this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines: as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a level and vocational results — anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. it seems like there's been some unfairgrading, some downgrading and, yeah, so i'm disappointed. i'm not used to failing. the government says pupils have the option of appealing or sitting exams this autumn. but some headteachers are angry — describing the changes as unfathomable and unfair. we are seeing this across the bar, that something wrong and that's not about appealing, that's about the government looking at this properly and thinking what has gone wrong. 3.5 million people may have had

coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. the train driver and conductor killed in the derailment in aberdeenshire have been named — they were brett mccullough and donald dinnie. thunderstorms and heavy rain sweep across parts of the uk — and there's more to come following the record—breaking hot weather. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland have received a—level and btec grades, after the huge uncertainty caused by coronavirus. they didn't sit exams because of lockdown, so marks have been awarded using teacher estimates, standardised by exam boards — headteachers say the results show

"a great deal of volatility". in england, more than a third of a—level results were one grade lower than teachers had submitted, and 3% of results were down by two grades. overall, the number of a to c a—level grades rose by 2.6%, compared to last year. in a moment, we'll get reaction from northern ireland and wales, but our first report comes from our education correspondent danjohnson in hull. you got an a. well done! a for achievement against the odds. these students had it all stacked against them in a year of school lockdowns and cancelled exams. but these estimated, standardised grades have delivered serious disappointment, too. i am not happy with my results because they've been downgraded at least a grade from the assessments and my mock results. olivia had moral support from her mum this morning

but she didn't get what she wanted. i'm disappointed but i'm glad there is an appeal system, but a lot of people today are really upset and disappointed. it's politicians being blamed. they've had months to get this right and i think they should have had more trust in teachers and schools for their honesty, really, for their integrity, and that's the frustrating part for me. leila has been downgraded but should still get a place at university because of the flexibility in this year's admissions but, after all her school years, these grades are about more than that. after university, you might be up against somebody from a previous year or next year who has sat the exam and got their true grade, whereas i've been given one by the government that my teachers didn't even put in for me. it's like the board hasn't listened to the teachers. a last—minute tweak to appeal options followed a u—turn in scotland allowing teachers‘

grades to stand. the word is these results are as fair as possible in a year of disruption. we have a system of checks and balances to make sure there is a consistency or approach across all schools across the country, and it is always going to be a situation where, when you have moderated grades, some of them do change. the government needs to rethink this, they shouldn't rule anything out, including the approach that was forced on the scottish government, to go back to the assessments last week, but they need an answer, individual peels, waive the appeal fee, but this has been a disaster. potentially disastrous for abby. i've never felt anything. i'm not used to it, which was why it was so hard when i opened it. she couldn't believe her result, couldn't speak to us at first, now the impact is starting to sink in.

we've all been downgraded, i had got into uni because of it, and i was supposed to go durham. now i can't. i've got to go through clearing and resit my exams, and i haven't been learning since march. in 22 years of teaching i've never seen so many unhappy students on a results day. angry head teachers and college leaders across the country, preparing to appeal and wanting a wider rethink. teachers do this job every day and they know the students i can't see how you can move that many grades in the wrong direction. it does not make sense to me we are not happy at all. if teachers‘ estimates had been accepted without question, today's results in england would be up i2%. standardisation has flattened that to a 2% rise, but who is up and down, where is the worst impact being felt? that detail is key to working out if this system is truly fair. for those who have missed out, all is not lost. clearing is busier than ever,

with lots up for grabs, and today's results may still not represent the final assessment for the class of 2020, the covid generation. hundreds of thousands of students have received their btec grades today. the department for education says early indications show vocational results are broadly in line with previous years. but as the students look towards the workplace, they face an uncertain jobs markets. nina warhurst reports. after two years studying level three btec in health and social care, holly and lucy are all set for university and a future in midwifery and primary education. we are always going to need midwives. i mean, i'm obviously worried for the retail side of things like that. i do think it's going to have a massive impact on that, but i feel confident in what i'm going to do. i'll be fine, yeah. you know more young people like abbie will receive vocational qualifications this summer

than a—levels, and because they face regular assessment as part of their training, that means their final grades are less likely to be amended. but finding work in a rapidly contracting job market will not be easy for everyone. there are some concerns about the short—term. certainly in the north—east where hearing some challenging messages in for example engineering manufacturing in the short term, but what is really important here is to think about longer term workforce strategy and how employers can start to plan that workforce strategy. taking students from btec qualifications to help solve those workforce challenges. hairdressing, hospitality, tourism, these are industries deeply scarred by covid. melissa won a national student hairdressing competition in february. now she's worried about work long—term. yes, i think it's still quite worrying because i feel like, even in years to come, the social distancing is still going to be in place.

have you noticed customers behaving differently, feeling less confident? yes, definitely. i feel like people don't want to book in as much as they did before, as you can't social distance in a salon much. and practical experience matters. rob's manufacturing business makes dashboards for nissan, a big local employer with dozens of local apprentices. he worries in a struggling economy vocational training will be neglected. i think that's the worry, that businesses panic and don't take on apprentices. so i think we need to look long—term at where the business is going and make sure that we still fill those gaps, because we still have an ageing workforce who are getting to retirement age, so, for me, it's that we need to look longer term and invest in young people. these are our midwives, our engineers, our builders and chefs, and they are ready to hit the ground running. and they hope that the economy can help them to thrive as the recession begins to bite.

nina warhurst, bbc news, sunderland. that's the picture with a btec flu and thejob that's the picture with a btec flu and the job market. that's the picture with a btec flu and thejob market. let's that's the picture with a btec flu and the job market. let's talk about more about the grading system in wales and northern ireland. more than a third of grades were lowered from those predicted by teachers. pupils in wales are being told they can use their as—level result from last year, if they're disappointed. our wales correspondent tomos morgan gave us an update from newport. a high proportion in wales have received between a star and an a grade, the top grades for a level but that is significantly less than what the teachers assessed and estimated that they should have. they estimated around 40% of pupils should be receiving that upgrade. now the watchdog here said that was too generous, so they revise that number which meant there are around 43% of pupils getting a lower grade than were predicted by their

teachers. following the outcry is in scotla nd teachers. following the outcry is in scotland and england, the welsh education and is kirsty williams, late yesterday made a pledge to all the pupils in wales and said because as—level switch is the exam taken in year 12, were taken earlier in the year 12, were taken earlier in the year and were a reliable source of predicting grades here in wales, she said no pupil in wales would get a grade lower than what they got in there yes grades. anyone in wales that has a grade lower than the as grade would get it upgraded in due course. this situation has affected thousands of people across the country and i think the concern for many teachers in wales and scotland and england and northern ireland is will this be a balanced playing field now the devolved governments are doing slightly different things when it comes to the estimated grades of a—level considering they haven't had a chance to wait for and ta ke haven't had a chance to wait for and take those final exams. well, there are similar frustrations among some student in northern ireland. earlier our correspondent emma vardy

said more than a third of results had been downgraded. some 28,000 students here in northern ireland were receiving their results today and similar to elsewhere, they were based on those predicted grades from teachers then moderated and standardised by northern ireland's exam body. here also there has been widespread dismay and disappointment for some schools as more than a third of results, 37%, were lowered from the grades that were predicted by teachers. northern ireland's exam body has explained this to some degree saying it believes teachers can be overconfident sometimes and that if they had taken those predicted grades from teachers, they would have been a significantjump in results this year which they don't think would have been a fair reflection, but this has led to some strong criticism from schools, school saying they don't think the system worked, that it was erratic, it wasn't consistent. 0ne head

teacher told the bbc they believe some people ‘s dreams and ambitions have been dashed by the use of this algorithm. but an unanswered question here is why things aren't the same across different schools? different schools have had different results through the system. here at ashfield boys high school in east belfast they so broadly speaking the results they have had back from the exams board they feel is pretty fair and afair exams board they feel is pretty fair and a fair reflection of the predicted grades from teachers. it is just not clear at the moment why some schools fared better than others through the system and there will be a lot of focus on the appeals process and what that reveals in the weeks to come. to discuss the political fallout of today's exam grades — let's talk to our political correspondent helen catt in westminster. we are hearing a time and again that there is confusion, anger, disappointment, is the government, what sort of pressure is the government going to come under given all of this? the government is coming under pressure on this

because of all the things that you have just heard there and i don't think anyone is underestimating how big a job this was, how difficult it is to come up with a fair grading system. for exams that haven't actually been set, but there has been criticism and labour have is been criticism and labour have is been tightening up its stance today, you heard from keir starmer earlier and he said they want the government to ta ke and he said they want the government to take steps, they want the government to force universities to be less stringent with the access requirements for people that have had their grades standardised. but keir starmer also said they shouldn't rule out any option, they shouldn't rule out any option, they should even be considering doing what scotland did last week which is to scrap it wholesale and return to teachers grades. labour said nothing should be taken of the table here. kevin williamson of the education secretary said that is not something he is prepared to do and sources close to the education secretary have said this idea of

standardisation was put out to consultation, the unions were on board with it at the time and they have also published this algorithm, so have also published this algorithm, so they have shown how they got to these results. they also point to these results. they also point to the fact that a lot of students don't get the results they are often predicted to get but the difference is that for many students, if they got results that were disappointing and they sat the exam, it is easier to a cce pt and they sat the exam, it is easier to accept something didn't go right for you on the day that it was generated by an algorithm. the government said they wanted to make things as right as they possibly could in extraordinary circumstances. are we likely to see any changes? is there a political mood for that? yellow at the moment it does seem the government is holding its ground on this. but a lot ca n holding its ground on this. but a lot can change in politics and in a short time, so it will depend on what happens over the coming days where we see where the impact of this been felt most and e—mails to

mps this been felt most and e—mails to m ps start this been felt most and e—mails to mps start popping into their inboxes from students who have missed out here. we will have to wait and see what happens and whether further pressure builds for them to shift that stance. yes, still a good few days to go yet. thank you, helen at westminster. let's speak now to rosie tressler, ceo of the student mental health charity student minds. hello, rosie. hello. good to see you, i'm guessing it's a busy day for you. have you had a lot of contact from students or parents already? i imagine across the whole mental health organisations out there for young people, we are gearing up and preparing to make sure we can be responsive to stu d e nts sure we can be responsive to students that want to take the opportunity to talk through their options, might be feeling quite mixed feelings. we would be keen to stress that our students have worked

incredibly hard this year and the lead up to this. we need to still celebrate and mention what they have achieved in this difficult situation and for those feeling concerned, make sure that we have clear steps to how they can get additional support, look at their options. we are anticipating more students coming into contact during all of this. what is so hard is that there is an clarity for a substantial proportion of students. 0bviously is an clarity for a substantial proportion of students. obviously it isa proportion of students. obviously it is a fantastic day for those who have achieved what they wanted, they got into the university they wanted, oi’ got into the university they wanted, or you got the btec result you want, thatis or you got the btec result you want, that is fantastic, but what an extraordinary year and that uncertainty presumably from your sta nce uncertainty presumably from your stance as someone who runs uncertainty presumably from your stance as someone who runs a uncertainty presumably from your stance as someone who runs a mental health charity, uncertainty is unsettling by its nature. health charity, uncertainty is unsettling by its naturelj health charity, uncertainty is unsettling by its nature. i think we know that at this point in the cycle

of going from school and college to university is a time of transition anyway. pre—pandemic this was always anyway. pre—pandemic this was always a period in which between schools, colleges and universities, the whole sector is trying to make sure the process of transition is as smooth as it can be but we note that points of transition is when people can start to feel more uncertain, more worry and in the current context with what is going on, it's really important that students know where they can turn to for support. we know how hard teachers have been working to be there for students, we know that universities stop a lot of phone lines across the country to listen to and the sense we are getting is people understand what this generation has gone through and are being flexible, of thinking about the inequalities that can be a system that has had to be patched together at speed. we hope that amongst those things and also things

like the ucas helpline that has been there students today, there is a lot to help people think about practically what they do but for stu d e nts practically what they do but for students looking for most additional support, there are other things out there, a range of organisation, something we have been involved with is launching student space, a programme used to support students through this next coronavirus period and that involves a helpline, a text service, additional support for how you deal with that move to university and working from home if you have experienced bereavement or loss. also to find out what support your own university provides because thatis your own university provides because that is what is key now, we have this whole generation making change in their life whether they go into university or work and it is important that wherever they go, whatever they do next, they know there are a range of people out there are a range of people out there that want to listen to them, that understand they have been through a lot, they have been incredibly bold and brave and they have achieved a lot and i think the

kind of messes we need to be sending to people is they are not on their own with that. i hope we start to see as a society a recognition that this generation is going to be the generation that really take us out of this recovery period and so we need to do right by them as well. that relates to their lives, the cost of living, their health and thinking about their generation. thank you forjoining us. just to remind you that coming up in ten or 12 minutes, we will devote quite a lot of our time after 2:30pm to a nswer lot of our time after 2:30pm to answer as many of your questions as we possibly can. any questions about grades, appeals, university, or going into the world of work? at half past two, i'll put your questions to the ucas chief executive clare marchant.

will be with me. we will be getting through as many of your questions as possible. use #bbcyourquestions on social media, or visit bbc.co.uk/news or the bbc news app. that is coming up after 2:30 p:m.. we will try to get through as many as we can. stay with us for that. a major study involving home antibody testing suggests nearly 3.5 million people may have had covidi9 in england — far more than the 270,000 confirmed cases. seperately, the number of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment in england has hit a record level — the figure stood at 1.85 million injune, as the nhs continued to deal with the challenges of coronavirus. here's our health correspondent lauren moss.

