hello it's thursday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme. it's a level results day for hundreds of thousands of you in england, wales and northern ireland. this morning i wake up and see i've got the three as i needed and i'm blown away. i'm still a bit in shock, so i screenshotted the ucas track and that's framed on my wall. congratulations if you got what he needed. if you didn't, don't panic. we'll be live with some students as they open their results. also meet one of the brainiest toddlers in britain — technically speaking this three year old has a higher iq than stephen hawking. what's 1 + i? 2. what's 2 + 2? 4. what's 3 + 3? 6. you can meet ophelia and her parents after 1030 this morning — and they say they are defintiely not pushy parents. and madonna is 60 today. we will

look back at the career so far of this incredible icon. # time goes by so slowly.# what does madonna mean to you? let's celebrate the 60th birthday. decades in one of the most brutal businesses around and she's still going. yes, i love her! we're live until 11 this morning. after half ten this morning we'll meet a three year old from herefordshire with an iq of 171 (the average iq is 100). 0phelia is the second youngest member of mensa — the high iq society. mensa have given us some sample questions which they use to calculate the iq of adults. so you can test yourself with these questions — they're on our twitter

and facebook accounts too and i will give you the answers at about 1045. the first question — what number is missing from this sequence. 2. 1l 3. 9. 1l blank. 5. 25. 6. 36. second question. i sound like a quiz show host, it is not an unpleasant sensation! which three letter word can be attached to the beginning of players and maggaiz five following words to form five longer works. you can put the same word in front of all of these words to make five longer works. and the third question. rearrange the letters it is clear

to give a nine letter word with an associated meaning. 0k — have a think about those. i've tried them and i'll let you know later how i got on. do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about — use the hashtag victoria live. if you re emailing and are happy for us to contact you ? and want to talk to us on the programme — please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you ll be charged at the standard network rate. our top story today. . . hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland, are receiving their a—level results. it's the second year of major reforms to the qualification in some areas. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. there have been major changes to a—levels in england with a move away from coursework and grades resting on the final exams. i was prepared for the challenge but it definitely was a challenge. you get so stressed out and in the exam, i get loads of hot flushes so i am like woo!

the university encouraged me more to focus on my grades and get these grades, they actually offered me £1,000. the department for education says the changes will improve standards but there are concerns that universities guaranteeing a record number of students are placed before they set the exams could have the opposite effect. in wales some 18—year—olds may be more inclined to go to university, as this is the first year those from poorer backgrounds can benefit from generous grants for living costs. in total almost 60,000 unconditional offers have been made to 18—year—olds in england, wales and northern ireland this year, compared with 3000, five years ago. we really really work hard with the students and engage with them. and then halfway through the second year, when they are at the point of struggle, when they are having to stay up late and get deadlines in,

they get a letter, a letter drops from university saying, you know what, it doesn't matter what you get, you can come to this university. whatever the results may bring the students what seems clear is that there are many more options when it comes to getting a place at university. elaine dunkley, bbc news. and more about the results and what plans teenagers have once they have their results, late in the programme. julian worricker is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. victoria, good morning. rescuers are continuing to search the rubble of the collapsed motorway bridge in genoa — but now say they don't think they will find any more sui’vivoi’s. italy's deputy prime minister has said those found responsible for the tragedy — which has so far claimed 39 lives — must pay "the highest penalties possible". dan johnson reports. this long, grey scar of broken concrete, the ribbon of rubble, marks the valley once crossed by a grand, imposing viaduct. but how much more death and destruction is hidden beneath here? could any of the missing still be alive in this tangled mess? we keep on working until every single metre of this rubble

will be controlled. how long will that take? actually, it is a very difficult question. it's going to be a long work. alongside sad stories of lives lost are near misses and amazing escapes. this british couple stopped their car about 100m short of the section that collapsed. people started shouting, waving their arms to reverse out the windows. and tooting horns, and everything like that. people were running, screaming in italian, "run, out." "everyone out, cars, out, cars!" so we just literally — "kids, run, run," because we didn't know what was happening. we left everything in the car and we just ran for our lives. last night the interior minister,

matteo salvini, came here and declared that every company taking public money should protect their structures like their own children. he said whoever was responsible would be made to pay. there is real anger here. hows, whys, who's to blame, all need to be addressed. but there are families missing loved ones, still waiting for news. their answers must come first. danjohnson, bbc news, genoa. let's go live to genoa, and to my colleague tim wilcox. what are the latest developments? we have been here five hours and all night there's been the sound of heavy drilling as rescue workers try to smash up those huge chunks of reinforced concrete to try to find out which vehicles, people are probably now bodies, lying behind those chunks of concrete. we've been getting updates from the fire crews. u nfortu nately getting updates from the fire crews. unfortunately no more victims or survivors found, in fact nothing in

the last 2a hours. they still don't know how many cars and lorries are underneath there. this will take a long time. the numbers of dead, 39, 15 people are in hospital, 12 of whom are critically ill. 16 people not accounted for, as you saw in that last report, some remarkable stories of escape as well. we saw that british couple, we have just been speaking, in the last five minutes, to luciano, he wasn't on the bridge that his firm was caught up the bridge that his firm was caught up in traffic below the bridge when it came crashing down. i don't know if you can see him, he has broken his arm. had passed out, but he was rescued, although his van was crushed as the windscreen caved in. when we spoke to him he was just out of hospital and wanted to pick up

some of his belongings which was still in the van. he, he gingerly and in pain, went to pull out bags and in pain, went to pull out bags and other personal belongings. he said it was a miracle he had survived, he didn't know how it had happened, he really felt for the victims and how lucky he was, he did not know how many people had died although sadly it looked as if there we re although sadly it looked as if there were many victims. state funeral will be held on saturday for victims whose families want them to take part. not all the victims are italian, there are some french people, and albanian, somebody from chile and i think other nationalities. at the same time this big political row with the populist government immediately calling for resignations from the company which i’u ns resignations from the company which runs the motorway network, also talking about a fine of 150 million

euros which they want to impose on the company, and also blaming the eu, they say, for starving italy of billions of euros to spend on infrastructure because of the country's austerity measures. a pretty volatile mix of anger about what happened, many people said it was a disaster waiting to happen, the political side of things and now the political side of things and now the raw grief of people who have lost friends and family. tim, thank you. detectives have been granted more time to question the suspect in the alleged terror attack in westminster on tuesday. 29—year—old salih khater, a british citizen originally from sudan, was arrested by armed police after crashing his car into a barrier outside the houses of parliament. he's being held on suspicion

of terror offences and attempted murder. the rugby player danny cipriani is due to appear before magistrates on jersey this morning, after being arrested outside a nightclub in st helier. the gloucester fly—half — who has recently been recalled to the england team — was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning. he's charged with a number of offences, including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. police chiefs have pledged to tackle sexual harassment of staff working in "civilian roles" after a survey revealed the scale of the problem. incidents included inappropriate touching, leering and staff pressurised into having sex with colleagues. the national police chiefs‘ council said such behaviour must be "rooted out". ajudge in malaysia has ruled that two women accused of killing the half—brother of the north korean leader should face a full trial. the prosecution says the women smeared kim jong nam's face with a toxic nerve agent, at kuala lumpur airport last year. they claim they thought they were taking part

in a prank for a tv show. she's sold more than 300 million records worldwide — and in the uk she's sold more singles than any other performer — the original material girl turns 60 today. 0ver her 35—year career madonna has repeatedly reinvented herself and her sound — she has sold more singles than anyone in the uk. i want to ask people today why they love madonna. i assume that you love her? am i correct? i may have listened to her hits over the years. it seems strange to be discussing madonna while wearing a suit and tie. it was an age thing. i was a student when into the groove went to number one,

it was a wonderful song and it will a lwa ys it was a wonderful song and it will always stick with me because it was always stick with me because it was a time of your life when music matters more. i love her because she does not give a toss about what anyone thinks about her. i can't imagine why that would appeal to you! if you want to tell me why you love madonna, feel free. for me, madonna is the 1980s, absolutely. send me an e—mail or a message on twitter or facebook. you can send a whatsapp. snowy says, madonna inspired me when i was aware of the oppression of women, she inspired me and helped shape me into what i am today. let's get some sport...will perry is at the bbc sport centre. there have been been some strong words from former england captain michael vaughan about ben stokes and his return to the england cricket team. yes, it's been a turbulent year for

ben stokes after he was involved in a frack outside a nightclub in bristol last september. this week, crucially to him he was found not guilty of affray. with him back in the teams and it will have to miss out with england having to drop one player who helped to that convincing win over india in the second test, former england captain michael vaughan says, despite being found not guilty ben stokes does not deserve a warm reception from england fans this weekend. deserve a warm reception from england fans this weekendlj deserve a warm reception from england fans this weekend. i can't get my head around the fact that he wouldn't want to take some time off. evenif wouldn't want to take some time off. even if england wanted him, he's just gone through eight days in crown court. i would have thought that his head could be in a different place from wanting to play international cricket. but he's a different specimen to most. he will play on saturday. he will be back. the one thing that i do not think he deserves, and i think knowing the england fans as they do, they will give him a reception. he doesn't

deserve that, he is certainly not a hero as some portray him to be. he has brought the game into disrepute. think the punishment and the fact that he missed the whole interim and australia is not enough and now he has been found not guilty he should be able to play cricket. it'll be interesting to see what reception ben stokes cat that there is no doubt that the better team with him in the side. if you support manchester city you will be worried about the injury to their incredible midfielder kevin de bruyne. we are still waiting for official confirmation as to how long he will be at fault. not the news that fans we re be at fault. not the news that fans were hoping for, one of the best players in the world and have such a good world cup with belgium. it's not the news that premier league fa ns wa nted not the news that premier league fans wanted because he's such a joy to watch. he's having tests on the right knee injury. that story dominates the back pages today, he

