A-level results day 2025: Record numbers of UK students secure place at universities and colleges – live updates

More pictures have emerged of female students celebrating their A-level results at a school in the West Midlands.

A number of 18-year-old girls at Solihull School were seen hugging one another and putting their hands over their mouths moments after opening their envelopes this morning.

The Education Secretary has said there has been a ‘steadying of the ship’ after the disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said:

What we’ve seen is a steadying of the ship, both this year and last following some of the disruption that we saw during the pandemic. These are young people who have not had disruption in recent times, but have had the full normal assessment process.

These are also young people who would have been the first to sit GCSEs under normal circumstances. So they’ve gone through the full regular GCSE cycle that you would have expected before the pandemic. So, this is a normal year, the kind of year that we would have seen before the pandemic hit.

Here are the first pictures we can show you this morning of students picking up their results.

Cameras in The Latimers Arts College in Barton Seagrave, Northamptonshire, show the reaction of 18-year-olds collecting their envelopes this morning.

The Prime Minister has congratulated students across the country receiving their results today and told them they should be ‘proud’ irrespective of the outcome.

Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted all young people to have the opportunity to ‘realise their ambition’.

Ucas has published early figures this morning showing record numbers of British 18-year-olds have been accepted into colleges and universities.

In total, 439,180 applicants have won a place to continue their education.

Here’s what we have also learned this morning:

• Overall, 226,580 UK 18-year-olds have been accepted at their first choice compared with 216,750 last year, up 4.5 per cent.
• The number of 18-year-olds accepted at higher, medium and lower tariff institutions have all increased; higher tariff up 7.2 per cent, medium tariff 4.5 per cent and lower tariff 1.4 per cent.
• The number of mature students (aged 21 and over) securing a place has declined, from 52,130 in 2024 to 50,880 this year, a drop of 2.4 per cent.
• The number of accepted international undergraduate students has risen from 51,170 in 2024 to 52,640 with the largest market, China, growing by 13 per cent.
• Subjects with the largest percentage increases in placed students this year are Engineering and Technology with 30,020 applicants, up 12.5 per cent, mathematical sciences with 9,220 acceptances, up 10.5 per cent and Law with 27,150 applicants, up 10.4 per cent.

Ucas data shows record numbers of British 18-year-olds have secured places at universities or colleges this year.

Figures published at 8am show 255,130 18-year-olds have been accepted, compared to 243,650 in 2024, a rise of 4.7 per cent.

Overall 82 per cent of those holding an offer who received their decision this morning have been placed on their first choice (UCAS’ firm), the same proportion as last year.

In total, 439,180 applicants (all ages, all domiciles) have been accepted, up 3.1 per cent on 425,860 last year – the highest number of placed students on results day on record.

A-level results for hundreds of thousands of 18-year-olds across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have now been released.

Good luck to everyone collecting their grades this morning!

Clearing is available to students who do not meet the conditions of their offer on A-level results day, as well as those who did not receive any offers.

Students who have changed their mind about what or where they wish to study, and also those who have applied outside the normal application window, can also use the clearing process through Ucas.

Applicants will be able to add a clearing choice from 1pm today.

In England, if a student is unhappy with their grade they can ask their school or college to request that the exam board review the marking.

If there are still concerns, the student can ask their school or college to appeal against the result.

The head of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) has already suggested many students will be celebrating their university placements today with a record number set to secure their first-choice preferences.

Jo Saxton said UK universities are increasingly keen to recruit British students because there is more ‘uncertainty’ surrounding international ones.

On the day before A-level results day, a sample of 129 of the UK’s largest higher education providers showed there were 22,518 courses with vacancies for undergraduate students living in England on the Ucas clearing site – which matches applicants to university places yet to be filled.

As of yesterday, 18 of the 24 Russell Group universities, which represent some of the most selective UK institutions, had vacancies on courses for English residents – a total of 3,492 courses between them.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said it is a ‘day of celebration’ for young people ahead of A-level results.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said:

I’ll just start by saying that this is a really exciting day for young people. They’ve worked really hard. They’ve had brilliant support from their teachers and parents. It’s a day for celebration for our young people and there are lots of great routes out there.

University is one of them, but for young people who are considering other routes there are apprenticeships and plenty of other opportunities available too, and lots of advice available if you haven’t quite got what you needed, through Ucas and clearing, and also through the National Career Service.

As we await for the results to be released at 8am, here’s three key questions answered:

• Who will receive their exam results?

Schools and college leavers will receive their A-level and AS grades, as well as results for vocational technical qualifications (VTQs) at Level 3, on Thursday. Students in England will also receive their results for T-levels – which were launched to provide high-quality technical alternatives to A-levels.

• How can students access their grades?

While some students will receive their results via email, many will head into schools and colleges to collect them in person to say a final goodbye to teachers or receive some farewell advice. For those hoping to attend university, Ucas will receive the results directly and update applications in the Ucas Hub.

Last year, more than one in four (27.8%) of UK A-level entries were awarded an A or A* grade – up from 27.2% in 2023. It was the highest proportion of entries scoring top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22. In 2019, the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic, 25.4% of entries were awarded A or A* grades. The Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in top A-level and GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of A-level results day.

We are starting a live page today as hundreds of thousands of nervous teenagers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland await their exam grades before deciding to head off to university, apprenticeships and work.

We can expect a wide range of emotions as some experience the unbridled joy of achieving the results they set out to attain while lingering uncertainty will be felt by others.

Stick with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest news, pictures and reaction from throughout the day with reporting from the Daily Mail’s Education Editor Eleanor Harding and Jamie Bullen.