the virus has changed the way of life for so many. now it's thought 3.4 million people in england may have been infected. the findings come from a study of 100,000 volunteers who were tested for antibodies. the results indicate just 6% of the population may have had covid—19 but still higher than previously thought. we are not saying that each of those people is immune. they've been in contact with the virus and their body has mounted a response to that, that we can detect. five months after going into lockdown, the impact of the pandemic is still being felt across the health service. more than 90,000 people were admitted for a planned operation in england injune. 67% lower than the same month last year. more than 140,000 were urgently referred to a cancer specialist. 19% lower than june 2019. and although higher than previous months, attendances to a&e were 30% lower than july 2019. lorraine's knee replacement

was cancelled in april. it's now been rearranged for later this month. there's light at the end of the tunnel. it's just amazing, just amazing. my pre—op is next week and that's over the telephone, which could be interesting. and i've got to be tested for covid. although the number of people being seen and treated is increasing, there are concerns about a backlog of patients needing care. what we do need to make sure is that that backlog of people who haven't seen their gp yet, whose tests and treatment might be postponed or delayed because of changes during covid—19, that all of that backlog has been building up and we must make sure there are resources in place so people can be seen quickly and safely. a review of how deaths are counted in england has reduced the uk covid death toll by 5000. now only people who have died within 28 days of a positive test will be counted in the daily figures, bringing england in line with the rest of the uk. latest data shows that one in five

people testing positive for covid still aren't being reached by contact tracers. the app will help us safely get back to the things we love. now another new phone app to alert someone if they'd been near an infected person is being trialled after shortcomings with the previous one. so people who might meet in public transport, or in social events and so on, you might not know their name, so that they can be notified if they'd come into contact with somebody infectious. with the epidemic far from over, the way we manage it and move forward is evolving every day. lauren moss, bbc news. scotland's transport secretary says it's clear that extreme weather had an impact on the train derailment in aberdeenshire yesterday which left three people dead. the driver and conductor, who were killed alongside a passenger, have been named. the incident near stonehaven followed heavy rain and flash flooding. andrew anderson reports.

crash investigators arriving this morning at the scene of yesterday's catastrophic derailment in aberdeenshire. three people died in this wreckage. among them two of the train crew. the conductor, donald dinnie, seen here on the left, and the train driver brett mcculloch. the passenger who died has not yet been named. investigators will be looking carefully at weather conditions at the time. it's believed the train struck a landslip caused by hours of heavy overnight rain. as environmental changes are happening, and we are getting these longer periods of very hot weather followed by very sudden heavy rain showers and downpours, that maybe this is affecting the infrastructure in the way which has not been seen in over 170 years of its existence. we are seeing things that are unprecedented. a section of the line close to the scene of the accident was flooded yesterday. network rail released these pictures. it's believed the train driver

was trying to return to aberdeen instead of continuing on to glasgow when the accident happened with such fatal consequences. one question investigators will be asking is whether the train should have been running at all given the horrendous weather. an investigation into the accident is now getting under way and it is important that we allow that to do its work. but in time, we must also ensure that any and all necessary lessons are learned. however, for the moment, my thoughts are with the injured, all those affected directly by this tragedy, and indeed with everybody who works on a railway. network rail has announced it's to carry out inspections of high risk track—side slopes with similar characteristics to the crash site in aberdeenshire. britain's railways have enjoyed a good safety record in recent years. this is the first fatal derailment since 2007. the transport secretary will visit the site today. grant shapps said that

the government will offer every possible assistance following this tragedy. andrew anderson, bbc news, aberdeenshire. weather warnings remain in place for many parts of the uk, after a second night of thunderstorms. it follows an unprecedented spell of high temperatures in many areas. caroline davies reports. on another day of record temperatures, this. storms battered parts of south london with wind, rain and hail. this was inside a supermarket in telford, in shropshire, ceiling panels falling as the rain pours in through the roof. some parts of scotland saw almost seven hours of continuous rain. many areas saw flooding, including here in perth. while cars were stuck, floating in floodwaters in aberdeen. and in bristol, two people were rescued by the fire services from the mud along the banks of the avon new cut, after getting

stuck earlier in the evening. the met office have warned that the current hot weather creates ideal conditions for thunderstorms. the heat is due to continue in some places, with little drop—off at night. and for a sixth day in a row, temperatures in london hit at least 3a degrees, for the first time since 1961. so far this month there have been four nights where somewhere in the uk stays at 20 degrees, so—called tropical nights, with some dramatic results. it is certainly impossible to get a good night's sleep at the moment, whether it is to do with humidity or the thunder and lightning. but just look at this year so far, we had the wettest february on record, followed by the sunniest spring on record, followed by these exceptional bursts of heat this summer. on their own, these extremes have often occurred throughout history and they will continue to occur but, with global warming, with climate change, we are expecting more and more extremes to occur.

yellow thunderstorm warnings have been issued for today for much of england, wales, parts of northern ireland and south—west scotland, as the week of extreme continues. caroline davies, bbc news. have you ever seen a dolphin stampede? well have a look at these pictures. unbelievable. it's also known as porpoising. the dolphins leap so quickly they spend more time in the air than in the water. about 300 dolphins were caught on camera as they travelled at rapid speeds in southern california. david anderson is the captain of a yacht, he described what he saw. people ask me what is the most amazing thing you have ever seen? it is for sure without a doubt it is a

dolphin stampede. imagine you are in a truck and you are driving along in a truck and you are driving along in a stampede of horses, that is what it is like. how do they know how to ta ke it is like. how do they know how to take off all of a sudden? a lot of the times these things will happen as though somebody fired a gun and they just as though somebody fired a gun and theyjust go. now, the weather with darren bett. we have seen thundery downpours again today bringing some flooding into some places. not quite as hot as it has been but still making 28, 209 as it has been but still making 28, 20 9 degrees towards the south—east. cooler for northern and eastern scotla nd cooler for northern and eastern scotland where the low cloud and mist you wear that lingers and that will push its way back inland this evening and overnight bringing some drizzle and some mist and fog. further south, still discontinued threat of some further heavy and thundery downpours threatening further flooding. thundery downpours threatening furtherflooding. temperatures thundery downpours threatening further flooding. temperatures no lower than 18 or 19 degrees.

tomorrow a murky start for many. that low cloud will ban back towards the coast of north—east england and continue to affect northern and eastern scotland. potential downpours breaking out across wales, the midlands and east anglia. the heat ends tomorrow. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines:

as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a—level and vocational results, anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. it seems like there's been some unfairgrading, some downgrading and, yeah, so i'm disappointed. i'm not used to failing. the government says pupils have the option of appealing or sitting exams this autumn. but some headteachers are angry — describing the changes as unfathomable and unfair. we are seeing this across the board. there's something wrong, and that's not about appealing and the students having to go away and think about that. that's about the government looking at this properly and thinking, "what's gone wrong?" 3.5 million people may have had coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. the train driver and conductor killed in the derailment in aberdeenshire have been named — they were brett mccullough and donald dinnie.

thunderstorms and heavy rain sweep across parts of the uk — and there's more to come following the record—breaking hot weather. we will talk more about exams in the next few minutes. sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the weather has called a halt to proceedings in southampton on england's opening day of the second test against pakistan. rain and thunder is forecast for this afternoon. england got off to a thunderous start, james anderson taking shan masood, after pakistan chose to bat first. things could have got even better had it not been for two poor dropped catches in the slips. but anderson has struck again, rory burns making up for his earlier drop to take the wicket of azhar ali. rain has though now stopped play with pakistan 85—2. commentary continues on 5live sports extra with the test match special team,

and you can watch highlights of today's play from 7pm on bbc four, and there's in—play video clips and live text coverage on the bbc sport website. the world number one novak djokovic has confirmed that he will play at the us open, which starts in new york at the end of this month. it's a boost for the organisers after some high—profile pull outs — including rafael nadal. there are concerns amongst players about travelling to america because of the coronavirus pandemic. djokovic says it wasn't an easy decision to make, but the prospect of competing again made him really excited. there will be no fa cup replays next season, in an attempt to ease pressure on the football calendar. the competition will start with the extra preliminary round on 1st september and the final is due to be played on 15th may next year. fa cup prize money has been halved to £1.8 million because of the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. the efl cup semi—finals will be reduced to one leg. mesut 0zil has said he'll stay

with arsenal "through to the last day" of his contract nextjune. the former germany international has not played since the premier league resumed injune — the gunners boss mikel arteta citing "pure football reasons". 0zil has told the athletic that things have been difficult, but he loves the club. the ladies scottish 0pen is under way. it's taking place in east lothian in a bio—secure bubble — the first major international sporting event in the country since lockdown. gemma dryburgh finished her first round 2—under to stay in contention at the top. fellow scot kylie henry is a shot further back. england's georgia hall is due to tee off later this afternoon. the former british open winner says the tournament could inspire younger golfers to take up the sport. it is a great opportunity to showcase women's golf in general, especially as a lot of sports are not happening yet. if we can get some great home—based players doing well and up the leaderboard, getting it televised, hopefully we can see a lot more

of the younger generation and it is a shame that the fans cannot come to spectate but good they can watch on tv. and the semifinals of the world snooker championship continue in sheffield today. england's kyren wilson has had a great morning against scottish qualifier anthony mcgill. wilson trailed 6—2 overnight but has won six out of eight frames today. that squares the match at 8—frames all. they'll play to a finish this evening. the winner will play either mark selby or ronnie 0'sullivan — they are just about to resume their match. you can watch live coverage on bbc two. that promises to be a great one. you can also watch the snooker and follow the second test between england and pakistan on the bbc sport website.

now — we return to exam results — for more on what all this means for students, it's time for your questions answered. sean coughlan is our education correspondent and also i'm joined by clare marchant, chief executive of ucas — which operates the university application process. thank you for being with us on a busy day for you, claire. starting with a question from sarah. this might bea with a question from sarah. this might be a query for both of you. a child i know was predicted three as and got them in his mock exams but

today he has been given a, b, b. his school seems reluctant to appeal. how do we use the mock exam results in this scenario? you can imagine this is something that could be facing so many students all over the country. you can feel the anxiety and life changing moments like this. the tricky thing is in theory the appeal should allow someone to have their mart raised at least as high as in the mock exams. there is a question of how you define a mock exam. next week of cold will tell us how that works. i would say do not panic, hold fire, things might change for the better. the difficulty as it has to go through the school, the individual has to go through this themselves. the school

has to apply for them. they have to pressure the school and see what the cases and hopefully the universities will come to the rescue and consider this favourably. the next question is very specifically your field but this speaks to what a difficult time nurses. very difficult and very difficult, complex set of circumstances. i certainly think the school may be reluctant because they are awaiting further guidance in terms of what constitutes a mock. hopefully this is helpful, clearing has some medicine places, so it is worth considering. they are competitive and there are a few of them but it is worth looking at that as an alternative. jazmine says i have received two sets of grades but

the university i am applying to is only accepting the first set, which is lower, and so has declined my application. she says the triple lock is not working where it is needed most. how do i get my grades changed to the higher set? yeah, so, obviously we are reacting to the government announcement as of 36 hours ago and the understanding is that if those mock exams are higher than that is about going through that appeals process. in terms of those looking to enter university or couege those looking to enter university or college for higher education those will be prioritised in terms of those appeals to allow students who go on to higher education as planned. the triple lock is go through the appeal process if your mock exams are higher. your thoughts? i agree. the 36 hours is

the key. it appeared at a very late date and we don't quite know how it works. the key will be what is the process that will determine it? what isa process that will determine it? what is a mark? it sounds like an a bstra ct is a mark? it sounds like an abstract question but it is a real question. they head teachers have said in some schools a mock exam might be something to boost everyone's confidence and someone else they might use it to scare them because they say we are going to mark you terribly so you will work ha rd mark you terribly so you will work hard for the real exam. are those things comparable? i have a fear for deciding grades? it is difficult for universities as well. the clarity will come with the regulations next week hopefully. you mention next week. this reminds us that today is by no means the end of that for a lot of students. there is still time to wait and that is very stressful.

angela says my daughter has one grade lower in all her subjects than she was predicted. we feel she has been disadvantaged because of the couege been disadvantaged because of the college she has been attending. her gcses were seventh, eighth and ninth. has there been any consideration of prior achievements? would gcses ever be part of that equation? it is an excellent question. the prior achievement considered with mostly of the school and not the individual, so if in this case we are talking about angela and her daughter, angela's daughter's gcses would not have been directly linked to her outcomes. her schools or colleges might have done. that is the missing link perhaps some people have raised this. there are concerns that could adversely affect bright young people in schools that do not do very well because they fit outside the

pattern. the government has addressed this very specific point and said they will allow appeals on this basis if you have high achieving children who are in schools which historically have no results and so these predicted grades will be artificially low and hopefully it will be sorted out in time for them to go to university in the autumn. for the government to specifically address that you can imagine how many students may be in that scenario and therefore the time like, how long it is going to take for this, and that poor people thinking i may get what i deserve in the end but will all of the university places begun? september the 7th is the that has been said for resolving all of these appeals. but as you say decisions could have been made. universities have been told to keep places open for appeals but that is the place you have already applied and so in a sense if you are already in the pipeline. if

you are already in the pipeline. if you see something has gone wrong universities have been told not to give the place away yet. you can imagine families worrying about it. a lot of confusion over the weeks ahead. that is tricky as well from your perspective. certainly it is a worrying time for many. i think it is worth pointing to the majority who have got their first choice of university today and are progressing but for those considering an appeal by one piece of strong advice would be if you are going to appeal through your school do it in parallel to either proceeding with your first choice which is where the majority are or are exploring a choice in clearing or talking to your university if you are dead set on that one, explaining you are going through appeal, and we will do everything we can to support you. it isa very everything we can to support you. it is a very anxious time not just for students but parents and teachers and that is why we are doing so much