was their player of the season, scored 21 goals, 21 assists as they w011 scored 21 goals, 21 assists as they won the premier league last season, and he could be missing for up to three months which isn't good news at all. there he was arriving on crutches, with his third up, at the premiere for their behind—the—scenes documentary. there is suspicion that it is similarto documentary. there is suspicion that it is similar to the knee injury that kept him out for nine weeks in his debut season. the good news is that it his debut season. the good news is thatitis his debut season. the good news is that it is not a far more series crocheted ligament injury. and real madrid beginning life without cristiano ronaldo? it's not the best of starts. atletico madrid scored twice in extra time, the game ended 2-2 in twice in extra time, the game ended 2—2 in normal time, it was their first match since ronaldo signed for juventus in the summer and zinedine zidane stood down as manager. yet

diego costa scored twice in normal time, scoring after 49 seconds and tapping this one in after the interval. look at best to put atletico 3—2 ahead and then seething it later, when they made it 4—2. just before we go, wayne rooney is loving his time in the states. he scored twice last night for dc united including a 25 yard free kick as they won 4—1 against portland. that's all the sport for now, the headlines coming later. good morning. hundreds of thousands of teenagers in england, wales and northern ireland are getting their a—level results today. in england a levels have been moving away from coursework and returning to students being marked on final exams. around one in four are expected to be awarded the highest grades. ina in a moment we will talk to our correspondent, elaine dunkley. she is at a sixth form college

in birkenhead and andy moore is at the ucas centre in cheltenham. that's the university and colleges admissions service — the organisation in charge of the application process for universities. not all of you want to go to university. elaine is at the sixth form college in birkenhead. how is it going? a big day of hopes and dreams for thousands of students. many of them are now coming in to pick up their certificates, they've been up since 6am, going online, checking how they have done. gail is serving up some cake. we've got some students, let's find out how two yea rs of ha rd students, let's find out how two years of hard work doing a—levels has paid off. emily, how do you feel? nine ecstatic. it's been a roller—coaster, though. feel? nine ecstatic. it's been a roller-coaster, though. yes, i was freaking out at half past seven today but everything has worked out. matt mum keeps saying that everything was going to, now knowing exactly where i am going, it's a massive relief. you were just a

couple of grades of you wanted...” missed the grade of one of my subjects but i still got into the university i wanted sol subjects but i still got into the university i wanted so i am so happy. how are you feeling? you have had a tough morning. at the start of the morning i was upset because i didn't get into manchester, i didn't get three a grades but i got b b c. i've gone through clearing which is really good. it's been worth it, i think. i'm glad that i revised and didn't fail any. so i'm just glad. i hope i did well for my parents and everyone. ijust met your parents and they are really proud. and yours as well, you've had a great morning. obviously i was nervous but when i opened my results i was really happy as well. i'm excited to start in

septemberas as well. i'm excited to start in september as well. you are going to study medicine, and you got an unconditional offer? they wanted you! and very happy. it didn't stop me from revising, i was determined to get the grades and i found out today that i did and i'm so happy. help either parents feeling because you came here from syria when you we re you came here from syria when you were 12 and now you are going to study medicine, and they delighted? yes they are, i could not have done it without friends and the college and my brothers. i am very thankful for all they did, i am really happy. you were pretty late, did it turn out all right? a lot better than i expected so i'm really happy with the results. what does that mean for

you? i'll be able to go to university after doing the course here so it's worked out as well as it could have done. we will see you around salford because you got what you wanted. a lot of changes to the a—levels, how difficult was that? it's been really stressful. you just don't know what you are going to get when it's the new syllabus, the teachers don't know what to anticipate in the exams, and we don't either. all you have to go from its other peoples ideas the teachers forums but it has been fine. i'm going now so it is all worth it, it will be fine. you can relax and enjoy the rest of the summer. relax and enjoy the rest of the summer. i'll have to go to ikea and get the furniture! ready university life. you are doing languages and there have been changes to your cause, how did you do? booing i got on fine. there was a bit of an

error in the exam but they sent a letter although that didn't affect me. it all comes down to what letter grade you got that that kind of doesn't count the effort you put in over two years, i've said to my friends, it does not matter what the letter is, you what hard know work you did sojust letter is, you what hard know work you did so just focus on that and be proud of that, be proud of the letter, whatever it is, whether it is and east are all a u. is to remember getting my a—level results, how big a day is this were you? life changing. the first day of the rest of your life! now we actually have to live with that our parents keeping an eye on us we literally have to manage everything! watson,

guys. let's speak to the principle of the college, mike kirkbride —— well done guys. a fantastic day for the college. it's great, we top league tables and get national awards but what we do is we just interviewed, we teach our people and try to have them develop. our success try to have them develop. our success is the success of hundreds of hundreds of young people just like these. you have seen the emotions today, of the kids, the parents, tears, laughter, frustration. it's the human story behind all this. that's why this job isjust fantastic. behind all this. that's why this job is just fantastic. this job behind all this. that's why this job isjust fantastic. thisjob is tough. tough for the teachers but when we see the kids being successful and the smiles on their faces, we see them starting a journey, it's a great day. thank you for having us here. for many stu d e nts for having us here. for many students there is still uncertainty about what they will do. the university has said there are plenty

of high quality courses available through clearing. the main thing is to stay positive, don't panic. this information on the bbc website, we'll be talking about this today. thank you, elaine, in birkenhead. let's talk to andy moore, he's at, the universities and colleges admissions service, the organisation in charge of the admissions process. not everyone wants to go to university. we'll talk about that later. andy, how many places are going to be available through this clearing process, which is a process of stu d e nts clearing process, which is a process of students who don't get the grades that they were hoping for? we've got an indication that there will be quite a few places available, ucas say they will be places on 30,000 courses, some at the top universities in the russell group, some will offer cash incentives. it seems to be a buyer's market in

terms of the students at the moment. the number of students has gone down a little in terms of the numbers going on to uk degree courses, you'll get a lot of facts and figures today. ucas says there are 411,000 students taking place so far, down 1% on last year, perhaps an indication that there are fewer 18—year—olds in the population at the moment although universities still want to attract those students and still want the tuition fees. you can see some of the social media tea m can see some of the social media team behind me. they'll be taking inquiries on twitter, facebook and instagram, tens of thousands of inquiries today, other people behind me will take phone calls so an incredibly busy day at ucas. the advice is to students going through clearing, don't panic, don't rush, talk to your teachers and parents,

talk to your teachers and parents, talk to your teachers and parents, talk to ucas but. panic and make any quick hasty decisions that you might regret later. thank you, andy. if you've had your results and want to talk about how you are feeling, we've heard some students say this was the first day of the rest of their lives, life changing, is that though it feels? send an e—mail and if you are happy, to come on the programme have a chat, putting your phone as well. next to the bridge disaster which happened in genoa in italy. the big section of the bridge collapsed and almost 40 vehicles fell from a height of 40 metres. we now know more about the victims. roberto robbiano, ersilia piccinino and their eight year old son, samuele, were on their way to a beach holiday samuele's body was among the first of 39 to be recovered.

24 year old stella bocca was also killed. her parents put up this sign in their restaurant."we apologise to our customers, but we will be closed for mourning. unfortunately a piece of our hearts remains under the rubble andrea cerrule, who was 47 and a keen amateur footballer, was killed on his way to work. these are just some of the victims of tuesday's disaster. rescuers have said there is little hope of finding more survivors. the italian prime minister giuseppe conte has now declared a 12—month state of emergency in the liguria region. ministers from italy's coalition government have called for mass resignations from the company that manages the country's motorways. but there have been amazing stories of survival —

british couple nicola and lisa henton—mitchell were in their car with their two young children. they narrowly escaped. we were driving from balestrino to ra pallo yesterday and because of the weather we decided to take the faster route along the motorway and we came out of the tunnel. the rain was torrential and as we drove along we felt the car slide to the right. it felt like very high winds, thinking we were on a tall bridge, and we kept going and then all of a sudden we saw lots of red lights — all the cars in front braking. we could only see a couple of cars ahead of us. and then all of a sudden all of the reverse lights came on. people started shouting, waving their arms to reverse out the windows. and tooting horns and everything like that. and so we tried to reverse and we couldn't go anywhere, and the car in front hit the front of our car and then people were running, screaming in italian, "run", "out". "cars out. "

"cars out." so wejust literally, "kids, run, run," because we didn't know what was happening. you have a 12—year—old and a nine—year—old. yes. we do, and we had come through the tunnel so we were just like, "run," and our daughter's got hemiplegia, which is cerebral palsy, so we made our sonjust run and we sort of grabbed our daughter's hand and started running but we couldn't pick her up because all the car doors were flying open, there were people everywhere. torrential rain was coming down. screaming, and our daughter took her shoes off because she was just going to sleep before... she hasn't got her glasses, we left everything in the car and we just ran for our lives because we didn't know. and then everyone was just stood in the entrance to the tunnel, there was lots of screaming and crying. incredible. we're going to talk now to maria edera spadoni ? italian mp and vice—president of the chamber of deputies. she's a member of the five star movement which is in government, which runs the country with another party. thank you for talking to us. would

you blame? first of all i have to say that it really was a tragedy, what happened in genoa. all italy is really shocked by what happened. of course the people who had the responsibility will have to pay, but is what the government, the prime minister, and also luigi said. if there are any responsibilities on there are any responsibilities on the part of the firm in charge of operating and maintaining the bridge of course they will have to pay. i absolutely agree with the transport minister who called for the immediate resignation of the company

