A-level results out

Nearly 90% of pupils in Bedford gained three or more A-levels or the equivalent with 43% getting at least one A* or A grade.

Cllr Henry Vann, Portfolio Holder for Education at Bedford Borough Council, said:

“These are excellent results; congratulations must go to all the pupils and staff in the borough who we all know have worked really hard to get to this point in the year. These results show a real improvement on the previous year in many areas."

The A-level results are out and this year there are claims the marking has been tougher than ever before.

An Essex head teacher says marking of the exams has been noticeably more rigorous than in previous years, meaning some students have missed out on predicted grades.

Nationally around 300,000 students took the exams, almost half of those, around 145,000, will be involved in clearing, the process of finding courses if you haven't made the grade at your first or second choice university.

Click here for a student's guide to clearing

Click here for links to universities in the East of England

Click below to watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Matthew Hudson

Calls for clearing places at Anglia Ruskin University are up 4% on the same time last year.

The university, with centres in Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough, had received more than 2,000 calls by 3pm on Thursday.

A spokesman said: "The most popular courses in Clearing this year are Law, History, Accounting & Finance, Mental Health Nursing, Social Work, Education & Childhood Studies, Optometry and Psychology."

Click here for links to universities across the East of England

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are awaiting their A-level results tomorrow with many planning on going to university.

However a survey carried out for ITV News found that 36 per cent of students have more than £25,000 worth of debt.

It was also revealed that of those surveyed, five per cent turned to gambling while another five per cent used payday loans to cope with the debt.

ITV News' Consumer Editor Chris Choi reveals the lengths some students go to, to cope with the rising cost of going to university:

Mark Dawe, Chief Executive of A-level awarding body OCR, denies claims that marking was tougher this year.

He said: "Overall the paper's are set at a certain level, there'll always be slight variances up and down but when we're awarding we adjust for that, to make sure the students get the grade they deserve for the knowledge they have."

Matthew Hudson speaks to Geraint Richards of Ormiston Bushfield Academy in Peterborough on the support it provides to its students.

Eloise Davies was the top performing girl at Chelmsford County High School, getting four A* and one A. She's won a place at Cambridge to study History.

Students have been getting their A and AS Level results at Milton Keynes College.

The College says that its pass rates are up, and that its success rates (percentage of people who started the course and ended up passing) at AS and A Level exceed the national average.

Many of the students are planning to go on to university. One wants to join the police force, and another has already secured a training contract as a dental nurse.

Nicole Chapman, Headteacher of Chelmsford County High School for Girls, says it was noticeably tougher for her students to achieve top marks this year.

She also voiced concerns about the costs of university faced by some students.