through social media in unpleasant times and also last—minute changes at the moment. -- unprecedented times. the majority have got what they wanted and what they applied for. is it too early to know the stats on that? do we know how many have got that? yes, about 1.596 stats on that? do we know how many have got that? yes, about 1.5% more have got that? yes, about 1.596 more people at this point this year compared to this point last year got their place at university or college to go to higher education and two thirds of people have their first choice. more people than ever from most disadvantaged backgrounds have got a place so lots of people have reason to celebrate and to congratulate them today but i accept there are people, and many people, who are seeing i haven't got what i wa nt who are seeing i haven't got what i want andl who are seeing i haven't got what i want and i want to look at an appeal process what i want to sit on autumn exam and that where that support,

particularly in remote working, which we are all in at the moment, that digital support comes in when you cannot get that face—to—face time with perhaps teachers friends. that is worth remembering, two thirds have got their first choice. fran, talking about her son who has done really well, a*, a, b. his offer at leeds was 144 and that was his score but he has been rejected for economics and 0rford physics. do you know what the logic is? yes, it sounds to me like they have got a condition where they want and a in maths and so they are looking specifically for that in terms of that economics course. they obviously want him at leeds university which is great news. my advice would be to ring up the

university and see if there is a possibility in terms of the b instead of the a and talk about other options that may be available at the university of that is where they want to go. ring them up and see where you get to and then come back to us if you need further support. liam's question is about taking a—levels as a private candidate which he is planning to do next year because he is working full—time. what effect has this had on private candidates in what will be the effect next year because i will not have mock exams to rely on ifi will not have mock exams to rely on if i cannot take the final exams so how will i be graded? a lot of people would not know about private candidates. it could be an adult who wa nts to ta ke candidates. it could be an adult who wants to take an exam or people who are home—schooled and the complication was that these grades are firmly anchored on how your school got on my stain. if you do not go to a school, what do you base

it on? there have been all sorts of questions about how you do it. looking ahead for next year you have to look longingly into the crystal ball and hope that things work because this is a very difficult question. if you are not part of a system, exams question. if you are not part of a system , exams are question. if you are not part of a system, exams are built on a system, i think you are in trouble, so hopefully, the best hope is that we have a vaccine, the best academic hope, and that exams will go ahead as promised. the plan is for exams to go ahead next year. next summer hopefully fingers crossed he can ta ke hopefully fingers crossed he can take his exams and things will be fine. ahmed has clearly had disappointment with his chemistry. he has been given an easy but in his mock exam he got an a so how come 0fqual has calculated my grade as

and e? he thinks this is happening because his school is in a disadvantaged area so how will that have worked out that way for an eight? it seems like a very big drop. 40% of grades have been knocked down. from a to e is huge. you have to get back down to what happened there. is it possibly a mistake? an error in administration? ifi mistake? an error in administration? if i was an aide and his family i would ring the school and check because that sort ofjump can happen if you have a terrible day on an exa m if you have a terrible day on an exam and it goes horribly wrong but ina exam and it goes horribly wrong but in a sense no one has taken on exam so in a sense no one has taken on exam so if it is based on prior achievement that sort of cliff edge shouldn't happen and it would only would be if something i think entirely onto what has gone wrong. we know things have been lower dundee are being lowered possibly more in poor, poorer areas but not

by that much so i would check that out. a question from sam who says can you advise whether my daughter who is disappointed with her results decides to sit the exams in october, something that is allowed, if she does as she still able to apply for a university place in 2020 or does that mean she has been part of the 2021 intake and application? how is that going to work because that is something some students might be choosing to do? yes, absolutely, thatis choosing to do? yes, absolutely, that is a route that is open. if you sit an exam in october, effectively coming back in 2021 and entering in autumn 2021 is one option. there are january start courses so in january 2021 and that is another option. i

would be honest that there are a narrow set of courses available in 2021 and the other option is there will be some courses that potentially interfering them up well say you can start late but they will be fewer and verbally between —— if you call them up. when those exam results for the autumn exam come out, probably around december, give us out, probably around december, give usa out, probably around december, give us a call and we are happy to help you navigate through what are three or four potential options at that point. more broadly it is going to be interesting to see how many stu d e nts be interesting to see how many students opt, if they are so unhappy with their son the appeals process, andi with their son the appeals process, and i think i am going to do it and sitan exam, and i think i am going to do it and sit an exam, that is quite a decision. also it is a bit of the complication for the school. parents and teachers are scratching their heads about how this will work in

practice. somebody getting their results today left school in march. they are no longer peoples. they are adults in the wide world. well they go back to the school they have left? who is going to teach them? who is going to prepare them? they haven't opened the book since march, judging by some people i know! and suddenly they are going to take any level in october on what basis? it is all still to be explained. that is all still to be explained. that is an area politically that we are yet to have clarity on. how will it work in practice? schools will be phil. the government is promising money for extra rooms for people to ta ke money for extra rooms for people to take exams but in reality who is going to teach them? what are they going to teach them? what are they going to teach them? what are they going to study? it is not going to

bea going to study? it is not going to be a full revision setting seven or eight weeks and will they be the same validity if they are not filled exams? the october thing was offered asa exams? the october thing was offered as a very exams? the october thing was offered as a very generous exams? the october thing was offered as a very generous good spirited don't worry, but how does it work in practice? there is lots we still do not know about that. lohan says why are some universities not waiting for appeals to be completed before making a decision? my attained grades don't meet my offer conditions but my mock exam results do. what some universities will do, many, is they have been asked to exercise flexibility and for those students who perhaps missed one or two grades they will be confirming them and seeing we will take you onto the course because we are exercising that flexibility. in other universities are perhaps taking longer because they are

taking longer because they are taking theirtime to taking longer because they are taking their time to look at the context of an individual through their personal statement and work experience and their background, so some of those confirmation decisions coming through are taking a little bit longer because of the complexity. we will close with a broader thought about an extraordinary day. a—level results and btec results day is always a stressful day. this is unlike anything else we have seen before. you have covered education for a long time. your thoughts about what students, parents, are going through with all the uncertainties you have highlighted that still exist. with all the uncertainties you have highlighted that still existm with all the uncertainties you have highlighted that still exist. it is exactly that. this poor of young people who left school in march and put on their coats and left and suddenly they are getting exam results for exams they have never taken. ina results for exams they have never taken. in a way that has been put

upon them. you have to take your hat off and see their future is theirs and hopefully they will go onto better things. the system has been thrown together at great pace and it is ourjob to pick holes in it but it sort of held together and people will be going to university on the back of a time getting jobs and getting training and one would hope this never happens again. that is the dream, the next year will be real exams, and possibly for the first time people will say isn't it great we have real exams? feeling nostalgic about revision and exams and all that goes with it. exams have never been so popular! many thanks for your time on a very busy day.

much more about education and results after cpm. some news that has just results after cpm. some news that hasjust come results after cpm. some news that has just come through in the last few moments. the aftermath of that very distressing derailment in aberdeenshire. we are just hearing some comments from the head of network rail about that derailment. three people died in aberdeenshire yesterday. the head of network rail accepting that his organisation failed to prevent that crash. seeing we we re failed to prevent that crash. seeing we were not good enough but he promised to implement any safety recommendations that arise. he denied network rail had failed to act ina denied network rail had failed to act in a report that had wondered about the impact of extreme weather and he said £150 million was being spent in scotland to improve drainage and earthworks. all of those comments following on from

those comments following on from those comments following on from those comments previously from scotland's transport secretary saying it was clear that where there had had an impact. we know that there was in that area torrential rain, downpours overnight, suggestions there had been a land and certainly it scotland's transport secretary saying he was convinced extreme weather played a pa rt convinced extreme weather played a part in that dreadful derailment and the head of network rail talking about it today, excepting that there had been a failure, although saying he denied failing to act in a report which had previously warned about the impact of extreme weather. the investigation victor very much still under way. six people were taken to hospital with injuries although not life—threatening although very sadly three people died in that crash. the train driver, a conductor and a passenger. we will have more on that

after three o'clock. now the weather with darren bett. generally it is going to be the southern half of the uk that sees most of the wet weather and it will feel warm and humid. this was the picture in essex. leaving localised flooding. further north some sunshine breaking through which may persist around eastern areas as we have seen in the scottish borders. the difference in the weather across the uk is because northern areas are seeing bringing an easterly breeze and further south low pressure and the clusters of cloud bringing thundery downpours. it has still been hot across many parts of england and wales but not as hot.

cooler around north—eastern parts of england and northern and eastern scotland. that will push in land again bringing a few spots of drizzle and fog. southern england most likely to catch further bursts of heavy rain threatening flash flooding. temperatures 18 or 19 degrees, 13 to 15 further north. low cloud retreating to north—eastern parts of england, north yorkshire, northern and eastern scotland. there will be best ever present threat of thundery downpours across wales, the midlands, east anglia and the south of england. heatwave coming to an end tomorrow. quite warm in the north west of england, northern ireland and western scotland with son shane developing. over the weekend a high pressure is going to slip to the north with lowering pleasure from the side and that will push the rain further north during the second half of the weekend.

—— lowering pressure. the second half of the weekend downpours which could be heavy and thundery threatening parts of scotland. some sign cheney away from eastern areas and sunshine in the south—east. the top temperature on sunday 25 celsius.

this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines: as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a level and vocational results — anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. i haven't got into university because of it, i was supposed to go to durham, now i can't so now i've got to look at other options, got to appeal, reset my exams and we haven't been learning since march. around 40% of teacher assessements were downgraded. some headteachers are angry — describing the results as unfathomable and unfair. we've got kids in tears. in all the years i have been teaching, 22 years, i'v students on a results day.

3.5 million people may have had coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. the train driver and conductor killed in the derailment in aberdeenshire have been named — they were brett mccullough and donald dinnie. thunderstorms and heavy rain sweep across parts of the uk — and there's more to come following the record—breaking hot weather. and coming up — the dolphin stampede which has wowed whale watchers in southern california. good afternoon. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland have received a—level and btec grades, after the huge uncertainty

caused by coronavirus. they didn't sit exams because of lockdown, so marks have been awarded using teacher estimates, standardised by exam boards — headteachers say the results show "a great deal of volatility". in england, more than a third of a—level results were one grade lower than teachers had submitted, and 3% of results were down by two grades. overall, the number of a to c a—level grades rose by 2.6%, compared to last year. in a moment, we'll get reaction from northern ireland and wales, but our first report comes from our education correspondent danjohnson in hull. you got an a. well done. a for achievement against the odds. these students had it all stacked against them in a year of school lockdowns and cancelled exams. but these estimated, standardised grades have delivered serious disappointment, too.

i'm not happy with my results because they've been downgraded at least a grade from the assessments, what i've been working at, and my mock results. olivia had moral support from her mum this morning, but she didn't get what she wanted. ijust feel disappointed to be honest, but i'm glad that we've got an appeal system, but a lot of people here today are really upset and disappointed with what they've been given. and it's politicians being blamed. they've had some months to get this right and i think they should have had more trust in the teachers and the schools for their honesty, really, for their integrity, and that's the frustrating part for me i think. leila has been downgraded but should still get a place at university because of the flexibility in this year's admissions but, after all her school years, these grades are about more than that. after uni, when you're getting a job, you might be up against somone from a previous year or next year who has sat the exam and got their true grade, whereas i've been given one

by the government that my teachers didn't even put in for. it's like the board hasn't listened to the teachers. a last—minute tweak to appeal options followed a u—turn in scotland allowing teachers' grades to stand. the word is these results are as fair as possible in a year of disruption. we've got a system where there are checks and balances to make sure there is a consistency of approach across all schools right across the country, and it is always going to be a situation where, when you do have moderated grades, some of them do change. the government needs to rethink this, they shouldn't rule anything out, including the approach that was forced on the scottish government, to go back to the assessments last week, but they need an answer, individual appeals, waive the appeal fee, but this has been a disaster. it's potentially disastrous for abbie. i've never failed anything actually. i'm not used to not getting into places, i think that's why it hit me so hard this morning when i opened it.

she couldn't believe her results, couldn't speak to us at first, now the impact is starting to sink in. we've all been downgraded, i ain't got into uni because of it, i was supposed to go durham. now i can't. i've got to look at my options, i've got to appeal, go through clearing and resit my exams, and we haven't been learning since march. in 22 years of teaching i've never seen so many unhappy students on a results day. there are angry head teachers and college leaders across the country, preparing to appeal and wanting a wider rethink. teachers do this job day in, out and they know the students and i can't see how you can move that many grades in the wrong direction. it does not make sense to me we are not happy at all. if teachers' estimates had been accepted without question, today's results in england would be up 12%. standardisation has flattened that to a 2% rise, but who is up and down, where is the worst impact being felt? that detail is key to working out

if this system is truly fair. for those who have missed out, all is not lost. clearing is busier than ever, with lots up for grabs, and today's results may still not represent the final assessment for the class of 2020, the covid generation. danjohnson, bbc news, in hull. hundreds of thousands of students have received their btec grades today. the department for education says early indications show vocational results are broadly in line with previous years. but as the students look towards the workplace, they face an uncertain jobs markets. nina warhurst reports. after two years studying level three btec in health and social care, holly and lucy are all set for university and a future in midwifery and primary education. we are always going to need midwives. i mean, i'm obviously worried for the retail side of things like that. i do think it's going

to have a massive impact on that, but i feel confident in what i'm going to do. it'll be fine, yeah. you know more young people like abbie will receive vocational qualifications this summer than a—levels, and because they face regular assessment as part of their training, that means their final grades are less likely to be amended. but finding work in a rapidly contracting job market will not be easy for everyone. there are some concerns about the short—term. certainly in the north—east we're hearing some challenging messages in, for example, engineering, manufacturing in the short term, but what is really important here is to think about longer term workforce strategy and how employers can start to plan that workforce strategy. taking students from btec qualifications to help solve those workforce challenges. hairdressing, hospitality, tourism, these are industries deeply scarred by covid. melissa won a national student hairdresser competition in february.