‘s management. immediate resignation of the company 's management. sorry to interrupt. how is it possible to point the finger of blame at the company that maintains the roads and so on at such an early stage? well, because they were in charge of operating and maintaining the bridge. of course the responsibility is theirs. the company that has got to maintain the bridge as to take responsibility. the justice have to prove in the end what happened but of course the government decided to declare that the people responsible for that have got to basically leave and resign. how do you answer this, the fact that your party, five star movement,

had a blog post that dismissed safety concerns about this bridge as afairy tale? safety concerns about this bridge as a fairy tale? that is very strange. why would the national media focus on an article published in 2013 by someone on an article published in 2013 by someone who was on an article published in 2013 by someone who was never on an article published in 2013 by someone who was never in charge of anything in the five star movement? wasn't in charge. it was posted in your party's website. nobody is focusing on it. it is simply one question among so many. well, why is the focus on this and not on the responsibilities of the only company in charge of maintaining this work? that is a fair point but how do you respond to the fact that this post on your party's website said that safety concerns were a fairy tale? it was one post from a person who as isaid it was one post from a person who as i said before was never in charge of

anything. this person was inside a committee that basically trusted the declaration of autostrada. if a person who was never in charge of anything inside a movement decided to post this, and the media don't focus about what actually happened in italy, what is going to happen in italy, because we also have a big problem of infrastructure in italy, says a government decided to do a mapping for example of the infrastructure. many bridges and roads are really old, from the 60s. that is another key point that the government is intending to do, a real mapping. you know that if lee spends less on infrastructure than many other eu countries and when you are campaigning in the run—up to the election, which led to you being in a coalition government, you want to public spending but not on infrastructure. is that going to

change now? well, that is not correct. we never said we were against infrastructure. yes, but you said he wanted more public spending on pensions and so on. with every wa nted on pensions and so on. with every wanted to invest in infrastructure thatis wanted to invest in infrastructure that is really good for italian people, for everybody travelling in our country. the priority will be from now on to do this mapping and to be able to let all people travelling safely in italy. so we are not against infrastructure is, but we want to invest in infrastructure, roads, bridges, that really need in our country, in order for people to travel safely of course. thank you very much for your time this morning. thank you for talking to us. an italian mp from the five star movement which is in government in italy. still to come:

there are calls for the drug monkey dust to be reclassified as a class a drug that we will ask how difficult it is to reclassify a drug. it's a humble spice found in everything from ice cream to perfume, but there is a darker side to the vanilla products we have in our kitchens. we will bring you an exclusive report later. time for the latest news. here'sjulian. more than one in four a—levels were awarded an a or a* this year — the highest proportion for six years, according to thejoint council for qualifications. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland are receiving their a—level results this morning. in england, most a—levels have been reformed in a move away from coursework and returning to students

being marked on final exams only. rescuers in the italian city of genoa say there is little hope of finding any more survivors in the rubble of the collapsed motorway bridge. at least 39 people were killed when the bridge caved in on tuesday morning. the italian prime minister giuseppe conte has declared a 12—month state of emergency and warned that those found responsible for the tragedy will be punished. detectives have been granted more time to question the suspect in the alleged terror attack in westminster on tuesday. 29—year—old salih khater, a british citizen originally from sudan, was arrested by armed police after crashing his car into a barrier outside the houses of parliament. he's being held on suspicion of terror offences and attempted murder. the rugby player danny cipriani is due to appear before magistrates on jersey this morning, after being arrested outside a nightclub in st helier. the gloucester fly—half, who has recently been recalled to the england team, was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning. he's charged with a number of offences, including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

ajudge in malaysia has ruled that two women accused of killing the half—brother of the north korean leader should face a full trial. the prosecution says the women smeared kim jong nam's face with a toxic nerve agent at kuala lumpur airport last year. they claim they thought they were taking part in a prank for a tv show. she's sold more than 300 million records worldwide and today the original material girl turns 60. madonna has repeatedly reinvented herself over her 35—year career and has sold more singles than any other performer in the uk. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you. and now we have the sport. england have jumped up the fifa world rankings thanks

to their run to the semi finals at the world cup in russia. they're up to sixth from 12th. france are the new number one team in the world. manchester city's star midfielder kevin de bruyne is having tests on a right knee injury suffered in training yesterday. city say the extent of the injury is not yet known. there are some reports he could face up to 3 months out. atletico mardid beat city rivals real in the uefa super cup. saul with the pick of the goals in a 4—2 extra time win. and the former england captain michael vaughan says all—rounder ben stokes doesn't deserve a warm reception from england fans in the third test against india on saturday. stokes was involved in a fracas in bristol last september but was found not guilty of affray on tuesday. that's all the sport for now. more at 10. thank you. yesterday on the programme we brought you news about an illegal and potent new drug, monkey dust, which has been causing havoc in stoke on trent, with a prediction that it's going to spread to other parts of the country because it's so cheap

with a street price of around £2. it's a white powder than can be smoked or injected. monkey dust can make users feel they have superhuman strength and no fear. it's seen some climbing buildings and jumping off, and running into traffic. it also causes psychosis and paranoia. we brought you an exclusive interview with one user who calls himself smithy. why do people like the effects of it so much? how cheap is it? on our programme yesterday we heard

calls for the drug to be reclassified from a class b to a class a substance, meaning dealers would face life imprisonment. the government told us that any decision on reclassification would be down to advice from an independent group that guides the government on drugs policy. we'll talk to a member of that group in a moment. first here's paula reece from ukat, uk addiction treatment centres, calling for the classification of monkey dust to be upgraded. we're looking for it to become a class a so it hammers home, really, the horrific nature and effects of this drug. so to upgrade it from a class b drug to a class a drug? so on a similar level to heroin? yeah, absolutely.

it seems to me that people are getting hooked from their first use and then there's no going back. it's just creating havoc, much like spice did in manchester. so should monkey dust be made a class a drug? and how would it happen? let's ask dr derek tracy who sits on the advisory council on the misuse of drugs, the group that advises the government on drugs policy. also with us is professor david nutt who used to chair the group and wants to scrap our drugs laws and instead replace them with a regulated market so people know what they are taking, and in glasgow professor neil mckeganey. he set up and is the director of the drug misuse research centre at the university of glasgow. dr tracy, first of all, your reaction to the harm monkey dust is doing? it looks dreadful. looking at the story of that man smithy, it is really sad to see it. it seems to be a localised problem at the moment and it is hard to know how it will

spread but it is causing huge harm to some people. explain to the audience what would trigger your group reviewing the classification ofa group reviewing the classification of a drug? i am speaking in a personal capacity. i am a member of the acmd but i'm not speaking for them. the home office can commission work from us and explore the classification of drugs. the initiative would come from the home secretary? typically, yes. it can look at the type of harm that drugs can cause. does the type of the drug have an impact on its use, in your view? no. you are emphatic about that? yes, i feel strongly about that? yes, i feel strongly about that but it is a personal opinion. i don't believe reclassifying monkey dust or this class of papa node to class a will make a difference. i don't think smithy and those people are taking these drugs because it is class b. if it was upgraded to class

ait class b. if it was upgraded to class a it would attract a higher sentence but i don't think that is in people's minds when they are taking drugs. if the aim is to reduce use, i don't think that is an effective strategy and we can't legislate our way out of drug harms. professor gummi used to sit on the group that derek now sits on. do you agree with that? very much so. classification is an inefficient and counter—productive is an inefficient and counter— productive way of is an inefficient and counter—productive way of trying to control the harms of drugs. we should scrap it and do something much more innovative and novel. you would end prohibition. you would regulate drugs so there is a market and people would know what they are taking. does that mean you would allow people in your world to take monkey dust? not at all.

i don't think there should be a free market for all drugs. i think there should be access for some people to drugs that are safer than the ones they are currently taking. why does monkey dust exist? because two years ago we brought in a psychoactive substances act, which eliminated a very weak drug called bubbles. people are using that for years without coming to any harm but there was hysteria about legal highs and as we predicted, once you ban everything, people go for the more potent, the more expensive and more valuable. we didn't have this drug until we brought in a psychoactive substances act. this would generate a lot of publicity, reclassification, and sent out a clearer message to people tempted to ta ke clearer message to people tempted to take it. it would send the message that it can do a lot of harm.” disagree. i am that it can do a lot of harm.” disagree. iam not that it can do a lot of harm.” disagree. i am not aware of many cases were classification has put people off taking drugs. curiosity and the desire to alter our minds as pa rt and the desire to alter our minds as part of the human condition. it is a health—care issue and societal issue. when you are on the advisory group, you supported making better mean illegal so you do think controlling drugs is appropriate in some places? —— making ketamine

illegal. yes, the question is how we control them and we shouldn't do that in the way we do, think drugs are bad and policing our way out of people using them. but you thought that ketamine should be illegal? yes, i thought it should be controlled as a class c drug. do you see a case of bringing monkey dust up see a case of bringing monkey dust up to their class a drug? see a case of bringing monkey dust 7ii see a case of bringing monkey dust up to their class a drug? i do. it is interesting that somebody who advises on classification is telling viewers that he sees no impact in terms of use flowing from that. when david referred to the legal highs, when they were made illegal, the numberof when they were made illegal, the number of deaths associated with them actually halved. that is the clearest example that actually legislation and classification of these substances can have a beneficial impact on the rate of adverse consequences flowing from use. but i think we also have got to

