Insight
Thousands of teenagers across the Midlands get their A-level, T-level and BTEC results
Education Correspondent Peter Bearne has been with students as they find out their results.
Results Day. It's one of those days that, if you've been through it, you'll never forget.
For thousands of teenagers across the Midlands, today's A-level, T-level and BTEC level 3 exam results will have been their passport to university, an apprenticeship or even a job.
In some ways, there was a familiar feel to it - girls still outperform boys, there's still a North-South divide - but there was also the odd surprise.
Unexpectedly, both the A-level pass rate and the number of entries being awarded top marks (A-A*) were up on last year, although here in the Midlands that's only half the picture.
In the West Midlands, around 1 in 4 A-level papers got the highest grades, while in the East Midlands it was nearer 1 in 5, putting the region "bottom of the class" nationally.
One education expert I spoke to suggests this could be linked to social deprivation and historically-low levels of public investment.
The overall pass rate (grades A*-E) in the West Midlands was 96.8%, in the East Midlands 96.6%.
At schools and colleges across the Midlands, we've seen the tears, the hugs, the whoops of delight, as students went through the full gamut of emotions.
ITV News Central captured them all as we filmed at Wombourne High School near Wolverhampton, and Bluecoat Sixth Form Academy in Nottingham.
Many of the teenagers we met were delighted to secure places at university, not least Ronella Carty from Broxtowe, who was looking to become the first member of her family to take that step.
She received Distinction Merit in both her BTEC exams and had a place waiting for her at the University of Law in Manchester.
Lucas Dhillon from Brierley Hill achieved the same "first in the family" feat and is now on his way to the University of Birmingham.
One of the stories of the day was in Northampton, where a 10 year old boy attained an A* in Maths. Kautilya Katariya is one of the youngest people in the country to have taken the exam.
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Amid today's celebrations, there remains uncertainty over the future of the vocational BTEC qualifications.
The last Conservative government decided to stop funding them from next year.
The new Labour administration has opted to "pause" that process and do a full review of post-16 study.
Alaina Wood, the head of Bluecoat Sixth Form Academy, told ITV News Central it would be a big mistake to discontinue BTECs.
For a lot of students who fared less well in their GCSEs, she says, it's a tried and tested route for getting to university.
In response, the Department for Education said their review "will bring together leading education experts, leaders and staff, to ensure young people get the opportunity to access a broad and balanced curriculum, as well as crucial work and life skills, providing the foundation to succeed in both the workplace and throughout their lives."
Today, of course, is a day to acknowledge the tremendous efforts made by individual students and their teachers to get them to where they are now.
Two years' hard graft have set them up for the next stage of their lives and they have every reason to celebrate in style with their friends and families.
From all of us at ITV News Central, many congratulations to everyone who's received their results day, and the very best of luck whatever you do in the future.
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