now she's worried about work long—term. yes, i think it's still quite worrying because i feel like, even in years to come, the social distancing is still going to be in place. have you noticed customers behaving differently, feeling less confident? yes, definitely. i feel like people don't want to book in as much as they did before, as you can't social distance in a salon as much. and practical experience matters. rob's manufacturing business makes dashboards for nissan, a big local employer with dozens of local apprentices. he worries in a struggling economy vocational training will be neglected. i think that's the worry, that businesses panic and don't take on apprentices. so i think we need to look long—term and look at where the business is going and make sure that we still fill those gaps, because we still have an ageing workforce who are getting to retirement age, so, for me, it's that we need to look longer term and invest in young people. these are our midwives,

our engineers, our builders and chefs, and they are ready to hit the ground running. and they hope that the economy can help them to thrive as the recession begins to bite. nina warhurst, bbc news, sunderland. in wales and northern ireland, more than a third of grades were lowered from those predicted by teachers. pupils in wales are being told they can use their as—level result from last year, if they're disappointed. our wales correspondent tomos morgan gave us an update from newport. a higher proportion in wales have received between a* and an a grade, the top grades for a level but that is significantly less than what the teachers assessed and estimated that they should have. they estimated that around 40% of pupils should be receiving that top grade. now the watchdog here said that was too generous, so they revised that number which meant there around 43% of pupils would get a lower grade than were predicted

by their teachers. following the outcries in scotland and england, the welsh education secretary, kirsty williams, late yesterday made a pledge to all the pupils in wales and said because as—level which is the exam taken in year 12, were taken earlier in the year and were a reliable source of predicting grades here in wales, she said no pupil in wales would get a grade lower than what they got in their as grades. anyone in wales that has a grade lower than the as grade would get it upgraded in due course. this situation has affected thousands of people across the country and i think the concern for many teachers in wales and scotland and england and northern ireland is will this be a balanced playing field? now the devolved governments are doing slightly different things when it comes to the estimated grades of a—level considering they haven't had a chance to wait for and take those final exams. well, there are similar frustrations among some student

in northern ireland. earlier our correspondent emma vardy said more than a third of results had been downgraded. some 28,000 students here in northern ireland were receiving their results today and similar to elsewhere, they were based on those predicted grades from teachers then moderated and standardised by northern ireland's exam body. here also there has been widespread dismay and disappointment for some schools as more than a third of results, 37%, were lowered from the grades that were predicted by teachers. northern ireland's exam body has explained this to some degree saying it believes teachers can be overconfident sometimes and that if they had taken those predicted grades from teachers, there would have been a significant jump in results this year which they don't think would have been a fair reflection, but this has led to some strong criticism from schools, schools saying they don't

think the system worked, that it was erratic, it wasn't consistent. one head teacher told the bbc they believe some pupil's dreams and ambitions have been dashed by the use of this algorithm. but an unanswered question here is why things aren't the same across different schools? different schools have had different results through the system. here at ashfield boys high school in east belfast they so broadly speaking the results they have had back from the exams board they feel is pretty fair and a fair reflection of the predicted grades from teachers. it is just not clear at the moment why some schools fared better than others through the system and there will be a lot of focus on the appeals process and what that reveals in the weeks to come. let's get more from the shadow education secretary, the labour mp kate green. good afternoon. hello. iam good afternoon. hello. i am sure you have been hearing lots of stories, lots of reaction today. what are

your thoughts of the situation facing this country's18—year—old today? i feel desperately sad and sorry for young people who have not got the grades that they deserved today and have been victims of a system that doesn't seem to be treating a very substantial number of stu d e nts treating a very substantial number of students fairly. it's a devastatingly worrying time for them. we are talking about their future careers, the next steps in further study and a great deal of uncertainty about what is the best thing for them to do now, whether to appeal, whether to go into clearing, whether to reset their subjects in the autumn and i think it's really important the government gives absolute clarity about how these different processes are going to work. if we can't get a fair system to work on the basis of the standardisation model adopted so far, then i don't think anything can be taken of the table. we had to sort this out for our young people. what do you mean when you say

nothing should be of the table? what would you do if you are running this? we need to make the appeal system much more robust. we have said individual students should be able to appeal, that the fee should be waived whether that is the cost to the school or potentially a cost ofan to the school or potentially a cost of an individual, but if it's necessary to go further, if we can't make the system fair, then we had to look at what the scottish government did and go back to relying on teacher assessments. and we also need to start thinking about how we protect the students over the next few months and students coming after them who are beginning the second year of their a—level courses as they go back to school in september. does this not leave the universities as well in a tricky situation because there will be lots of stu d e nts because there will be lots of students who perhaps have decided today, i am going to appeal, that ta kes today, i am going to appeal, that takes time, they might ultimately get what they feel they should have got, but of course they are worried thinking, has my place at university

gone? what onus should be on the universities in that scenario? you are absolutely right. universities are absolutely right. universities are in my experience during their very best to be flexible, to help students, to take up places that are available and there are places available and there are places available and there are places available and i really want students to get that message that universities have places on a whole range of courses and it's very important students don't lose hope that a place can be available for them. but universities are in a difficult position. if a lot of stu d e nts difficult position. if a lot of students submit appeals and it takes time to process those, universities currently places open indefinitely, they need to sort out the size of classes, they need to employ the releva nt classes, they need to employ the relevant teaching staff, the numbers they will need, they need to sort out premises, student accommodation. we need to make sure that if stu d e nts we need to make sure that if students are going to appeal and labour believes they should have that right and opportunity, that the government ensures there appeals are

turned around fairly but also turned around swiftly. students have been given the right to take the exam in october, that is something the government says we want to give stu d e nts government says we want to give students as many options as possible. is that a fair way of dealing with it? is not an ideal situation for a start it mean stu d e nts situation for a start it mean students would miss the opportunity of securing a university place to start in the coming academic year. the resits will come too late for them to take up places this year. it is also going to be quite challenging for schools and colleges to runa challenging for schools and colleges to run a resits programme this autumn because they are already having to make significant adjustments to the school day or to their premises to provide for social distancing and safety when students go back to school or college in september. i think the logistics of resits will be harder than usual for schools and colleges and really not an ideal solution for young people.

just a final thought before you go, in terms of the broad sweep of this, do you not accept this is unprecedented, nobody knew that 17-18 unprecedented, nobody knew that 17—18 —year—olds would be in this position a matter of months ago. there were huge strategic problems with the trying to make this work, wouldn't these issues have faced any government? well, i think it is true that we are in unprecedented times but i don't think it's right that it should be this generation of young people who had to pay an unfair price. and of course if we had a more rounded assessment system, if the conservative government had abolished as—level is unlike in wales where it is possible to go back and look at as—level results if there is a great discrepancy in the standardisation of greats, if those hadn't been scrapped, if there was more recognition of ongoing coursework in the system we wouldn't have seen a situation where all the

eggs were put in the basket of india assessment. the government has a lot to a nswer assessment. the government has a lot to answer for and on top of that, to start making 11th hour changes in the last few days to appeals and to the last few days to appeals and to the system of grading exams, it has left students in an unsettled and horrible position and its ministers who have to answer to this generation who are being treated so unfairly. thank you very much. so what options are open to those who have chosen not to go to university? with me now is rachel king — from the black women working podcast — that's a podcast which centres on black british women talking about employment and careers in the uk. hello, rachel. good afternoon, how are you? i am very well. i wonder if this is a very busy day for you. what are you saying to people who

we re what are you saying to people who were going through an extraordinary day today and pondering their options? i have given three good advice tips here. the three i have given is take your time, don't rush your choice. although people may be rushing you, your parents, family, friends, take your time. the second thing i have advised is seek advice. whether that be from family, friends, people in the industry or even a careers adviser, your teachers, see if you can get that voice to support you and the third thing, think of the grades you have got and think of how you can use it to do something that you love. some people are going into courses where they like it but they're not sure and you really need to do something that you love so that you can actually prosper and progress because otherwise you will be looking at trying to switch your career later on. try and think of

something you love to do with your results. everyone would love to work in the field that they really love, there's nothing better than that but what would you say to people who say, that's great, but goodness, look at the state of the jobs market, look at unemployment. we know what covid is doing to the economy, all the stats are out there, people are so worried about there, people are so worried about the practicalities of what they will do next and how they will earn a level. definitely. the job market isn't at its best at the moment however there are lots of opportunities coming out. i would definitely suggest going through linked in, getting a link in the page and putting yourself out there and what you have done before. try and what you have done before. try and see if you can source work experience because that is really helpful, it really looks good on your cv and it shows employers you are willing to work and give up your time to work. that is a really good thing as well and then also, you might want to look into registering

with agencies. a lot of agencies are still recruiting and looking for people to do certain types ofjobs. that may be helpful for you. people to do certain types ofjobs. that may be helpful for youlj people to do certain types ofjobs. that may be helpful for you. i am interested in your pod cast specifically as well and what the people who listen to your podcast say to you, because what sort of particular concerns of this country's black women in particular because that is who you are aiming at, what do they say about their concerns around their future and the jobs market? i think with the pod cast we have managed to reach loads of black women around london in particular but if you are in other parts of the uk. one of the main things that always comes up as impostor syndrome, where you feel as though you are going into the workplace and you are meant to stay at those level levels and you're able to progress higher and that could be because you don't see anybody that looks like yourself in those roles and i think that is

something we try to tackle buy at the pod cast and we show there are people in those roles and we have made a network of women in senior positions and lower positions and everybody is able to come together. that is doing sterling work. we could have a long conversation about impostor syndrome alone because that isa impostor syndrome alone because that is a whole issue. you have hit on a good one there. lovely to talk to you, thank you very much indeed. that is rachel king from the black women working pod cast. if you or someone you know feels in need of more advice on results, choosing a uni, getting a job or an apprenticeship, then radio 1's newsbeat might be able to help with an extra programme available on bbc sounds. it s called newsbeat plus and there are loads of experts giving you loads of answers.

we will talk more about this throughout the day but a couple of other stories. one of our major stories that has dominated over the last couple of days. the head of network rail has accepted that his organisation failed to prevent yesterday s train crash in which three people died. andrew haines said, we weren t good enough and promised to implement any safety recommendations arising from the derailment. but he denied that network rail had failed to act on a report which warned about the impact of extreme weather. meanwhile the names of two of the three people who died in the derailment have been released. driver brett mccullough, and conductor donald dinnie died, along with a passenger.

let's get more from our reporter ben philip who is near the scene of that derailment this afternoon. the investigation has a long way to 90, the investigation has a long way to go, explain what is happening. there has been extensive recovery operation overnight to make the site suitable and safe for the investigators to move in. they have now moved in and investigations are very much under way. the passenger train travelling from aberdeen to glasgow queen street yesterday derailed around 945 yesterday morning, resulting in the death of three people. they were pronounced dead at the scene. they include the driver and the conductor who have been named as brett mccullough and donald dinnie. they died along with a passenger who was on board. it is thought to have been nine people on board including the crew at the time of the derailment, and as you can see there are still very much a large emergency and recovery vehicle

presents around 400 metres from where i'm standing, and in the last few minutes we have seen a helicopter take off and been circling and surveying the site from above. earlier i spoke to the scottish transport secretary michael matheson. he confirmed that weather did play an impact in yesterday's incident. there had been some heavy rainfall in the early hours of yesterday morning in some parts of the country. nearly a months worth of rain within the space ofjust a few hours. he said he didn't want to speculate too much about what had happened but said the train had reached a point of the track and was making a return journey to aberdeen when the derailment happened. he said investigators would be assisting to what extent the weather did have an impact and assisting to what extent the weather did have an impactand how assisting to what extent the weather did have an impact and how lessons can be learned to prevent this happening again. this is a highly complex investigation in a very remote complex investigation in a very re m ote area complex investigation in a very remote area here in north—east scotland, involving the british

transport police, the rail accident investigation branch and inspectors from the office of rail and road. today, scotland's lord advocate announced a joint investigation with police scotland, the british transport police and the office of railand transport police and the office of rail and road which will run in parallel to this. you mention rail and road which will run in parallelto this. you mention it is a remote area, but have there been local people who have been commenting on this? what sort of reaction have you picked up on? as you can imagine yesterday's news has been met with utter shock from the nearby community of stonehaven and it has been a very tough few days for the residents will stop yesterday morning many residents and business owners woke up to localised flooding following the heavy rainfall. i was in the town this morning speaking to residents and tourists and many expressed how devastated they were about what has happened here. tributes have also been paid by her majesty the queen who of course is currently at

balmoral on her summer holiday. the chief executive of network rail andrew haines visited the site here today and said he was desperately sorry in the organisation were not good enough yesterday and he was committed to implement the findings of the investigation to ultimately ensure this doesn't happen again. during her briefing today the first minister nicola sturgeon paid tribute to the emergency services who have faced a major logistical and practical challenge during this recovery operation, but she ultimately said the heart of a nation is very much with the people affected by this incident. thank you very much. the latest in stonehaven. a major study involving home antibody testing suggests nearly 3 and a half million people may have had covid19 in england — far more than the 270,000 confirmed cases. meanwhile the number of people

waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment has hit a record level. here is our health correspondent lauren moss. the virus has changed the way of life for so many. now it's thought 3.4 million people in england may have been infected. the findings come from a study of 100,000 volunteers who were tested for antibodies. the results indicate just 6% of the population may have had covid—19, but still higher than previously thought. we are not saying that each of those people is immune. what we're saying is there's evidence they've been in contact with the virus and their body has mounted a response to that, that we can detect. five months after going into lockdown, the impact of the pandemic is still being felt across the health service. more than 90,000 people were admitted for a planned operation in england injune. 67% lower than the same month last year. more than 140,000 were urgently referred to a cancer specialist. 19% lower than june 2019. and although higher than previous months, attendances to a&e were 30%

lower than july 2019. lorraine's knee replacement was cancelled in april. it's now been rearranged for later this month. there's light at the end of the tunnel. it's just amazing, just amazing. my pre—op is next week and that's over the telephone, which will be interesting. and i've obviously got to be tested for covid. although the number of people being seen and treated is increasing, there are concerns about a backlog of patients needing care. what we do need to make sure is that that backlog of people who haven't seen their gp yet, whose tests and treatment might be postponed or delayed because of changes given covid—19, that all of that backlog has been building up and we must make sure there are resources in place so those people can be seen quickly and safely. a review of how deaths are counted in england has reduced the uk covid death toll by 5,000. now only people who have died within 28 days of a positive test will be counted in the daily figures, bringing england in line

with the rest of the uk. latest data shows that one in five people testing positive for covid still aren't being reached by contact tracers. the app will help us safely get back to the things we love. now another new phone app to alert someone if they've been near an infected person is being trialled after shortcomings with the previous one. so people who you might meet in public transport, or in social events and so on, who you might not know their name, so that they can be notified if they've come into contact with somebody infectious. with the epidemic far from over, the way we manage it and move forward is evolving every day. lauren moss, bbc news. now, the weather with darren bett. we have seen thundery downpours again today bringing some flooding into some places. not quite as hot as it has been but still making 28, 29 degrees towards the south—east.

