks.
Meanwhile, some experts believe boys will continue to close the gap on their female counterparts across the top grades.
Analysis of the entry levels for the traditionally top-scoring subjects, such as maths, indicates the percentage of students achieving A or A* grades will increase this year.
And the number of boys achieving the very top grade could pull further ahead of girls due to a rise in take-up of maths - typically a high-scoring subject - some experts predict.
Yet students are bracing themselves for greater volatility in this year's results because of changes to the curriculum, a teachers' union has said.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT union, said teachers and students had struggled to get to grips with new syllabuses which were brought in this year and could impact results.
The Government introduced changes to the subject content of all AS and A-levels last year. Mid-course exams were also scrapped, meaning that all exams are now taken at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Anne Longfield, children's commissioner for England, praised students across the country on their achievements.
"I'm delighted to congratulate the thousands of students across England who received their A-level results today and to wish them the very best for the future as they go on to further develop their skills and knowledge and follow their chosen paths", she said.
"The results clearly demonstrate how much young people are capable of achieving.
"I very much hope that those who didn't achieve the results they wanted get the support they need to help them to continue to realise their ambitions".
A Department for Education spokeswoman said the results were a "culmination of months of hard work" by students and teachers.