understand that these laws relate to the people who don't use these substances as much as the people who choose to use them. i do think classification send out a really strong signal and influences those who choose not to use the most harmful substances. as a result, heroin use is much less prevalent than cannabis use. much less prevalent than alcohol use. so penalties, classification, it is an important part of our policies and ways of dealing with these substances. how do you respond, derek, to that example of the halving of the number of deaths from legal highs after they were made illegal? as i said, i am a member of acmd but i am talking from personal opinion. i think changes is very complex and it is challengeable to say it has directly led to the changes in harms. what else could be the explanation? a lot of different things affect drug use. why is there suddenly a spike of the use of

monkey dust in this city? i don't think there can be a legislative a nswer think there can be a legislative answer that can suddenly appear in a particular town. drug use is complex. i have never met a police officer who thinks this is the right thing for them to be doing. there are issues about people pushing drugs that this is causing huge problems but we need to see this as a social issue and a wider health ca re a social issue and a wider health care issue. that drug is being sold for £2 ago, cheaper than a pint of beer, and that is really tragic. to ta ke beer, and that is really tragic. to take that on other point of law is not the correct focus for this. it isa not the correct focus for this. it is a health care issue. it is a health care issue? and perhaps regulating the market in way the professor suggests might stop people taking things like monkey dust. that isa taking things like monkey dust. that is a gross oversimplification. nobody is suggesting that the monkey dust issue should be responded to solely as a police issue. saying it should only be treated as a health

issue is akin to saying we should deal with burglary by having more joiners to rebuild front doors. those skills are necessary but we need something to discourage use. that is where the legal framework comes in that actively discourages use. we need health services to respond when people get into difficulty, yes. but we need strong, vigorous enforcement action to reduce the availability of these substances. availability is the strongest predictor of use. that is unquestioned. if drugs are available, they will be used, and the enforcement stance is one way of reducing availability. it isn't the only answer and nobody would suggest it is. but it is an important way of responding in drug policies. thank you very much. thank you very much for all of your contributions this morning. still to come after ten

o'clock: madonna is 60 today and we will look back at her 35 years in the music industry and you will tell us the music industry and you will tell us why you absolutely love madonna. and some of you have been doing that already and i will read out some m essa g es already and i will read out some messages later. 24—hour guards armed with machetes, thieves beaten to death by mobs, a product more valuable than silver. this isn't a story about drugs, oil or even precious stones but vanilla. this is a vanilla pod. it is a gourmet version. it's found in everything from ice cream to perfume, and its global price has skyrocketed over the past few years. in fact, it has become so expensive that lots of ice cream shops have taken it off the menu or switched to artificial versions. so if you think you're eating vanilla ice cream, chances are you're probably not.

now only one percent of vanilla eaten around the world is actually from from real vanilla pods. most of the world's supply comes from an island called madagascar just off africa's south east coast. so have the islanders profited from the vanilla boom? nancy kacungira has been investigating. it's a difficult journey deep into the forest. there we find this man, but his machete isn't for cutting down vines or branches. it's a weapon, protecting his plantation against thieves looking for one thing... vanilla. translation: the problem has been going on for some time now. if we don't guard our vanilla, we will lose everything. we have to be vigilant so we don't get killed. for months, farmers in madagascar

have been sleeping in their fields to guard their vines. translation: we sit in the cold at night. sometimes we don't sleep in the hut because it's out in the forest. my husband was already attacked once. when he sleeps, i don't sleep. when i sleep, he stays awake. at daybreak, we journeyed to ambanizana, a coastal village at the edge of the forest. many gardens are full of vanilla, each vine the result of the dedication and care of farmers like leon and oristin. the orchid flower that produces these pods only blooms for a matter of hours each year. when it does, it needs

to be pollinated by hand. that's because the bee that naturally does it is only found in mexico. but pollinating the flower is not the only mark just on this vine here there's more than $150 worth of vanilla. when these are dried that's how much they'll sell for. they're so valuable that they've actually been branded. there's a name on here because they're trying to avoid theft. and the extraordinary safety measure is necessary. last year, leon's whole crop was snatched away in broad daylight. translation: i was working in the rice field when the vanilla was stolen. the thieves quickly took their chance to steal it. i was so sad. i cried because we'd lost everything. i didn't have money to send my children to school, and my family has been suffering all year. and so, when thieves are caught,

things often turn violent. there have been murders in nearby villages, something the chief of ambanizana has been working to prevent. translation: when the thieves are caught, mob justice is dealt out to them. i fear that violence because mob justice is not a good thing, so we protect the people's goods so they don't get stolen. it's all the result of wild rises in the price of vanilla. the global price has gone up over 1000% in five years. dried pods are now more valuable than silver. but despite the thefts and violence, there have been many positives for the people of madagascar. a lot of money has made it into the pockets of the farmers. walking through the village, you get a real sense that things are really happening here. it's so vibrant.

people are constructing houses with better materials. kids are going to school. the profits from vanilla are really making a difference. there's even a word for it. those who've made money are called vanillionaires. and their cash is transforming places like ambanizana. thanks to the sky—high vanilla prices, the villagers here have been able to buy this sawmill to process wood to build furniture and houses. and something a little grander, too. wow. it's a full—on construction site. i wonder what they're building. what are you building here? une maison? discotheque. oh, discotheque? translation: the money to build all of this has come from vanilla, but the person who owns it doesn't just grow vanilla. he trades it as well.

farmers may be making money, but they still rely on middlemen to get their vanilla to consumers. that's where the big profits are made. another journey — this time to maroantsetra. the market town is a hub for commissionaires. they buy up vanilla and sell it on to exporters. i want to see if i can buy some. these men, i've been told, are dealers. i make an enquiry and after a long wait they deliver the only stock available. this is what? two kilos. two kilos? each kilo... ..is 1.5. so this is 3 million ariary. i wanted to be able to buyjust a little bit of vanilla, but it's not in season now which means what you get on the black market like here is things like this. they've been vacuum sealed

so they cannot cut this up into smaller pieces, which means i would have to buy the whole thing and i can't afford that. this two kilos of vanilla costs about $1000, so i'm not going to be able to buy any today. but it's notjust in madagascar that the soaring vanilla prices have been felt. the other side of the world, ruby violet ice—cream parlour in london, is experiencing the same issue. you can find anything from matcha green tea to tiramisu, but the world's most famous ice—cream flavour? nowhere to be found. could i have orange sorbet? vanilla is off the menu. a result of prices being too high. for those who want a delicate flavour, malted milk is on offer. some ice—cream makers said it wasn't just price but quality too. pods were being picked too early.

madagascan vanilla wasn't what it used to be. we're going to meet one of the top vanilla exporters here in maroa ntsetra. we're told he exports three to four tonnes of vanilla every year. traders are anxious about the threat to the prized reputation of madagascan vanilla. are you well? yeah, yeah, very good to meet you. translation: we fear for the future of the vanilla sector. madagascar‘s vanilla is too expensive for the quality you get, and people will turn to other countries. we in madagascar don't have the standards. this is what we exporters fear. along the north—eastern coast of madagascar, where the forest meets the sea, an even bigger threat is visible. protected parks are being destroyed to make way for vanilla. this is one part of the forest that's been damaged by people

who have cleared it so that they can plant different things. you can still see some of the logs from the trees that have been felled, and this is just one of many sites like this that we've seen so far. here, this way. park ranger armand marozafy and environmental activist clovis razafimalala say masoala national park has paid a heavy price for vanilla's soaring value. this side looks like very nice forest. but later, we will see where is the big problem. the forest is home to endangered lemurs. it soon becomes even clearer what's at stake. four years ago there was a forest here. the price of vanilla is a sky—high price. but the people in this area that try to get more land, more land for growing vanilla.

but forgetting that land destroys the forest. this may look like just a small patch that's been cleared, especially when you can still see so much rainforest. the problem is that there are patches like this all over the place, and it will never grow back the same way again. it will take hundreds of years to recover what's been lost. this sort of damage disrupts a fragile ecosystem. lemurs will no longer have food here, and delicate balance starts to disappear. ironically, the forest that they're cutting down is the very thing that makes this a perfect place to grow vanilla. thanks to the forest, we can get a lot of rain and then in that way we can have a lot of product of tree, we have vanilla. when the forests are gone we would lose all our value. the land and the people of north east madagascar

are experiencing the light and the shade brought on by high global vanilla prices. the boom itself may not last long, but here its effects certainly will. news and sport on the way at ten o'clock, as you know. but first the weather with carol. good morning. good morning, victoria. we have a band of rain that has been steadily pushing eastwards through the night and through the morning and behind it fresh conditions will follow and bright spells, sunshine and showers. this morning we have this band of rain. it is slowly heading in the direction of kent. it will clear kent about tea—time and behind it brightening up where we have got the cloud, sunshine and also showers. the odd sharp one across northern england but more frequent across northern ireland and scotland. some

of those heavy and even thundery. temperatures between 15 and 20 so feeling fresher than yesterday. this evening and overnight, there goes the rain and clear skies follow on behind. thick clouds starting to show its hand in western parts of northern ireland. that heralds the arrival of rain in northern ireland tomorrow but tomorrow generally bright and largely dry with just a few showers, especially in the north west and also blustery. thank you, carol. hello it's thursday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire... it's a level results day for hundreds of thousands of you in england, wales and northern ireland — and figures just out show the proportion of students awarded a and a star grades is the highest since 2012. i was nervous i was nervous when i was nervous when i first got my results but when i opened them i was really happy, it's what i wanted. i've always wanted to do it so i'm

really ha p py i've always wanted to do it so i'm really happy and excited to start in september. we will be talking to some of those finding out the results this morning and ask them what they plan to do next. also meet one of the brainiest toddlers in britain — technically speaking this three year old has a higher io than stephen hawking. what is one plus one? two. what is two plus two? four. what is three plus three? six. you can meet ophelia and her parents after 1030 this morning — and they say they are defintiely not pushy parents; and we'll give the answers to those mensa questions we gave you earlier. and madonna is 60 today. happy birthday madge! will be looking back at her 35 year career. we ask why you love her. one viewers says, she has got through tough times and i love the fact that she doesn't give

a toss. kath says, she is simply awesome, she was a toss. kath says, she is simply awesome, she was my a toss. kath says, she is simply awesome, she was my absolute idol when i was younger. here'sjulian is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the day's news. thank you, victoria, good morning. more than one in four a—levels were awarded an a or a* this year — the highest proportion for six years, according to the joint council for qualifications. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland are receiving their a—level results this morning. in england, most a—levels have been reformed — in a move away from coursework and returning to students being marked on final exams only. rescuers in the italian city of genoa say there is little hope of finding any more survivors in the rubble of the collapsed motorway bridge. at least 39 people were killed when the bridge caved in on tuesday morning. the italian prime minister giuseppe conte has declared a 12—month state of emergency and warned that those found responsible for the tragedy will be punished.