cooler for northern and eastern scotland where the low cloud and mist lingers and that will push its way back inland this evening and overnight bringing some drizzle and some mist and fog. further south, still this continued threat of some further heavy and thundery downpours threatening further flooding. temperatures no lower than 18 or 19 degrees. tomorrow a murky start for many. that low cloud will burn back towards the coast of north—east england and continue to affect northern and eastern scotland. potential downpours breaking out across wales, the midlands and east anglia. the heat ends tomorrow. quite warm in north—west scotland in the sunshine. hello, this is bbc

news with jane hill. the headlines: as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a—level and vocational results, anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. 3.5 million people may have had coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. the train driver and conductor killed in the derailment in aberdeenshire have been named — they were brett mccullough and donald dinnie. thunderstorms and heavy rain sweep across parts of the uk — and there's more to come following the record—breaking hot weather. we will be talking about exams and a new study about breast cancer, but first the sport.

sport, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. the weather has brought a halt proceedings in southampton on england's opening day of the second test against pakistan. rain and thunder forecast for this afternoon and the players are currently off the field following a downpour. england got off to a thunderous start, james anderson taking shan masood, after pakistan chose to bat first. things could have got even better had it not been for two poor dropped catches in the slips. but anderson has struck again, rory burns making up for his earlier drop to take the wicket of azhar ali. rain has, though, now stopped play with pakistan 85—2. one in five sportswomen say they've seen or experienced racism within their sport. the bbc‘s elite british sportswomen's survey heard the experiences from over 500 athletes who took part — including england and harlequins player shaunagh brown, whojoins me now. thank you for talking to us about this. what impact does a survey of this

kind have on attitudes to race, particularly in women's sport? i think it puts the emphasis on it so i think it puts the emphasis on it so these are issues as as women in sport are dealing with everyday but it is putting a spotlight on it and reminding people this is our everyday and the survey goes to show that even if maybe we do not speak about it with each other we still understand what each other is going through. what kind of issues have you had to content your career? for me the biggest one is people saying women shouldn't be playing sport, playing rugby, boxing, and it is combative sports, and for me it is calling people out some i am very happy if someone says that to have a conversation with them and ask them why me as a person, notjust women, and a group of people who potentially there is no names or

mightjust be a number, why myself shouldn't be playing rugby and funny enough quite a lot of people change their mind during that conversation. ican imagine. their mind during that conversation. i can imagine. when it comes to issues around race, you have talked about becoming a role model, how important is it for you to show people that kind of example and what other race issues have you come across? wearing my hair out as part of my identity and it started not because i wanted to be different, it was literally the easiest way, i tried a hairband and it didn't work, so tried a hairband and it didn't work, soi tried a hairband and it didn't work, so i took it out and it has become my niche as such, which i am proud of, because of the back of that it is knowing how many people literally enjoy my hair. people love touching it and enjoy my hair. people love touching itandi enjoy my hair. people love touching it and i am different in terms of i don't mind people touching my hair stop some of the girls are literally if my hair is really big b enjoy it and it makes them happy which is

obviously a positive experience. you do get negative and a lot of it is micro—aggression from people in general who will touch it and say, it is actually pretty soft, what do you expect, do you think it is a brillo pad? it is that micro—aggression. things that some people have to go through. i have not been through too many of the deckin not been through too many of the deck in yourface not been through too many of the deck in your face comments, it is more the micro—aggression and it to put a light on it and let people know about it is ok to do not there but it is is not about being personal. a lot of people do not like their hair being touched whereas i do about that is my personal choice. it is about opening up personal choice. it is about opening upa personal choice. it is about opening up a conversation and getting co mforta ble up a conversation and getting comfortable with awkward conversations and learning each

other, whether it is team—mates are coached athletes or people in the crowd a re coached athletes or people in the crowd are people at work, there is a lot of conversation to be had and i am glad we are starting to have it. absolutely. what needs to happen in your opinion to improve diversity and racial awareness? it has to be to improve diversity and racial awareness, two parts, as as people of ethnic minorities to get out there and try something different, evenif there and try something different, even if you do not see a person like you are in that sport, why not be the next role model? then the other side, getting sports clubs to encourage people and learning how you can encourage a certain type of person, whether it is considering what is your train or where you train, is it accessible, can we get as many people as possible? it is having action from both sides and people getting out there and doing something different and making it accessible for these people to put

themselves out there and make themselves out there and make themselves welcome once they are there. thank you very much indeed. the world number one novak djokovic has confirmed that he will play at the us open, which starts in new york at the end of this month. it's a boost for the organisers after some high profile pull outs — including rafael nadal. there are concerns amongst players about travelling to america because of the coronavirus pandemic. djokovic says it wasn't an easy decision to make, but the prospect of competing again made him really excited. the ladies scottish open is underway. it's taking place in east lothian in a bio—secure bubble — the first major international sporting event in the country since lockdown. gemma dryburgh finished her first round 2—under to stay in contention at the top. fellow scot kylie henry is a shot further back. and the semi—finals of the world snooker championship continue in sheffield today. england's kyren wilson has had a great morning against scottish qualifier anthony mcgill. wilson trailed 6—2 overnight but has won six out of eight frames today. that squares the match

at 8—frames all. the winner will play either mark selby or ronnie o'sullivan. and we can show you live pictures from their match now. o'sullivan going in to this afternoon's session leading 5—3. the score is now 6—5 to selby. you can watch the match on bbc two. that's all the sport for now. let's return to our main story. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland have received a—level and btec grades, after the huge uncertainty caused by coronavirus. they didn't sit exams because of lockdown, so marks have been awarded using teacher estimates, standardised by exam boards. many students getting results today may need to use the clearing system — which helps people get into university if they didn't get the grades they'd expected.

john maguire has been at the university of bristol's clearing centre. well, this is the clearing centre at the university of bristol — socially distanced, of course. this room would normally be full, around 60 people here, and they've got call centres right across the city to deal with the amount of students making contact. there will be 6,000 undergraduates coming here at the beginning of the new term, and they expect today at least to handle around 9,000 calls. you can see they will be talking to students, some of whom will have done very well, perhaps better than expected, and, in many cases, students that won't quite have got their grades, so the phones have been ringing. you can hear, i think, a general hubbub of people making contact, looking for a bit of reassurance, i think, as much as anything else. erik lithanderfrom the university, hello to you. what's so different this year with regards to clearing, do you think, from previous years? there's no question that it's the uncertainty. it's the unpredictability.

we hope that results day is a day of celebration and excitement for students. i think this year that will be tinged with some uncertainty, some anxiety about the fact that they haven't been able to take their exams, their results have been calculated in a different way, and there have been changes in policy at the relatively last minute. so, we are expecting that's going to come through in the calls we are taking today. what about the appeals process? what, if any, impact do you think that will have? it could be that a significant number of students who originally were not successful in getting a place in their chosen course are elevated, which is appropriate, and in that case those universities, including ours, are obliged to give them that place, and we will, of course. it could put some pressure on our numbers and capacity, and the universities will simply have to deal with that through additional resources and additional teaching. thanks very much. all the very best for the rest of the day and the new term, when it starts.

after so much uncertainty, then, for students, for parents, for schools, for everybody, really, involved — universities as well, of course — perhaps this morning starts to give some sense of stability. people will start to get back to normal, ready to study when the autumn term starts in a few weeks' time. joining me now is maisha mumin, an a—level student in luton. i have to ask you how you got on. i have to ask you how you got onlj did not get as good as i wanted to. my did not get as good as i wanted to. my predicted gay beads were a lot higher than what i got so i was significantly downgraded —— predicted grades. what are your thoughts about this process?” predicted grades. what are your

thoughts about this process? i have had to appeal. my firm have rejected me so had to appeal. my firm have rejected me so that was upsetting. it has been a well—planned. me so that was upsetting. it has been a well-planned. you had plans to carry on studying. i planned to go to university. i managed to get into my insurance choice luckily but for some people that is not always the case and a lot of people had to go through clearing and resetting is another thing i took into consideration but for some people that cannot pay for that it is unfair. there should be free and you should not have to pay for that. in terms of your situation you are going to go with your second choice? yes. is there is to study midwifery? what a fantastic thing to be training in. yes. are you happy with

that? do you want to fight to get your grades improved because you wa nt to your grades improved because you want to go to your first choice? genuinely i was on the phone to them andi genuinely i was on the phone to them and i couldn't get through at all and i couldn't get through at all andi and i couldn't get through at all and i really wanted to go through to that university but obviously with the predictions and the grades i have been given there is nothing i can do. you are still going to study midwifery but you are going to go to your second choice, you have decided? yes. i am going to ask and cfi can appearand decided? yes. i am going to ask and cfi can appear and get my grades up and if! cfi can appear and get my grades up and if i could i would be over the moon going to the university i originally wanted to go to. what have your friends' experiences bean as well? what have you been chatting about today? they have all had the same experience. i have not heard anyone say to me i have got a grade higher than what i was predicted. everyone has had lower grades than what they wanted. everyone you know?

that has happened to? yes, and it is really demoralising because it is a significant toll on your mental health because you have worked so ha rd health because you have worked so hard for a year health because you have worked so hard fora yearand health because you have worked so hard for a year and for that to be taken away from the without even getting a shot at it is horrible. on top of that i had my assessment, my coursework, which was graded but didn't contribute towards my actual grade. i am wondering whether you and your friends at your classmates all think the system is not quite right, this hasn't done right by us, because if it has happened to all of you? i definitely disagree with the system. i wish they give us an opinion on how they wanted to do it before they jumped to opinion on how they wanted to do it before theyjumped to such conclusions because they only made a mark results only yesterday or the day before. goodness. everything

everything that has happened to you it is really kind of you to talk to us. it is really kind of you to talk to us. iam it is really kind of you to talk to us. i am delighted you are going on to study midwifery which is a fantastic career. thank you for speaking to us and all the best to you. she has got into her second choice of university. india has overtaken the uk in the number of people who've died with coronavirus. the country has recorded more than 47,000 deaths — and the number of infections is rising rapidly. rajini vaidya nathan reports. at one of the world's wealthiest temple complexes in south india, they're paying a heavy price. it's been two months since the shrines at tirumala tirupati reopened after lockdown. but, even with strict measures in place, at least 740 staff have

tested positive with coronavirus. three have died, including a priest. this temple remains open, despite the outbreak, as places of worship across india welcome visitors again. as the country continues to relax restrictions, markets are packed and streets are busy. so, too, are the country's graveyards. coronavirus deaths continue to rise. india has now overtaken the uk and is now fourth in the world for fatalities. in a country of 1.3 billion, it's still a relatively low death rate. but for every family losing a loved one, there's fresh pain. more than 200 doctors have now died of the virus. 27—year—old joginder chaudhary one of the youngest. seen here at the great wall of china, joginder‘s father, a farmer, borrowed money so his son could study medicine overseas.

