(From left to right) Rachel Peacock, 18, Katie Winter 17 and Hannah Jovey, 18, hold their A-level results outside Newcastle Church High School, after they achieved six A*s and three As between them

Ballymena Academy pupils (from the left) Mark Lightbody, Marianne Stoker, Peter Clark, Michelle Taylor and Rachel Thompson celebrate their A-level results

Pupils from Chelmsford county high school for girls in Chelmsford, Essex with their A-level results

Charlotte McGuiness (left) and Georgia Herron, who both achieved three As, pupils from Chelmsford county high school for girls in Chelmsford, Essex, who were both Olympic Volunteers during the London 2012 Olympic Games

Students Kathryn McCanaan and her best friend and fellow student Rob Johns celebrate both gaining university places after receiving their A-Level results at Hillsborough College, Sheffield

Head Girls (left to right) Georgia Durham, Lauren Cook and Jazz Anderson receive their A-level results at Putney High School, in Putney

(Left to right) Millie Church, Camille Goodman and Subo Selvendra receive their A-level results at Putney High School, in Putney

(From right to left) Rebecca Bland, 18, Liz Hierons, 18, Sophie Thompson, 18, Emily Wilson, 18, and Hannah Knox, 18, all hold their A-level results at Central Newcastle High School, after Emily Wilson's grades set her up to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF

Emily Wilson holds her A-level results at Central Newcastle High School, after her grades set her up to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF

Students queue for their A-level results at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, as official figures showed that the proportion of A-levels scoring at least an A grade has fallen for the first time in more than 20 years.

Students queue for their A-level results at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, as official figures showed that the proportion of A-levels scoring at least an A grade has fallen for the first time in more than 20 years

Students queue for their A-level results at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, as official figures showed that the proportion of A-levels scoring at least an A grade has fallen for the first time in more than 20 years