he was under the bridge and the bridge fell on top of him. the rugby player danny cipriani is due to appear before magistrates on jersey this morning, after being arrested outside a nightclub in st helier. the gloucester fly—half — who has recently been recalled to the england team — was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning. he's charged with a number of offences, including resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. detectives have been granted more time to question the suspect in the alleged terror attack in westminster on tuesday. 29 year—old salih khater, a british citizen originally from sudan, was arrested by armed police after crashing his car into a barrier outside the houses of parliament. he's being held on suspicion of terror offences and attempted murder. (news pres) police chiefs have pledged to tackle sexual harassment of staff working in "civilian roles" after a survey revealed police chiefs have pledged to tackle sexual harassment of staff working in "civilian roles"

after a survey revealed the scale of the problem. incidents included inappropriate touching, leering and staff pressurised into having sex with colleagues. the national police chiefs' council said such behaviour must be "rooted out". ajudge in malaysia has ruled that two women accused of killing the half—brother of the north korean leader should face a full trial. the prosecution says the women smeared kim jong nam's face with a toxic nerve agent at kuala lumpur airport last year. they claim they thought they were taking part in a prank for a tv show. and she has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and the original material girl is 60. she has sold more singles than any other performer in the uk and repeatedly reinvented herself during her 35 year career. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. we will be meeting a toddler who is

the second youngest member of mensa. i'll give you the answers at 1045, let me remind you of these questions, i did them as well, the first question, which number is missing from this sequence. question number two, which three letter word can be attached to the beginning of the following word lilley words to form five longer words? and the final question that we ask you today, kindly supplied by mensa. have a think about those,

some of you have already sent in your answers, some of you are correct. i can tell you that there is no such word as claritis! that may help. please include your phone number if you are happy to appear on the programme. will perry is at the bbc sport centre. england's 14 are now ranked sixth best in the world, those are the official rankings from fifa. germany we re official rankings from fifa. germany were knocked out in the group stages and they are out of the world top ten for the first time since 2005, down to 15th place. no surprise who is top of the rankings, new world champions france, also climbing six places, like england, but to take the number one spot from germany. we

also waiting for official confirmation as to how long kevin de bruyne will be out for. not the news manchester city fans wanted. one of the best players in the premier league, perhaps the world, having tests on a right knee injury which he suffered yesterday. he was player of the season last season scoring 21 assists as his side won the premier league and the league cup. there we re league and the league cup. there were reports that he could be missing for up to three months. it is thought to be a similar injury to the one he had in 2016 when he missed three games. real madrid began life that cristiano ronaldo and zinedine zidane in defeat in the first ever super cup derby as atletico madrid scored twice in extra time, the game finished in extra time, the game finished in extra time, the game finished in extra time, ronaldo signed for juventus in the summer, to £9 million and zinedine zidane stood down as manager. diego costa scored twice in normal time, getting the opener after just twice in normal time, getting the opener afterjust 40 twice in normal time, getting the opener after just 40 seconds twice in normal time, getting the opener afterjust 40 seconds and then getting this after the interval. atletico went 3—2 up, and

then they got a fourth goal. former england captain michael vaughan says ben stokes does not deserve a warm reception if he returns to play for england this weekend, he's back in the squad for the third test against india after being acquitted of affray. michael vaughan says although he deserves his place in the team he shouldn't get a fanfare. i can't get my head round the fact why he wouldn't take time off. even if england wanted him he's just gone to eight days in crown court. i would have thought it said would be ina would have thought it said would be in a different place for wanting to play international cricket. he is a different specimen to most, and he will play on saturday, he will be back. the one thing that i do not think he deserves, and i'm sure, knowing the fans as they do, they will give him a reception, i don't

think he deserves that. he is certainly not a hero as some have portrayed him to be. he has bought the game into disrepute. i do think that the punishment, the fact that he missed the whole winter in australia is enough and now he's got the not guilty charge i think you should be able to play cricket. that's all the sport for now, we'll be with the headlines at 1030. hundreds of thousands of teenagers in england and wales got the a—level results today and it seems you've got great results, the highest number ofa got great results, the highest number of a grades awarded since 2012. these have come after changes have been made to make the exams tougher. in england a levels have been moving away from coursework and returning to students being marked on final exams. many pupils will go on to university but research for an education charity the sutton trust suggests enthusiam for university is slightly falling. let's talk to lucy corcoran, who's about to do

an apprenticeship in marketing. karl melami who's received his results today and in durham, hasnan din, who's doing an apprenticeship, rather than going to university, lucy everest who's part of the leadership team at middlesex university, professor mary malcom, vice chancellor at bedforshire university. juliet alexander, careers manager at stoke newington school and robert halfon mp, a tory mp and chair of the education select committe. and clare marcha nt, chief executive of ucas which is the universities and colleges admission service. well, all of you. let me start with karl because you've already got your a—level results, but karl you find at your results today but you haven't got them yet. no, i need to

collect them. you think you know what is going on. i logged onto ucas this morning and i got a positive message, got into university. ijust need to see what i have actually got. congratulations, an unconditional offer? it was conditional. how do you feel now you know what to remark that you have done enough to get to university? it's a weight off my chest, sleeping last night was hard but when i saw the positive news and brightened my day. did you work hard? yes, for sure. i'll be off to imperial couege sure. i'll be off to imperial college during my summer i will be an intern as a software engineer and hopefully take it from there. well done. thank you. now let me talk to lucy and hasnan. you are doing apprenticeships. you decided not to go to university. we see, you got

your a—level grades two years ago, but you did not fancy going to university. i had always been shy at school and found it hard to speak in front of everyone. i had thought that doing this programme, going into the world of work, doing an apprenticeship, that would push me more and give me more challenges, improve howl more and give me more challenges, improve how i can speak in front of people, i think that's the most important skill for me and i didn't wa nt important skill for me and i didn't want to spend all that time in the classroom where i was still afraid to put my hand up. i think i made the right choice because i absolutely love it. that is good to hear. but you got brilliant results, was there any pressure from teachers on you to go to university? nine definite pressure, whenever you spoke to the careers advice person they would say you are on track to do really well, you should

absolutely go to university. but i didn't really have anyone in my familyi didn't really have anyone in my family i could speak to about it, no one was really knowledgeable about it. you foster father when you were in secondary school. davood yes, i lost my dad and he would have been the person to talk about it, i got a mentorfrom the the person to talk about it, i got a mentor from the royal mail who was the person i could talk to about everything and he made me feel confident in my decision to do an apprenticeship because definitely at couege apprenticeship because definitely at college that was what they wanted me to do, go to university. what about you, hasnan? i got my grades last year as well and i decided i wanted to retake one of my subjects to do a different course at university but giving the retake your applied for an apprenticeship. doing what? doing data analysis. i had always wanted to go straight to work, it was about finding the apprenticeship that was best for me. how is it going? really well. i started in february, so

seven months down the line. sure you made the right choice? 10096. there has been a small decline in people going to university and wanting to 90, going to university and wanting to go, why‘d you think that is? going to university and wanting to go, why'd you think that is?” going to university and wanting to go, why'd you think that is? i used to think it was because of the fees that it to think it was because of the fees thatitis to think it was because of the fees that it is about value for money. that is what we are hearing from the students. they are worried about not having a graduate job when they finish. we've seen a number of students who go to university going down from 80%, a few years ago, to 60%. and the numbers going into degree and high—level apprenticeships or school before programmes has gone up to almost one in fourand that programmes has gone up to almost one in four and that is because they have so much exposure to the world of work, that's what they do all the time, they do workshops and masterclasses, they have mentors and they go on work experience

programmes and internships, they are much more aware of what is the odd university which is what they hear about at school. but doing an apprenticeship they will still have apprenticeship they will still have a degree so they will still have a negotiation with university. it's not that they don't want any of that, it isjust that not that they don't want any of that, it is just that they want a more fluid way of doing it and no fees and also a salary. that is key for a lot of people. robert halfon, chair of the education select committee, i know that you love apprenticeships, but you also want a market among the universities, are you pleased with the way that this is going especially given the huge number of unconditional offers? first of all i congratulate the stu d e nts first of all i congratulate the students pass their a—levels today. some of the hardest exams i ever did when i was growing up and doing