translation: my son was fearless while on covid duty. he was dedicated to his job. we never imagined he wouldn't survive. he was a covid warrior. and in the fight against covid in india, these are the foot soldiers. an all—female army of health workers, who visit slums and villages. thousands recently went on strike, calling for proper protective equipment and better wages. their work to track and trace cases is key, as is increased detection. compared with other countries, india's testing rates are low. the country's prime minister, narendra modi, has called on states to ramp up tests, as india works to flatten its upward curve. it's very difficult to say what the trajectory of the epidemic will look like here in india. there are some studies that have shown that substantial proportions of the population in some areas may

have already been exposed to the virus, and therefore could have some level of immunity, meaning that the peak could come sooner, rather than later. containing the spread of covid—19 in this densely—populated country continues to be challenging. it's still unclear when india will be past the worst. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news. a new study suggests that screening women regularly for breast cancerfrom their 40s, rather than waiting until their 50s, could save lives. at the moment, women are offered a mammogram on the nhs every three years, between the age of 50 and 70. the new study followed 160,000 women in england, scotland and wales for 23 years — though the researchers have added

that more evidence needs to be gathered about the risks of screening younger women. let's discuss the study with sophia lowes from cancer research uk. what do you make of the study?m what do you make of the study? it is really great that we were able to researchers were able to offer 50,000 women, i really big number, these additional screens from the age of 40 rather than 50, and while they so a benefit to start with, that benefit disappeared after about ten years, which is why we are not sure whether these results mean that they are offering women screening from 40 would definitely save extra lives, and the study was carried out quite a long time ago, in the 1990s was when it first started, and we

have seen big improvements in diagnostics and treatment since then so diagnostics and treatment since then so it is about working out how these results apply to breast screening and breast cancer diagnosis today. someone watching might think surely screening at a younger age has to be a good thing, let's do as much as we can and weed out cases of cancer early, but mammograms, and i write, are not as effective when you are younger anyway, so it is not necessarily a panacea. mammograms are harder to be done younger women because they tend to have denser breast which makes it harder to tell what is a significant change that should be investigated and regardless breast screening has homes as well as benefits including things like over diagnosis of breast cancer which is when a breast cancer is found that never would have gone on to because that person harm in

their lifetime which means it never needed treatment but when you find that you have to offer treatment and so we that you have to offer treatment and so we cannot tell the difference between which cancers would go on to cause harm and which will not sue eve ryo ne cause harm and which will not sue everyone is offered treatment but it means someone and everyone is offered treatment but it means someone and receive a everyone is offered treatment but it means someone and receive a cancer diagnosis and go through the experience of cancer treatment unnecessarily which obviously has a huge impact. it is extraordinary to think that there are some cancers, do you still call them cancers at that stage? which would never go on to because the women harm. that is an extraordinary thing. yes, these are cancers, but they are very slow growing, and so those cancers are so slow—growing they would not have spread or cause the damage that those fast—growing aggressive cancers with the but when you are looking at it on a scan you cannot tell them apart so we need more research to distinguish which cancers are aggressive and which could be able to be left alone and thatis

could be able to be left alone and that is another piece of research, but for this piece of research we need more information about what kind of percentage of the cancers that were detected in the study might have been overdiagnosed and also consideration of things like the false positive results that women receive because around 18% of the women in this study received a false positive results of that would mean that they were told they had an abnormal result i need further tests but actually nothing was wrong. 18% of women receive that result over ten yea rs of women receive that result over ten years which is quite a significant number. yes, i am certainly picking up from you this is interesting that there is more study that needs to be done. i am interested to know what is happening with the general screening programme that we know about aged 50 to 70 because so much has been put on hold within the nhs because of covid? how much do you know about whether it is

up much do you know about whether it is up to date and people are getting regular screenings? we have heard so many stories about cancer treatment being put back. that is the important thing, fitting this research into the bigger picture of screening, and we know that at the height of the pandemic screening was falling across the uk and invitations were not going out so there is a huge backlog of invitations and tastes that need to be conducted on the 50 to 70 age group where we are pretty certain about the balance of benefits and harms of that is what we need to focus on, getting those services back on track and getting the screening service as it is back up and running and then we can look more closely at whether it needs to be extended to other age groups. good to talk together. so fear from cancer research uk. —— sophia lowes.

generally it is going to be the southern half of the uk that sees most of the wet weather and it will feel warm and humid. this was the picture in essex. leaving localised flooding. further north some sunshine breaking through which may persist around eastern areas as we have seen in the scottish borders. the difference in the weather across the uk is because northern bringing an easterly breeze and further south low pressure and the clusters of cloud bringing thundery downpours. it has still been hot across many parts of england and wales but not as hot. cooler around north—eastern parts of england and northern and eastern scotland.

that will push inland again bringing a few spots of drizzle and fog. southern england most likely to catch further bursts of heavy rain threatening flash flooding. temperatures 18 or 19 degrees, 13 to 15 further north. low cloud retreating to north—eastern parts of england, north yorkshire, northern and eastern scotland. there will be this ever—present threat of thundery downpours across wales, the midlands, east anglia and the south of england. the heatwave coming to an end tomorrow. quite warm in the north west of england, northern ireland and western scotland with sunshine developing. over the weekend the high pressure is going to slip to the north with lowering pressure from the south and that will push the rain further north during the second half of the weekend. the second half of the weekend downpours which could be heavy and thundery threatening

parts of scotland. some sunshine away from eastern areas and sunshine in the south—east. the top temperature on sunday 25 celsius.

this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines: as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a—level and vocational results, anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. i haven't got into university because of it. i was supposed to go to durham, now i can't so now i've got to look at other options, got to appeal, go through clearing and resit my exams and we haven't been learning since march. around 40% of teacher assessments were downgraded. some headteachers are angry, describing the results as unfathomable and unfair. we've got kids in tears. in all the years i have been teaching, 22 years, i'v students on a results day. almost 300 people have tested positive for covid—19 following an outbreak at a factory

which makes m&s sandwiches in northampton. three and a half million people may have had coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. the train driver and conductor killed in the derailment in aberdeenshire have been named — they were brett mccullough and donald dinnie. thunderstorms and heavy rain sweep across parts of the uk and there's more to come following the record—breaking hot weather. and coming up — the dolphin stampede which has wowed whale watchers in southern california. hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and northern ireland have received a—level and btec grades,

after the huge uncertainty caused by coronavirus. they didn't sit exams because of lockdown, so marks have been awarded using teacher estimates, standardised by exam boards — headteachers say the results show "a great deal of volatility." in england, more than a third of a—level results were one grade lower than teachers had submitted, and 3% of results were down by two grades. overall, the number of a to c a—level grades rose by 2.6% compared to last year. in a moment, we'll get reaction from northern ireland and wales, but our first report comes from our education correspondent danjohnson in hull. you got an a! well done. a for achievement against the odds. these students had it all stacked against them in a year of school lockdowns and cancelled exams. but these estimated,

standardised grades have delivered serious disappointment, too. i'm not happy with my results because they've been downgraded at least a grade from the assessments, what i've been working at, and my mock results. olivia had moral support from her mum this morning, but she didn't get what she wanted. ijust feel disappointed to be honest, but i'm glad that we've got an appeal system, but a lot of people here today are really upset and disappointed with what they've been given. and it's politicians being blamed. they've had some months to get this right and i think they should have had more trust in the teachers and the schools for their honesty, really, for their integrity, and that's the frustrating part for me i think. leila has been downgraded but should still get a place at university because of the flexibility in this year's admissions but, after all her school years, these grades are about more than that. after uni, when you're getting a job, you might be up against someone from a previous year or next year who has sat the exam

and got their true grade, whereas i've been given one by the government that my teachers didn't even put in for. it's like the board hasn't listened to the teachers. a last—minute tweak to appeal options followed a u—turn in scotland allowing teachers' grades to stand. the word is these results are as fair as possible in a year of disruption. we've got a system where there are checks and balances to make sure there is a consistency of approach across all schools right across the country, and it is always going to be a situation where, when you do have moderated grades, some of them do change. the government needs to rethink this, they shouldn't rule anything out, including the approach that was forced on the scottish government, to go back to the assessments last week, but they need an answer, individual appeals, waive the appeal fee, but this has been a disaster. it's potentially disastrous for abbie. i've never failed anything actually. i'm not used to not getting

into places, i think that's why it hit me so hard this morning when i opened it. she couldn't believe her results, couldn't speak to us at first, now the impact is starting to sink in. we've all been downgraded, i ain't got into uni because of it, i was supposed to go durham. now i can't. i've got to look at my options, i've got to appeal, go through clearing and resit my exams, and we haven't been learning since march. in 22 years of teaching i've never seen so many unhappy students on a results day. there are angry head teachers and college leaders across the country, preparing to appeal and wanting a wider rethink. teachers do this job day in, out and they know the students and i can't see how you can move that many grades in the wrong direction. it does not make sense to me we are not happy at all. if teachers' estimates had been accepted without question, today's results in england would be up 12%. standardisation has flattened that to a 2% rise, but who is up and down,

where is the worst impact being felt? that detail is key to working out if this system is truly fair. for those who have missed out, all is not lost. clearing is busier than ever, with lots up for grabs, and today's results may still not represent the final assessment for the class of 2020, the covid generation. danjohnson, bbc news, in hull. hundreds of thousands of students have received their btec grades today. the department for education says early indications show vocational results are broadly in line with previous years. but as the students look towards the workplace, they face an uncertain jobs markets. nina warhurst reports. after two years studying level three btec in health and social care, holly and lucy are all set for university and a future in midwifery and primary education. we are always going to need midwives. i mean, i'm obviously worried for the retail side

of things like that. i do think it's going to have a massive impact on that, but i feel confident in what i'm going to do. it'll be fine, yeah. you know more young people like abbie will receive vocational qualifications this summer than a—levels, and because they face regular assessment as part of their training, that means their final grades are less likely to be amended. but finding work in a rapidly contracting job market will not be easy for everyone. there are some concerns about the short—term. certainly in the north—east we're hearing some challenging messages in, for example, engineering, manufacturing in the short term, but what is really important here is to think about longer term workforce strategy and how employers can start to plan that workforce strategy. taking students from btec qualifications to help solve those workforce challenges. hairdressing, hospitality, tourism, these are industries deeply scarred by covid. melissa won a national student

hairdresser competition in february. now she's worried about work long—term. yes, i think it's still quite worrying because i feel like, even in years to come, the social distancing is still going to be in place. have you noticed customers behaving differently, feeling less confident? yes, definitely. i feel like people don't want to book in as much as they did before, as you can't social distance in a salon as much. and practical experience matters. rob's manufacturing business makes dashboards for nissan, a big local employer with dozens of local apprentices. he worries in a struggling economy vocational training will be neglected. i think that's the worry, that businesses panic and don't take on apprentices. so i think we need to look long—term and look at where the business is going and make sure that we still fill those gaps, because we still have an ageing workforce who are getting to retirement age, so, for me, it's that we need to look longer term and invest in young people.

these are our midwives, our engineers, our builders and chefs, and they are ready to hit the ground running. and they hope that the economy can help them to thrive as the recession begins to bite. nina warhurst, bbc news, sunderland. in wales and northern ireland, more than a third of grades were lowered from those predicted by teachers. pupils in wales are being told they can use their as—level result from last year, if they're disappointed. our wales correspondent tomos morgan gave us an update from newport. a higher proportion in wales have received between a* and an a grade, the top grades for a level but that is significantly less than what the teachers assessed and estimated that they should have. they estimated that around 40% of pupils should be receiving that top grade. now the watchdog here said that was too generous, so they revised that number which meant there around 43%

of pupils would get a lower grade than were predicted by their teachers. following the outcries in scotland and england, the welsh education secretary, kirsty williams, late yesterday made a pledge to all the pupils in wales and said because as—level which is the exam taken in year 12, were taken earlier in the year and were a reliable source of predicting grades here in wales, she said no pupil in wales would get a grade lower than what they got in their as grades. anyone in wales that has a grade lower than the as grade would get it upgraded in due course. this situation has affected thousands of people across the country and i think the concern for many teachers in wales and scotland and england and northern ireland is will this be a balanced playing field? now the devolved governments are doing slightly different things when it comes to the estimated grades of a—level considering they haven't had a chance to wait for and take those final exams.

well there are similar frustrations among some students in northern ireland. earlier our correspondent emma vardy said more than a third of results had been downgraded. some 28,000 students here in northern ireland were receiving their results today and similar to elsewhere, they were based on those predicted grades from teachers then moderated and standardised by northern ireland's exam body. here also there has been widespread dismay and disappointment for some schools as more than a third of results, 37%, were lowered from the grades that were predicted by teachers. northern ireland's exam body has explained this to some degree saying it believes teachers can be overconfident sometimes and that if they had taken those predicted grades from teachers, there would have been a significant jump in results this year which they don't think would have been a fair reflection, but this has led to some strong criticism from schools, schools saying they don't think the system worked, that it was erratic,

it wasn't consistent. one head teacher told the bbc they believe some pupil's dreams and ambitions have been dashed by the use of this algorithm. but an unanswered question here is why things aren't the same across different schools? different schools have had different results through the system. here at ashfield boys high school in east belfast they so broadly speaking the results they have had back from the exams board they feel is pretty fair and a fair reflection of the predicted grades from teachers. it is just not clear at the moment why some schools fared better than others through the system and there will be a lot of focus on the appeals process and what that reveals in the weeks to come. let's pick up on some of those points with our political correspondent in westminster at. as we have been hearing, joy for some but a lot of uncertainty and disappointment for others at. what

sort of pressure is the government coming under? i think we are going to have to watch and see how the picture gets clearer in the coming days to see quite how much the pressure is going to build on the government. i think nobody underestimate how difficult it was to come up with a system to try and award grades for exams that have not been sat. in the same way that i do not think anyone is underestimating how disappointing it must be for those students who have got those results today which were not what they were expecting. in a normal year, if you have sat an exam, might be able to think it did not go right for me on the day, when it has been given by effectively a government algorithm, that is much harder to accept. i think the crucial thing is what happens next. what happens with that appeals process? does it work? people being able to alter that there is great if they need to? what happens with universities, are they more lenient? does that mean it will not disrupt the plans and dreams of those people who have been downgraded here? ithink those people who have been downgraded here? i think also a clearer picture of who is being

affected and aware and in what way is but as that emerges we will see whether more pressure mounts on the government. lay back today i think they need to be prepared to rethink this whole system —— labour saying. and pupils being able to appeal their grades, notjust schools having to appeal for them, but they do wanta having to appeal for them, but they do want a wider rethink of the whole system of. the government does not seem system of. the government does not seem to be giving ground on this. sources close to the education secretary saying hang on, this system of standardisation was put up to standardisation and teaching unions were on board with it at the time and it was needed to stop grade inflation which would not be fair on last years students on next years at. so they do seem to be holding their ground and do say that they do not think predicted growth are really reliable because many do not go on to get what they were predicted at. 0k, go on to get what they were predicted at. ok, thanks for that. we can now talk to emily king,

a student in cambridgeshire, who has had some disappointing news today. emily, tell us what you were hoping for and what you ended up with. so, for and what you ended up with. so, for my biology a level i was meant to be getting a c, that is what my teachers predicted and that was what i got teachers predicted and that was what igot in teachers predicted and that was what i got in my mark but i ended up with eight u. how much of a shock was that? a massive shock, i'm really confused about what happened that. you say confused, i imagine you are very disappointed. what went through your head when you got that result? when i got it i was gutted. it resulted in me being rejected by my uni and so now i am going to have to appeal it to try and get my mark grade instead of. am i right you had an offer at the university of lincoln? what was that to study? that was to study midwifery. what have they said to you and what have your school said to you?”

