Welcome to our Hitchin Nub News A-Level results LIVE blog.

We'll be bringing you updates as soon as we get them from our talented students in and around Hitchin this morning as they open their envelopes on A-Level results day - as well as all the latest news on the topic.

So join us for a morning of celebrations (hopefully!).

Good luck to everyone!

PS And don't worry if you don't get what you're looking for - you can still make it to university. Here's why

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A-LEVEL RESULTS DAY LIVE BLOG

8.31am: The Guardian are reporting that ministers are braced for a backlash as England's teachers despair at A-levels fiasco.

8.35am: The Times go with 'Heads condemn plan to let English pupils claim mock exam grades'

8.39am: Don't forget if you don't get the grades you're looking for it's not the end of the world. Students who haven't received the grades they need for university have a number of options:

Sit A Level exams this autumn – students have the option to sit the A level exams they should have taken this summer in October. Students should speak to their school or college.

Appeal the results – if students think that the correct processes haven't been followed leading up to their official A Level results, they can appeal. Students should discuss this with the tutors.

Apply to university through UCAS Clearing

Good luck to everyone today!

8.47am The Guardian has written about a 'growing revolt' with some schools seeing 50 per cent or more of grades revised down.

We hope that's not you, but if you have experienced anything which chimes with the above please do let us know by emailing me at [email protected] or tweet us @HitchinNubNews

9.09am Ucas figures show 316,730 of applicants from the UK have been accepted on to their first choice of course - up 2.7 per cent from 2019.

9.33am The number of UK 18-year-olds taking up university places after their A-Level results has risen to 30.2 per cent nationally.

10.02am The BBC are reporting that nine per cent of A-Level results were A* - up from 7.8 per cent last year

12.52 Pupils affected by the mass downgrading of A level grades across the country including Hitchin have been urged to join a possible legal action against the Department for Education and the exams regulator.

1.17 With news breaking that 40 per cent of A-level assessments have been downgraded by Ofqual's algorithm, according to official figures published on Thursday morning, disgruntled students are urged not to simply accept their disappointing results

1.38pm Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said of the growing scandal: "The Government needs to accept it has got this badly wrong, stop trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep things simple by using teacher predictions - as happened in Scotland."

3.25pm 'Wow I really did that' - read our latest story on A-Level results day as a Hitchin school hails its talented youngsters today

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Calling all A-Level students and parents from Hitchin and surrounding areas in north Herts!

Please send us your photos and results, and we'll do our best to publish them.

So whether you attend the Priory, Hitchin Boys' School, Hitchin Girls' School or further afield in Stevenage please do get in touch.

Hitchin Nub News believes that every single student deserves recognition for their efforts.

Please include your results, a photo, full names, school and a contact telephone number. You can include a quote about how you're feeling and your plans too.

You have four choices. You can:

• Email the photos and text to [email protected]

- Tweet us @HitchinNubNews

• Upload your story/photos via the black Nubit button on the website

• Or give me, Layth Yousif, a call on 0739398318, and we'll sort something out.