education. we do have more students going to university but fewer part—time students. i'm not against student fees, i think the answer to much of this is apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships. as has been highlighted, you earn while you learn, there is no debt, you are virtually guaranteed a job, you can have university experience as well andi have university experience as well and i think the government should invest more in degree apprenticeships, for those who may not want to take and the student loan. karl, have you rationalised the idea of coming out with £50,000 worth of debt when you leave?” understand it is huge weight of debt that i will incur but i try to think of it as, my salary at the end of it, the whole point of going to

university is being able to command a higher wage. at the end of it, hopefully i should be on a higher wage than those who haven't gone to university or who have taken a different route, so might wage in future, the line that i will follow should be greater as well. hopefully my debt will be cleared as well.” like your positivity. i really do. may be too positive! you can never be too positive. professor, how many stu d e nts be too positive. professor, how many students want to come to your university in bedfordshire? we've seen very strong university in bedfordshire? we've seen very strong applications this year. i'm talking to you from a very busy applications from today. we've been busy and we expect about 2000 calls in the first day so our numbers are very calls in the first day so our numbers are very strong. what i would say in response to carl, lucy and hasnan, and congratulations to them all on their career choices, they all three refer to getting a

degree within the apprenticeship as robert mentioned as well. and i think the figures for those going to university and those who are attending university through a degree apprenticeship, and the value of degree remains. that is a fair point. how many places do you have available, not yet filled, at your university? we always make available a number of places through clearing. i can't give you an exact number because we are still finalising offers to students who selected us as their first offers to students who selected us as theirfirst choice. offers to students who selected us as their first choice. we do retain places, because many of the students who come to us today are not in clearing. they are making their first choice of university at this stage in the year, having found out that they have the ability to attend and succeed. ultimately you don't

wa nt and succeed. ultimately you don't want any places to remain unfilled, this is how you make your money. we are funded through teaching as well as through research, yes. 0k. let me bring in claire marchand from ucas. this enormous rise in unconditional offers to students from england, northern ireland and wales, there we re northern ireland and wales, there were 2985 unconditional offers made in 2013, this year 67,000 915. eddie respond to that? you are right, there has been a rise in unconditional offers, around 7% of offers this year, about one fifth of stu d e nts offers this year, about one fifth of students are getting at least one unconditional offer. our road and ucas is to give information and advice to the students you are talking to in the studio, and to say, think hard about the university you want to go to regardless of your offer, think about keeping your foot on the gas and getting the grades. we've got to remember that

unconditional offers made because people have achieved grades got a good portfolio or had a robust interview process, the interview is confident that they will succeed so that also needs to be taken into account. robert halfon how do you respond to this enormous spike? have significant concerns because of students are working hard and told to get certain grades and then there are loads of unconditional offers, it weakens standards and suggests that those students who have had to work hard, it does not create a fair playing field. i think it isjust wrong. it needs to be curtailed. lucy everett. you're part of the leadership team at middlesex university, do you agree it weakens standards? we thought carefully about whether to make unconditional offers at middlesex. we only apply it in offers at middlesex. we only apply itina offers at middlesex. we only apply it in a small proportion of cases where, as robert says, we interviewed the students and we see

their portfolios. it's also important to emphasise that not all students have three a levels. we see students have three a levels. we see students would work experiences or who have come from different pathways. it's important to me once that argument, realise you are assessing peoples potential to succeed, it's notjust about assessing peoples potential to succeed, it's not just about your grades. juliette alexander careers manager at stoke newington school, hello. i know that you push your pupils to go from both universities including oxbridge and apprenticeships. do how you balance that approach? it's based on the student themselves. at stoke newington we really value what stu d e nts newington we really value what students want to do. we have to be careful that it works for them. not every student knows what they want

to do, sometimes it's good for stu d e nts to do, sometimes it's good for students in what they want because you must remember that degree apprenticeships apply to more careers, it used to be finance, now its health services and law that offering them. they are brilliant for students, particularly the area i work for students, particularly the area iwork in, for students, particularly the area i work in, brilliant the students who may not have the finance to go through three years of university. they offer a solution we do can learn and after you have completed the degree or the professional qualification and you will often be offered work because we all know that graduate unemployment is massive. this is a win — win situation for students who know what they want to do. what do parents think about degree apprenticeships and apprenticeships? i'm glad you mentioned that. they've been a challenge, not just at school but

across the board. they tend to think about the apprenticeships that they knew, and at that time apprenticeships were not very valuable. now it's completely different. the challenge is to help pa rents different. the challenge is to help parents understand how important these degree apprenticeships are, once they understand about it they very on—board. once they understand about it they very on-board. sorry to interrupt, juliette, perhaps pa rents's old—fashioned ideas juliette, perhaps pa rents's old —fashioned ideas about apprenticeships? yes, and perhaps old—fashioned ideas about universities as well, a generation saying, we didn't pay fees and we got grants, it was subsidised partying. that's not true now. one in six students live at home and may still share a bedroom with a younger brother or sister, it is not like it was. brother or sister, it is not like it was. in terms of the apprenticeships, we do sessions for parents. and i think the obstacle is only there for a really short period of time because everyone was told they had to think they'd university

was they had to think they'd university was the only good option and for a long time it was. we used to encourage our students to envy university because it was the only ambitious option. now it is not. as soon as you say to parents, this is what they would get, this is what it means, often they are really relieved. so although there is a hurdle it is a low one and you can hop over it quickly. one text today says it is pleasing to see students and staff rewarded for their hard work in an ever—changing setting. i was a teacher for five years and recently left for a career change into aviation and i find myself wondering once more if too much pressure and expectation is being placed on students to attend university. is this because schools are measured on the percentage of students who leave to go to university? peter says my old est go to university? peter says my

oldest grandson, now 19, go to university? peter says my oldest grandson, now19, decided not to go to university, took an apprenticeship, has finished an apprenticeship, has finished an apprenticeship as a quantity survey and he now owns a three—bedroom flat and he now owns a three—bedroom flat and drives a massive car and is very well paid. you don't have to go to university to do well. mary, from the university of bedfordshire, what about the comments that robert halfon, the conservative mp made, that unconditional offers may weaken standards? we accept the point that some unconditional offers may be made to people who have already achieved their results come through nontraditional routes but at the university of bedfordshire we have resisted the temptation to make early unconditional offers based on predictive grades partly because predictive grades partly because predictive grades partly because predictive grades are not completely reliable and particularly the disadvantaged students, there may be a significant improvement in their final grade but also we don't want to reduce the options of students at an early stage in the recruitment cycle. so we would favour post—result application as the fairest way to make sure that all students take the course and attend

the institution that they want. lucy everest from middlesex university we hear about well of students being able to take advantage of the university clearing system. that is people who don't get the grades they we re people who don't get the grades they were hoping for, they go into this pa rt were hoping for, they go into this part and try to get a place on a course that is not full because they are better prepared for the clearing system. is that true? i think that is often true but i think universities have a responsibility to make sure they are reaching out to make sure they are reaching out to schools and colleges before results day, working in partnership with schools to make sure people are accessing advice. our call centre has been open for six weeks, taking calls and listening to people because we want to give them that support before results come out and i think universities are geared towards that now because we need to make sure people make the right choices, it is not about getting them in the programme, good luck,

all the best. coming up we will introduce you to ophelia, three yea rs introduce you to ophelia, three years old, who technically speaking has an iq higher than that of stephen hawking. happy birthday madonna. she's 60 today. she's amazing. the singer has sold more than 300million records, making her the best selling female artist of all time. lets take a look at her in action. #just like a # just like a prayer # just like a prayer #no # just like a prayer

# no choice your voice can take me there # time goes by # time goes by #so # time goes by # so slowly # so slowly # time goes by # time goes by #so # time goes by # so slowly #. their debut album was in 1983. and early pictures show her already beginning to develop her incredible personal style. her top 5 selling singles are like a virgin, hung—up, holiday, la isla bonita and like a prayer...

joining me in the studio is casting director mark summers. mark trained as a performer before moving into casting over 20 years ago. he knows the business inside and out and has been fortunate enough to work with some of the world s most creative individuals, from madonna to metallica. before we speak to mark, lets take a look at madonna's heartfelt acceptance speech addressing sexism, misogyny, and feminism in the music industry for the billboard woman of the year, in 2016. as women we have to seek out strong women to be friend. seek out strong women to be friend. seek out strong women to be inspired by, to collaborate with, to support, to be enlightened by. i would have loved to have played more of that, it is way more powerful than that. what is she like to work with? she is a genius. she gets what she wants. and she is always looking for something new. and she is a survivor as well, isn't

she? yes. think about it. she came to new york with $100 in her pocket and look at her now. a billionaire, total legend, an activist, everything. you said she always gets what she wants. what does that mean when you are working with her? when you are working with somebody like madonna, she is very focused on finding the very, very latest trend, what is going on. she is good at finding things, discovering people and giving people opportunities to shine. what kind of influence do you think she has had on the music industry and on choreography? with the music industry, she is a total legend. she has gone through every different type of style, every genre. i think she slammed it, let's be honest. with the dance side of it, she is so encouraging to dancers. even if she is doing a five—minute appearance, madonna believes in practice, practice,

practice and being the best you can. so she is a pro in that sense. she has an incredible work ethic, hasn't she? people don't believe it until they see it. if madonna is turning up they see it. if madonna is turning up to start work at nine o'clock she will turn up one minute before hand and she will be on time and she likes people with the same work ethic. when you were a young teenager, it was your dream to work with her, wasn't it? yes, i grew up in hounslow west, and my dad is indian and my mum is irish and you never think you can do it. but there was something deep inside. i said to my parents i am going to work with michaeljackson and madonna and they said, yes, ok. who did you prefer working with out of those two? they are both very interesting characters and both very strong and i really can't say. madonna has got something that michael has others. what i know is they are creative geniuses and nobody will forget who they are and what they have done. what do you