have they said to you and what have your school said to you? i contacted the uni and they said they are going to keep the space open until september at the seventh, i think, and when i get my grade appealed it should result in me getting into the unique. so you have spoken to school and they are going to appeal on your behalf? yes. did you get any understanding of why you were awarded eight u? no, i have no idea. may be because of the ranking of the classes, that is the only reason why i think it might have happened at. have you got any sense of how this appeals process will work? no, we have not been told that much on the school does not know much he that. they sound as surprised as you work? is that correct? oh, i think we may have lost emily, what a shame. if you can hear me, even if you cannot

talk to me, are you back? no, can you still hear me? i don't think you can, but if you can, very good luck to you, especially with that appeal and thank you for talking to us on bbc news. if you or someone you know feels in need of more advice on results, choosing a uni, getting a job or an apprenticeship, then radio 1's newsbeat might be able to help with an extra programme available on bbc sounds. it's called newsbeat plus and there are loads of experts giving you loads of answers. the head of network rail has accepted that his organisation failed to prevent yesterday's train crash in which three people died. andrew haines said, "we weren't good enough" and promised to implement any safety recommendations arising from the derailment. but he denied that network rail had failed to act on a report which warned about the impact of extreme weather. meanwhile the names of two of the three people who died in the derailment

have been released. driver brett mccullough and conductor donald dinnie died, along with a passenger. let's get more from our reporter ben philip who is near the scene of that derailment. what more can you tell us about what is happening that today? that has been an extensive overnight operation, recovery operation, to make the site ready for the investigators to move into. we understand the investigation team are now on the site, the carriages have been stabilised, we are in a very re m ote have been stabilised, we are in a very remote area have been stabilised, we are in a very remote area here in aberdeenshire but we are told investigations are under way at. just in the last half an hour, we received a statement on the family of brett mccullough, who was the driver of the train who died during yesterday's derailment. they say they have lost a wonderful husband, father and son in the most awful of

circumstances and his passing leaves a huge void in their lives. as you can see, there is still very much a heavy recovery and emergency vehicle presence here at the site, around 400 metres from where i am standing in the field behind me, just in the last hour we saw a helicopter going above the site, surveying the area. early i spoke to the scottish transport secretary, michael matheson, who confirmed that weather did have an impact on yesterday's derailment much that we had some really heavy rainfall in the early hours of yesterday morning, some areas of the country had a months worth of rainfall within the space ofa worth of rainfall within the space of a couple of hours. he said he did not want to speculate just yet, because of the incident was, but the train reached a point in the track where it could go no further and it was returning to aberdeen when the derailment happened to. he said investigators will be assessing just how much of an impact the weather

did have on yesterday's incident and how they can learn from this to prevent it from happening again. the uk transport secretary, grant shapps, it was also here to date meeting with investigation teams and he has ordered a resilience check to see whether heavy rain had affected the rail network and would like to see a report from network rail into this incident by the 1st of september. a remote area, but what sort of reaction has there been from people living in the community of stonehaven? yes, as you can imagine, yesterday's news has been met with com plete yesterday's news has been met with complete shock and sadness. this really tragic incident here in a very re m ote really tragic incident here in a very remote area really tragic incident here in a very remote area of the country. it has been a very tough couple of days for the residents of nearby stonehaven, ran four miles from here. many residents and business owners woke to localised flooding in the area yesterday due to the heavy rainfall. i was in the town this

morning speaking to residents and many of them at say they expressed how devastated they were that this has happened and tributes have also been paid by her majesty the queen who is at balmoral at the moment in aberdeenshire on her summer holiday and of course earlier on nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland, paid her tribute to the emergency services who have faced a very challenging operation here, a very challenging operation here, a very re m ote very challenging operation here, a very remote area , very challenging operation here, a very remote area, trying to get to the site, but she ultimately said that the hearts of the nation are very much with those who have been impacted and affected by this incident here at. 0k, we will leave it there for now, thank you. a major study involving home antibody testing suggests nearly three and a half million people may have had covid—19 in england — far more than the 270,000 confirmed cases. meanwhile the number of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment in england has hit a record level.

here's our health correspondent lauren moss. the virus has changed the way of life for so many. now it's thought 3.4 million people in england may have been infected. the findings come from a study of 100,000 volunteers who were tested for antibodies. the results indicate just 6% of the population may have had covid—19, but still higher than previously thought. we are not saying that each of those people is immune. what we're saying is there's evidence they've been in contact with the virus and their body has mounted a response to that, that we can detect. five months after going into lockdown, the impact of the pandemic is still being felt across the health service. more than 90,000 people were admitted for a planned operation in england injune. 67% lower than the same month last year. more than 140,000 were urgently referred to a cancer specialist. 19% lower than june 2019. and although higher than previous months, attendances to a&e were 30% lower than july 2019.

lorraine's knee replacement was cancelled in april. it's now been rearranged for later this month. there's light at the end of the tunnel. it's just amazing, just amazing. my pre—op is next week and that's over the telephone, which will be interesting. and i've obviously got to be tested for covid. although the number of people being seen and treated is increasing, there are concerns about a backlog of patients needing care. what we do need to make sure is that that backlog of people who haven't seen their gp yet, whose tests and treatment might be postponed or delayed because of changes given covid—19, that all of that backlog has been building up and we must make sure there are resources in place so those people can be seen quickly and safely. a review of how deaths are counted in england has reduced the uk covid death toll by 5,000. now only people who have died within 28 days of a positive test will be counted in the daily figures, bringing england in line with the rest of the uk.

latest data shows that one in five people testing positive for covid still aren't being reached by contact tracers. the app will help us safely get back to the things we love. now another new phone app to alert someone if they've been near an infected person is being trialled after shortcomings with the previous one. so people who you might meet in public transport, or in social events and so on, who you might not know their name, so that they can be notified if they've come into contact with somebody infectious. with the epidemic far from over, the way we manage it and move forward is evolving every day. lauren moss, bbc news. more than 290 people linked to a food factory in northampton have tested positive for covid—19, according to public health officials. greencore uk employs 2,100 people and makes sandwiches for marks and spencer. the company told the bbc it has been proactively testing staff

since rates started rising more generally in the town. it says there are no concerns about the food it produces as it uses the most stringent hygiene procedures. the covid—19 infection rate in northampton is three times higher than the national average. we are going to talk to the leader of northampton borough council in the next five or ten minutes or so so the next five or ten minutes or so so stay with us for that. the mayor of greater manchester andy burnham has written to the health secretary to say he supports the continuation of coronavirus restrictions in all parts of the city. the restrictions, which were imposed a fortnight ago, forbid different households from meeting in homes, gardens and indoor venues. mr burnham also said that he doesn't support the idea of a full lockdown in oldham, despite a spike in cases there. there have been 14 new cases of coronavirus reported in new zealand, the day

after the country's biggest city auckland went back into lockdown. it follows the discovery of four new infected people in auckland earlier this week, the first locally transmitted cases in new zealand for more than three months. the four all belonged to the same family, and thirteen of the new infections have been have been linked back to that family. the fourteenth case was an arrival from overseas. news zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, has said she expects her country's outbreak to grow further before slowing down. chinese authorities say they ve found traces of coronavirus in frozen chicken imported from south america. the virus traces were found on chicken wings in the southern city of shenzhen. authorities there, and elsewhere, have been carrying out routine screening on meat and seafood since june after an outbreak in beijing was linked to a seafood market. weather warnings remain

in place for many parts of the uk, after a second night of thunderstorms. it follows an unprecedented spell of high temperatures in many areas. caroline davies reports. on another day of record temperatures, this. storms battered parts of south london with wind, rain and hail. this was inside a supermarket in telford, in shropshire, ceiling panels falling as the rain pours in through the roof. some parts of scotland saw almost seven hours of continuous rain. many areas saw flooding, including here in perth. while cars were stuck, floating in floodwaters in aberdeen. and in bristol, two people were rescued by the fire services from the mud along the banks of the avon new cut, after getting stuck earlier in the evening. the met office have warned that the current hot weather creates ideal conditions for thunderstorms. the heat is due to continue in some places, with

little drop—off at night. and for a sixth day in a row, temperatures in london hit at least 34 degrees, for the first time since 1961. so far this month there have been four nights where somewhere in the uk stays at 20 degrees, so—called tropical nights, with some dramatic results. it is certainly impossible to get a good night's sleep at the moment, whether it is to do with humidity or the thunder and lightning. but just look at this year so far, we had the wettest february on record, followed by the sunniest spring on record, followed by these exceptional bursts of heat this summer. on their own, these extremes have often occurred throughout history and they will continue to occur but, with global warming, with climate change, we are expecting more and more extremes to occur. yellow thunderstorm warnings have been issued for today for much of england, wales, parts of northern ireland and south—west scotland, as the week of extreme continues. caroline davies, bbc news.

now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. we have seen thundery downpours again today bringing some flooding into some places. not quite as hot as it has been but still making 28, 29 degrees towards the south—east. cooler for northern and eastern scotland where the low cloud and mist lingers and that will push its way back inland this evening and overnight bringing some drizzle and some mist and fog. further south, still this continued threat of some further heavy and thundery downpours threatening further flooding. quite threatening further flooding. a warm night. temperatures no lower than 18 or 19 degrees. tomorrow a murky start for many. that low cloud will burn back towards the coast of north—east england and continue to affect northern and eastern scotland. sunshine developing in many areas. potential downpours breaking out across wales, the midlands and east anglia. the heat ends tomorrow.

quite warm in north—west scotland in the sunshine.

hello, this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines: as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a—level and vocational results, anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. almost 300 people have tested positive for covid—19 following an outbreak at a factory in northampton which makes m&s sandwiches. 3.5 million people may have had coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. the train driver and conductor killed in the derailment in aberdeenshire have been named — they were brett mccullough and donald dinnie. thunderstorms and heavy rain sweep across parts of the uk and there's more to come following the

record—breaking hot weather. more than 290 people linked to a food factory in northampton have tested positive for covid—19, according to public health officials. greencore uk employs 2100 people and makes sandwiches for marks & spencer. the company told the bbc it has been proactively testing staff since rates started rising more generally in the town. it says there are no concerns about the food it produces as it uses the most stringent hygiene procedures. the covid—19 infection rate in northampton is three times higher than the national average. i'm joined now by the leader of northampton borough council, councillorjonathan nunn. thank you forjoining us. first of

all, let's talk about this outbreak at the factory, what more can you tell us? it's dreadful news. greencore is a respected local employer, a large employer, and we look recently at the number of cases that were growing. to be at the level we are right now is shocking news. i think we are aware, our environmental health teams have been working closely with greencore both before and since the outbreak. way been working with all businesses because we have seen in industrial and warehouse settings and unreasonable number of outbreaks can be traced back to those workplaces. we understand the precautions they've taken seem to be first class throughout, so the evidence here seems to be that this is not what happened so much in the workplace, it's more a question when people outside the workplace, and that may be in situations such as smoking breaks, for example, or car sharing, we have tracked back in number of outbreaks in the borough that places

that work very carefully in terms of precautions but then four people jump precautions but then four people jump ona precautions but then four people jump on a car to drive home has caused a risk. we think it is a similar situation or perhaps led to this, perhaps people socialising outside of work, or perhaps people who work together and then live in the same accommodation. and is this what you think northampton has seen such a high number of cases in the last month? i understand that in the last month? i understand that in the last seven days they were 70 new cases in northampton alone. why do you think that is? there are a number of factors. we have in common with many large cities a population just short of 230,000, we have around us places like peterborough, luton and leicester, all of which have risk and there is some commuting and interaction between

them. but we sit at a fork in the roads around three weeks ago, which is where we could have gone to a local lockdown. we have seen a great response from businesses and the general population where we asked them to take slightly more precautions than the fundamental basic recommended government once. we told them to be extremely careful on all occasions to use public transport and car sharing unless they absolutely have to enter return to working from home unless you absolutely have to. i think there area number of absolutely have to. i think there are a number of factors. myjudgment is that the response had been good and taking that fork in the road scenario to avoid a local lockdown, we hope that is still the case, but we hope that is still the case, but we are seriously disappointed with the scale of this outbreak. and northampton does have a covid—19 infection rate that is three times higher than the national average. can you still anticipate the

possibility of a lockdown and if so, what would be necessary to happen for you to trigger that? first of all, that would be imposed on us by the government, it wouldn't be locally designated. i desperately hope we don't get near that and the implications are huge in terms of, which then turned the economy all over the country starting to creep back and that is essential for northampton. apart from limitations on people's lives and let's not forget that increasing infection rates m ea ns forget that increasing infection rates means more people are suffering and, god forbid, down from this dreadful virus. so i seriously hope we can avoid that lockdown. there is without doubt lessons to be learned from what's happened at greencore and investigations, we will leave no stone unturned to identify issues such as car sharing, public transport, living in the same homes, socialising and so on. we know that it is people in the

younger age group are to be most at risk, some that may be related to the easing of restrictions on the night time economy. recent message to people on tracing a set if you go to people on tracing a set if you go to an establishment and they don't ask for your details, they are not exercising the due care they should do what you and your family, because i should let you know a few days later if there has been an outbreak. likewise, if you go to a venue and they do ask you and you feel disinclined to give your details or to give incorrect details, it's you who don't care about your family and colleagues. so great deal has been done and we hope we can learn the lessons from this outbreak to demonstrate that we are on top and making that continue to progress and with the lessons we pick up from the greencore experience, we keep on track to improving those numbers, which had shown some initial signs of moving in the right direction. thank you very much. let's return to our main story. hundreds of thousands