think of the criticism that she has enjoyed over many decades? to sexual, to specialised in her 20s and 30s, now she should act her age and 30s, now she should act her age and stop doing stuff to her face etc? —— overly sexualised. and stop doing stuff to her face etc? -- overly sexualised. what is acting your age? she is a strong woman who knows what she wants. she probably understand more about real life than most people who are in parliament today. do you reckon? a billionaire? she is a single mother. madonna is one of those people where people think that she is going to be driving around in limousines all the time. when she was living in london she was driving around in a car, meeting people, and she is very approachable. she is a great businesswoman. is she approachable? i would love to interview madonna. i would be scared. i have got to be honest. she would scare me. she is a strong woman. maybe i come from that

line, having four sisters. strong woman. maybe i come from that line, having foursisters. i strong woman. maybe i come from that line, having four sisters. i am used to working with women. all my staff are women because they are just a lot harder workers. i think people are scared of strong women. i love it. i think it is brilliant. somebody comes in and they know what they want. they create. and looking at her, she is 60. she has sold 300 million records. i have done a couple of videos with her and they have billions of plays. how can you criticise anyone like that? thank you very much for coming on the programme. some breaking news to do with england rugby star danny cipriani who has appeared in court injersey. he cipriani who has appeared in court in jersey. he has cipriani who has appeared in court injersey. he has pleaded guilty in the last few minutes to charges of common assault and resisting arrest following an incident in a nightclub on the island. danny cipriani has pleaded guilty atjersey magistrates court in the last few minutes to charges of common assault and resisting arrest, following an incident in a nightclub onjersey at

the weekend. now the latest news withjulian. the weekend. now the latest news with julian. thank you. the weekend. now the latest news withjulian. thank you. an update on the headlines now. more than one in four a—levels were awarded an a or a* this year — the highest proportion for six years, according to the joint council for qualifications. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland are receiving their a—level results this morning. in england, most a—levels have been reformed in a move away from coursework and returning to students being marked on final exams only. rescuers in the italian city of genoa say there is little hope of finding any more survivors in the rubble of the collapsed motorway bridge. at least 39 people were killed when the bridge caved in on tuesday morning. the italian prime minister giuseppe conte has declared a 12—month state of emergency and warned that those found responsible for the tragedy will be punished. translation: he was under the bridge and the bridge fell on top of him. detectives have been granted more time to question

the suspect in the alleged terror attack in westminster on tuesday. 29—year—old salih khater, a british citizen originally from sudan, was arrested by armed police after crashing his car into a barrier outside the houses of parliament. he's being held on suspicion of terror offences and attempted murder. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. julian and myself are not the only people who love madonna. spike on text says she is the goddess of pop music. her lyrics and upbeat tunes are unparalleled even today. shirley saidi are unparalleled even today. shirley said i am 60 on saturday and a fitness fanatic and madonna has a lwa ys fitness fanatic and madonna has always been my driving force to keeping healthy and having a young outlook on life. gareth says madonna inspired me to follow my dreams and work hard to achieve them. i eventually went to going back to studying at evening classes, getting a degree and fulfilling my dream. i think she is a terrific role model. cass, i think i read this earlier, i love madonna because she is quite simply awesome. and patrick email:

fantastic memories of like a virgin playing everywhere throughout the united 80s. and now the sport. england have jumped up united 80s. and now the sport. england havejumped up the united 80s. and now the sport. england have jumped up the fee folk world rankings —— fifa world rankings from 12th to six following the world cup. ashley maitland—niles has been ruled out of the two month this morning after breaking his leg in the opening defeat against manchester city this sunday. atletico madrid beat real madrid in the uefa final. and michael vaughan says all—rounder ben stokes doesn't deserve a warm reception from england fans in the third test against india on saturday. ben stokes was involved in a fracas in bristol last september and was found not guilty of affray on tuesday. those are the headlines and all the sport for now. police chiefs are promising to root out sexual harassment of police service staff in civilian roles.

it's after a survey revealed many community support officers, crime scene investigators, and detention officers had been embarrassed, degraded and humiliated by sexual comments and inappropriate touching. 4% of staff who responded to a survey said they'd been pressured into having sex with a colleague. let's speak now to ben priestley, who represents police community support officers for the public service unison who carried out the study. and sue sim, the former chief consta of northumbria police. she retired in 2015 after 30 years and has spoken about alleged sexism in forces across the country. and in swansea chief constable julian williams. he's the national police chiefs' council lead for professional ethics. then first of all, tell our audience some of the really shocking results of your study. good morning. unison represents police staff and they make up 40% of the workforce for

police forces in the uk. as you mentioned, few of the jobs, police community support officers, crime scene investigators, and they do a really important job and scene investigators, and they do a really importantjob and policing could not function without them. we undertook a piece of research with jennifer brown at the london school of economics in 2016. results are now out and they show that about about 45% of police staff in england and wales have heard the repeated telling of sexualjokes in the workplace and a third have faced intrusive questioning about their private lives and one in ten has been touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable at work or had received a sexually explicit email or text. these are very worrying circumstances. as you go down the list of behaviour, one in five had been asked out on a date when that wasn't what they wanted. they had been hugged or kissed in a way and one in 20 had been pressured into having sex with a colleague. these are very having sex with a colleague. these are very worrying findings that we wa nt to

are very worrying findings that we want to work with the police service to make sure there are members doing the right thing by the staff. how do you respond to this, julian?m the right thing by the staff. how do you respond to this, julian? it is not good news, as you said with the survey, victoria. it is really disappointing. this really important study has highlighted unacceptable behaviour in the service, which is totally contrary to the code of ethics which every member of the police service must abide by. what is probably more concerning is up to 30% of people will not report the issues because they don't feel confident that we deal with them. we have committed to working with unison and working with the london school of economics to develop by october comprehensive action plan which will have various parts, such as communication with the service to try to change the culture. secondly to try and support victims and make the reporting mechanisms easier. and comprehensive training for managers and supervisors, because we need an

environment in policing which is very demanding, so we have got to have an environment which is safe and protected for our staff and we aim to do that very quickly indeed. are you surprised by these findings or is ita are you surprised by these findings or is it a reflection of other professions, other sectors? good morning, victoria. i professions, other sectors? good morning, victoria. lam professions, other sectors? good morning, victoria. i am afraid professions, other sectors? good morning, victoria. lam afraid i professions, other sectors? good morning, victoria. i am afraid i am not surprised by these findings. as you are aware , not surprised by these findings. as you are aware, in 2015, an independent report into myself actually found that sexism had taken place against me and a number of my senior colleagues were discussing that. make up, things like that. i wrote to the police and crime commissioner, i wrote to my colleague, the former chief constable steve ashman, and i asked that these things be investigated as acts of sexism. and sexual harassment. i was told that having

looked at it legally, there is no such thing as sexism in the misconduct regulations and everything was thrown out. i think thatis everything was thrown out. i think that is a very significant problem when unison are trying to tackle this very difficult issue. it is not the misconduct issue, if it is not something that police officers are held to account for, then how on earth are we going to address it?” will letjulian earth are we going to address it?” will let julian williams response earth are we going to address it?” will letjulian williams response to that. how would you respond to that, chief constable williams? as i said earlier, an important part of the code of ethics is put on the two, authority, respect and courtesy. —— point number two. and it clearly says no member can engage in any form of harassment. it doesn't say sexual harassment but it is quite clear that nobody can engage in harassment. point ten in the code of ethics is that anyone if they see this code of behaviour has a duty to

challenge it but it is quite clear and we accept the service findings that this is not happening in every circumstance that we have a number of avenues where we can pursue this kind of behaviour, police conduct regulations, police disciplinary processes, but we have got to make sure that people are confident they can report to us otherwise it will not be acted upon. are you satisfied with what the chief constable has said? we are very pleased with the way the council have responded to this. we presented the findings to the police chiefs council last month andi the police chiefs council last month and i think the chief counsel has responded very successfully and i think we will put in place something to tackle this. i am very grateful to tackle this. i am very grateful tojulian to tackle this. i am very grateful to julian and to to tackle this. i am very grateful tojulian and to sara thornton for doing that. it is a difficultjob at working together we can solve it. thank you all of you for coming on the programme. we appreciate your time and we are sorry we couldn't

give it any more time. thank you. the average iq score is 100, so that's most likely you, me, and most of the rest of us. stephen hawking had an iq of 160. one three—year—old from herefordshire has an iq of 171. ophelia morgan—dew is so clever that she's already a member of mensa, the high iq society. in fact she's their second youngest member and she's in the top 0.03% of the population for brain power. we'll meet her and her mum and dad who say they are definitely not pushy parents in a just a moment. at the start of the programme we gave you some questions provided to us by mensa to see how clever you're feeling today and i can finally reveal the answers. so here we go. question 1. what number is missing from this sequence? the answer is 16.

the numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all squared. well done if you got that. i got that one! the answer was sea. ididn't i didn't get that one. the new word was realistic, of course. well done if you got three out of three. i got one. time to meet one of the brainiest toddlers in britain, ophelia morgan—dew. and her mum natalie and dad, ben. we spoke to them alongside child psychologist and gifted children consultant for mensa, lyn kendall. mum natalie told us when they first noticed how bright ophelia was. it was from about eight months old.

ophelia said her first word, which is quite unusual because that's quite young. she said hiya. and that was her first word and it really went from there. she started saying her colours, letters, numbers quite early on compared to most children with their milestones at that age. and what did you think? well, being ourfirst and only child we weren't overly sure. i started researching to see, you know, what we were really up against, and then kind of looking at high learning potential and that's really when we started noticing. it wasn't really until she started playschool in january. .. laughter. what's daddy doing? ..playschool in january that she. .. that we realised how more advanced she was than her peers and then that's when we decided to get her assessed. what did you think, ben? yeah, she's... it's like talking to a 19—year—old at the moment, i've got to be honest. is it? yeah. are you joking me? she's three!

it's like being a teenager. she's eating my hand. you're not really selling yourself here, darling. yeah, she just... she has proper conversations. she kind of comes up with her own ideas. hi! she speaks to people. yeah, she just seems tojust pick everything up a lot quicker than you'd expect her to. and remember it. and remember stuff, as well, yeah. that's amazing. so when you took her to a child psychologist who specialises in gifted children, what were you thinking? what were you thinking would happen as a result of that? we just really wanted to clarify what we had been thinking and then really to see how we could help her because obviously, at this stage, we didn't want her to feel that she was being pushed in any way, but at the same time, we didn't want her to feel like she was understimulated in any way as well, so i think it's just really helped us to clarify and then know what to do

with her in the future. so when ophelia's iq score came back at 171, just explain. for most of us, we don't really know the significance of that. what does that mean? i didn't really know the significance either, and i researched what it meant and it'sjust a really, really high iq. and so again i researched into that, trying to help her with that, really, but, we were quite shocked at that also. she's like the top 0.03%. for her age group. yeah. it's quite... it's ridiculous. incredible, really. you two have done something right. yeah! haven't you? yeah! it's all down to the parents, i say. and lyn, hello, how are you? hi. how do you test a child as young as ophelia their iq? there are standardised tests that will test children from the age of two. there aren't very many around. most don't start till four but there is one that we use. and what is it?

it's the stanford? binet. what does that mean? it's the name of a test. ok, what does it involve? it's a closed test, so it's not available to the general public, so you can't prepare for it or practise for it, anything like that. what is it? it looks at all aspects of cognitive functioning. it will look at fluid reasoning, it will look at verbal skills. logic skills, all of that sort of stuff. and get a general picture of how the child is functioning. and what do you think of ophelia's iq, 171, aged three? i think she's done very well to get there. it wasjust interesting to me that her parents were saying, "it's when they go to playgroup." this is what i've found. while they're at home with you, it's normal for your family and certainly if it's your first you don't know what to expect. it's only the first time you see them mixing with other children that people start commenting and you're thinking maybe there's something going on here.

so a couple of things that you brought here. what are they? talk us through them. the sort of things you might get... these aren't actual iq tests but they're the sort of things that you might get. so there would be some patterns and all of these blocks. do you want to have a look at them? and you have to see if you can make the pattern that's on the card by looking at the blocks. what do you think? good. what's next? well done. i think that's quite easy for you, isn't it? are you able to finish it off? and this would give you, lyn, some idea of a child's intelligence? yeah, spatial awareness. it's looking at whether they're able to manipulate their environment but also to realise that the cube has got four sides to be able to turn it around and a lot of three—year—olds — in fact the majority would find that really difficult. would find this really difficult?

yeah. well, ophelia did it in less than a minute. absolutely. except she's still got the outside to do, of course. that's not going to trouble her much, is it? let's be honest. i want to ask you both — and you must have been asked it before — are you pushy parents? do you come across as pushy parents? does this make you seem like you're pushy parents? i think i was worried initially that people would think we're pushy parents. i hope we don't come across as pushy parents. i'm really not. i think we're just really guided by ophelia. i would be proud of ophelia no matter what she did. it wouldn't matter to me if she... you know, when she grows up, if she wants to be a lawyer or a supermarket worker. i don't care as long as she is happy and healthy. so it's really... we're just really guided by her. she's enjoying herself and she wants to do these things, that's absolutely fine. if she doesn't, then she doesn't have to. how do you respond to people who describe you as that, though? what do you say?

ijust ignore them because it's really about ophelia, it's not about them. let's look at this clip. this is some footage that you took of ophelia. and you can tell us her age in a moment, and here she is reciting the alphabet. b, c, d, e, f, g. h, i,j, k, n, 0, p. q, r, s, t, u, v. w, x, y, and z. utterly adorable. how old is she there? she's two. right. yeah. and would that be unusual, then, for a two—year—old ? very unusual, yes. they've got memories that just soak up everything, and going back to... sorry to interrupt, ophelia has done the puzzle and she is now taking it apart. thank you. do you want to look at the other cards, see if there's

anything you'd like to do? no... no, that's fine. too easy. perhaps they can go in the box, then, and put them away. sorry, you were saying very unusual. yes, it's very unusual to see children of that age... they're usually happy looking around. could a parent teach any two—year—old to recite the alphabet? people try, and this is where this thing about pushy parents comes in. with the genuinely bright children, the parents don't need to push because these children are driven. they start at five o'clock in the morning and they don't stop until they go to sleep. and as a parent, usually when they're coming to me, the parents are going, "help, what do we do?" because this child just does not stop wanting to ask questions, learning, and on the go all the time. and is there advice, is there support for parents who are asking those questions, who need that help? yeah, i've got a group for the parents of exceptionally bright children, and they help to support each other because one of the things that parents find is it's quite isolating. you've got nobody.

who do you talk to? you can't stand at the school gate because it sounds as if you're being boastful. is that true, natalie? yeah, i do feel like that. you know, playgroup, everybody else is just about recognising colours and yours is sitting reading charles dickens. so it is very isolating. so it's really good for the parents to have other parents to talk to and know that they're not the only ones. you of course work on the hit channel 4 series child genius, lyn, and some of the parents on that programme have been accused of being pushy. some of them have been. and some of them have been. so there are some pushy parents. there are pushy parents, no doubt about it. how do you feel about those parents? i usually say what i think. there is no need. there's no need for it. if your child is genuinely bright — and children are born intelligent — it's what happens to them afterwards with the learning, that's when people start talking about clever. ophelia's completed the second one. well done.

well done, good girl. if they are genuinely bright, they don't need to be pushed — they push themselves. so if you're one of those poor hapless parents following around, trying to keep the child occupied, that's one thing. it's where parents have a plan and they feed them certain things and that i don't like. they don't get time to be a child. they feed them certain things? yeah, they give them high—energy foods and specialjuice mixes and their days are timetabled. i've had parents phone me up and say, "we timetabled their day and at 6:30 we have intellectual conversation," and you just go, "when do they get chance to be a child?" because that's what they are. how do you get them to follow a timetable?! that's a good question! i think you have to. i certainly had to to get through the day, just to keep myself organised, because i could be at home all day and not get anything done because of the demands being made constantly. "read this, read me a story,

play puppets," it's all of those sorts of things. with your own kids? yeah. your kids are gifted, are they? yeah. i've got a son. how old is he? 0h, he's 36 now! 0k. and how has he turned out? he's just finished his first novel, which is published in october. wow. he worked for microsoft, which is what he said he always wanted to do. so, yeah, he's pretty normal. i made sure he was well—balanced and i think that's the other thing. do you think you two do that in terms of ophelia's all—round... yeah, ophelia's very much a three—year—old in every other respect. we do lots of things, play games. she loves playing with her cousins and just running around, being a normal child, to be honest. and she loves peppa pig and mud. yeah, loves jumping in muddy puddles. all the normal stuff. as a three—year—old, absolutely. but also loves these puzzles, which is great to see, as well. thank you for talking to us and for coming on the programme, ophelia. and well done to all of you who got

the mensa questions at. i must read this email before the end of the programme. it is about a young man called maximus just received excellent grades, which is grandma said we didn't dare hope for. his younger brother was diagnosed with a malignant grade four brain tumour on which he was operated. the operation was successful but then he relapsed into a coma for four weeks at st george's hospital in tooting and his recovery was slow. he had intensive chemo and radiotherapy. during his worrying time, max was a devoted brother and spent nights at the royal marsden, where miles had been moved to keep his brother company, using facetime continually and keeping his spirits up. inevitably we we re keeping his spirits up. inevitably we were convinced this disruption to his a—level revision would have serious repercussions when he sat exams injune and when his brother was still in poor health. to our delight, the results out this morning have ensured that max achieved his predicted grades and can accept the offer to reading

university next year. gosh, that makes me want to cry. amazing. marianne, you have two amazing grandsons. you may have more but i know about two, max and miles. thank you for watching. bbc newsroom live is next. hello. good morning. it has been a rather wet start to the day for many of us. trailing moving its way south and east across england and wales. you can see from the radar image, where we have got rain pushing towards used anger and the far south—east, there can be heavy bursts of rain. —— east anglia. but there are sunny skies further north. some showers across northern ireland

and scotland. they could be heavy with the odd rumble of thunder. sunshine in england and wales but the rain lingers in the far south—east of england into the late afternoon and evening. it is quite breezy and much fresher compared to yesterday with temperatures 16 to 19. this evening and tonight, the rain finally cleared the way and for many of us link the clear spells ta ke many of us link the clear spells take us into friday. the cloud increases with rain spreading into northern ireland and across scotland. goodbye. this is bbc news. these are the top stories developing at 11. the a—level results are out and they show students have been

awarded the highest proportion of a's and a—stars since 2012 — with more than a quarter of entries awarded the top grades this year. oh, my god, i've done it. oh, my god, i'm going to cry. italy declares a state of emergency following the bridge collapse in genoa in which at least 38 people are known to have died. in the past hour, the england rugby player, danny cipriani, has pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest following an incident at a nightclub injersey. around 100 whales keep getting stuck in a fjord in iceland.