of students in england, wales and northern ireland have received a—level and btec grades after the huge uncertainty caused by coronavirus. they didn't sit exams because of lockdown, so marks have been awarded using teacher estimates, standardised by exam boards. many students getting results today may need to use the clearing system, which helps people get into university if they didn't get the grades they'd expected. john maguire has been finding out about clearing at bristol university. well, this is the clearing centre at the university of bristol — socially distanced, of course. this room would normally be full, around 60 people here, and they've got call centres right across the city to deal with the amount of students making contact. there will be 6,000 undergraduates coming here at the beginning of the new term, and they expect today at least to handle around 9,000 calls. you can see they will be talking to students, some of whom will have done very well, perhaps better than expected and, in many cases,

students that won't quite have got their grades, so the phones have been ringing. you can hear, i think, a general hubbub of people making contact, looking for a bit of reassurance, i think, as much as anything else. erik lithanderfrom the university, hello to you. what's so different this year with regards to clearing, do you think, from previous years? there's no question that it's the uncertainty. it's the unpredictability. we hope that results day is a day of celebration and excitement for students. i think this year that will be tinged with some uncertainty, some anxiety about the fact that they haven't been able to take their exams, their results have been calculated in a different way, and there have been changes in policy at the relatively last minute. so we are expecting that's going to come through in the calls we are taking today. what about the appeals process? what, if any, impact do you think that will have? it could be that a significant number of students who originally were not successful in getting a place in their chosen course are elevated, which is appropriate, and in that case those universities, including ours, are obliged to give them that place,

and we will, of course. it could put some pressure on our numbers and capacity, and the universities will simply have to deal with that through additional resources and additional teaching. thanks very much. all the very best for the rest of the day and the new term, when it starts. after so much uncertainty then for students, for parents, for schools, for everybody, really, involved — universities as well, of course — perhaps this morning starts to give some sense of stability. people will start to get back to normal, ready to study when the autumn term starts in a few weeks' time. earlier, my colleaguejane hill spoke to maisha mumin, an a—level student in luton, who is hoping to study midwifery this autumn. honestly, i didn't get as good as i wa nted honestly, i didn't get as good as i wanted to. my predicted grades were a lot higher than what i got, so i

was significantly downgraded, u nfortu nately. was significantly downgraded, unfortunately. 0h, was significantly downgraded, unfortunately. oh, my goodness, i'm sorry to hear that. i have to ask, what do you think about that, do you think it's fair, do you think what you've been given is at all accurate? what are your thoughts about this whole, strange process? honestly, i've had to appeal. it was quite upsetting. it's been a whirlwind, honestly. what were you hoping to do you had plans to carry on studying, i think?” hoping to do you had plans to carry on studying, ithink? i planned hoping to do you had plans to carry on studying, i think? i planned to go to university. i have managed to get into my insurance choice, luckily, but that is not the case for everyone. a lot of people have to go through clearing. and the resits is another thing i did take into consideration, but for some people can't ask for that is. it's just a bit unfair. i feel like they should be free and you shouldn't have to pay for that. in terms of your own situation, for now, you are

going to go with your second choice, your back up choice, and to assess still to study midwifery? yes, it is. what a fantastic thing to be training in. are you happy with that, or do you still feel you want to fight to get your grades improved because you'd really like to go to your first choice of university, is as an option? genuinely, i was on the phone to them as i couldn't get through at all and i really wanted to go through to that university but obviously, with the predictions and with the grades i've been given, there's nothing i can do. you're so going to study midwifery but at your second choice, you've decided that today? yeah. but i'm going to ask and see if i can appeal and get my grades up, i'd be over the moon going to the university originally wa nted going to the university originally wanted to go to. and whatever your

friends been experiencing, what if you all been chatting about today? have a lot of your friends at the same experience? they've all at the same experience? they've all at the same experience, i haven't had anyone say they got a grade higher than they were protected. everyone has had significantly lower grades than they wanted. so, everyone you know, that has happened to? and yeah, and it is really to moralising because it is a significant toll on your mental health because you worked so hard for a year and for that to be taken away from your without even getting a shot is horrible. and on top of that, i had my assessments, my coursework, which i was grated but i didn't contribute anything towards my actual grade. i was grated but i didn't contribute anything towards my actual gradem iam anything towards my actual gradem i am wondering whether you and your friends and your classmates all think this system isn't quite right, this hasn't done right by us,

because of it has happened to all of you? i definitely disagree with the system. i just wish they gave us an opinion on how they wanted to do it to before they jumped opinion on how they wanted to do it to before theyjumped to such conclusions, because they only made the mock results only yesterday of the mock results only yesterday of the day before, they did that. israel and the united arab emirates have agreed to normalise relations in a deal brokered by the united states. ajoint statement by president trump, the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu and abu dhabi crown prince mohammed bin zayed said they hoped the "historic breakthrough will advance peace in the middle east". as a result, they said israel would suspend its plans to annex large parts of the occupied west bank. president trump made the announcement a short while ago. just a few months ago, i hosted a very special call with two friends, prime minister benjamin netanyahu of

israel and crown prince mohamed ben sai ying of the united to abra elements, whether you agree to finalise a historical peace agreements. everyone said this would be impossible. and as you know, mohamed is one of the great leaders of the middle east. after 49 years, israel and the united arab emirates will fully normalise their diplomatic relations, they will exchange embassies and ambassadors and begin cooperation across the board and on a broad range of areas, including tourism, education, health care, trade and security. this is a truly historic moment. not since the israel/jordan truly historic moment. not since the israel/ jordan peace truly historic moment. not since the israel/jordan peace treaty was signed more than 25 years ago has so much progress been made towards the middle east by uniting two of america's closest and most capable partners in the region, something which many said could not be done.

this deal is a significant step towards putting a more peaceful, secure and prosperous middle east. now that the ice has been broken, expect more arab and muslim countries will follow the united arab emirates' leads, ijust want to thank them for being, it's surprising, none mohamed so well, it is not surprising they are in that league position, and normalise relations with israel, we are already discussing this with other nations, it is very powerful, very good nations, and people who want to see peace in the middle east. she will probably see others of these, but this is the first one in more than 25 years. this deal will allow much greater access to muslims from throughout the world to visit the many historic sites in israel, which the muslims want to see very badly and have wanted to see for many

decades. and to successfully pray at the mosque which is a very special place for them. my first trip as president was to saudi arabia in may of 2017 and my speech to the assembled leaders of 54 muslim countries, every single one was by their leader, there are number one leader, who was an amazing, really incredible event, a very important events. i made clear that the problems of the middle east can only be solved when people of all faiths come together to fight islamic extremism and pursue economic opportunity for people of all faiths. and when you look at what's happening, you're seeing a lot of progress is being made that no—one thought could possibly be made. and things are happening that i can't talk about but they are metrics for

positive. i want to thank the leaders of israel and the uae for their courage and leadership to forge this tremendous agreements. it will be known as the abraham accord. the headlines on bbc news... as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a level and vocational results — anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. almost 300 people have tested positive for covid—19 following an outbreak at a factory in northampton which 3 and a half million people may have had coronavirus in england, according to a major new antibody study. india has overtaken the uk in the number of people who've died with coronavirus. the country has recorded more than 47,000 deaths and the number of infections is rising rapidly. rajini vaidya nathan reports.

at one of the world's wealthiest temple complexes in south india, they're paying a heavy price. it's been two months since the shrines at tirumala tirupati reopened after lockdown. but even with strict measures in place, at least 740 staff have tested positive with coronavirus. three have died, including a priest. this temple remains open, despite the outbreak, as places of worship across india welcome visitors again. as the country continues to relax restrictions, markets are packed and streets are busy. so, too, are the country's graveyards. coronavirus deaths continue to rise. india has now overtaken the uk and is now fourth in the world for fatalities. in a country of 1.3 billion, it's still a relatively low death rate. but for every family losing a loved

one, there's fresh pain. more than 200 doctors have now died of the virus. 27—year—old joginder chaudhary one of the youngest. seen here at the great wall of china, joginder‘s father, a farmer, borrowed money so his son could study medicine overseas. translation: my son was fearless while on covid duty. he was dedicated to his job. we never imagined he wouldn't survive. he was a covid warrior. and in the fight against covid in india, these are the foot soldiers. an all—female army of health workers, who visit slums and villages. thousands recently went on strike, calling for proper protective equipment and better wages. their work to track and trace cases is key, as is increased detection. compared with other countries, india's testing rates are low.

the country's prime minister, narendra modi, has called on states to ramp up tests, as india works to flatten its upward curve. it's very difficult to say what the trajectory of the epidemic will look like here in india. there are some studies that have shown that substantial proportions of the population in some areas may have already been exposed to the virus, and therefore could have some level of immunity, meaning that the peak could come sooner, rather than later. containing the spread of covid—19 in this densely—populated country continues to be challenging. it's still unclear when india will be past the worst. the travel industry's woes aren't being helped by growing numbers of coronavirus cases in european holiday destinations like spain, france and greece. germany has also experienced a large rise in infections, as paul hawkins reports

germans flying off to spain on holiday. their government says they are part of the reason the country is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. more than 1200 were reported in germany in the past 24 hours. so, the government has warned against non—essential trips to parts of spain, but that has not put these tourists off. translation: i said to myself that i could getjust as easily infected in germany! when i get back i plan to get a test done at the airport and then another test, a week later. i think that that will be a safe bet. translation: we are using all the options available to disinfect ourselves. we are going to a finka instead of a hotel. i would have cancelled if we were staying in a hotel but i am relaxed about going toa finka. the only stressful thing is the airport. france is also seeing a rise — 2524 cases in 24 hours —

the highest daily rise since lockdown was lifted in may, and that is why the paris marathon, rescheduled for november, has now been cancelled. like other french cities, it has made face masks compulsory in busy, outdoor areas. spain, meanwhile, is facing the worse coronavirus infection rate in western europe, with 1690 new infections on wednesday. there was also a daily record rise for greece. every increasing number making it more and more difficult to fully reopen society. to update you on those figures for spain, the spanish health ministry has just announced that 2935 new coronavirus infections were diagnosed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 337,334, so

the cases of coronavirus rising there in spain. an nhs worker from wolverhampton, who just happens to be a champion powerlifter, has set up free online exercise classes for all the busy nhs staff who can't get to their normal ones. julie davis' workouts have been such a hit at her local hospital they're now being rolled out across the country, reaching 250,000 nhs staff. kathryn stanczyszyn has been to meet her. by day, julie davis works for the nhs in wolverhampton. in herspare time, she happens to be a champion power lifter. staying active is very important to julie. she became worried her busy colleagues on the front line did not have time to do the same. so, it is a fitness platform with videos... so she came up with the idea of doingourbit. in lockdown, we had a lot of nhs staff who were trying to stay active but they were doing long shifts. it is a platform of dedicated fitness

classes from some of the best instructors around and is completely free to nhs staff and has an extra personal touch. i'm here to say thank you to you guys and... all of them start with a really unique message which is to say thank you to the nhs. every single pt which is involved in the platform gives that special message. and mostly, thank you so much for making my dad's last weeks comfortable. it is unique for nhs staff and exclusive so you can only access it if you are working for the nhs. now, let's go! fitness experts like jo hancock have been queueing up to offer their services. over the past few months, we know how hard the nhs have been working, but regardless of that, for years and years and years they have been so important to me personally and i imagine quite a few people around the uk, so this is my way of saying thank you and giving back. and it has been catching

on with nhs workers, workers like lauren, who is a nurse facilitator, alistair, a researcher and violet, a clinical assistant. i needed something that was low intensity and gave me that stretch and i really enjoyed it. you should join in too, it is really good. in fact, the trial in wolverhampton's nhs trust has been so successful, julie's idea is now being rolled out across the country. we have already got 39 nhs organisations involved and are reaching 250,000 staff. let's go, come on! it was only for the short—term initially, but it has taken off so much that the companies have said they're in it for the long term and this is our gift to the nhs. have you ever seen a dolphin stampede? well have a look at these pictures. it's also known as porpoising.

the dolphins leap so fast they spend more time in the air than in the water. around 300 dolphins were caught on camera as they travelled at rapid speeds near dana point, in southern california. david anderson is a sailboat captain, he has been it is quite a sight. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. not as hot today but we have seen rain lashing down in certain areas. the southern half of the uk will see the very wet weather and thunderstorms and it will feel humid. this was the picture in essex following one such thundery downpour at leaving localised flooding. further north, the uk remains quieter in the next few days. sunshine breaking through the mist and cloud, being persistent in

eastern areas, such as the scottish borders earlier today. the difference in weather across the uk is because northern areas are seeing a high—pressure on an easterly breeze, further south, low pressure and around the clusters of cloud bringing more thundery downpour is. it has still been in hot day across many parts of england and wales, just not as hot. maybe 29 degrees, cooler around northeastern parts of england, northern and eastern scotland, where that low cloud has persisted. that will push inland, some spots of drizzle and fog, areas of southern england and wales, more likely to catch further burst of heavy rain, threatening further flash flooding, keeping temperatures around 18 degrees, 15 further north without humidity, which is what we have that marquee start tomorrow. the low cloud retreating to northeastern parts of england, north yorkshire, north and eastern scotland, sometime developing more widely, but this ever present threat of thundery downpour is again across wales, the midlands, east anglia and

the south of england people come to highs of 26 degrees. warm across the rest of the country with sunshine. over the weekend, the area of high pressure slips to the north, lowering pressure from the south and that will push the rain further north during the second half of the weekend. not too much change for the first of the weekend, again, more damp rose, threatening flooding across england and wales, sunshine developing in most areas and those temperatures typically 25 degrees. second top of the weekend, the downpours which could still be thundery, pushing north into northern england, northern ireland, southern scotland. elsewhere come away from eastern areas, sunshine in the south east and the top temperature on sunday, 25.

this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 5pm — as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a—level and vocational results, anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. i haven't gotten into uni because of it, and i was supposed to be going to durham. and now i can't. so, i've got to look over options, i've got to appeal, go through clearing, resit my exams and we haven't been learning since march. around 40% of teacher assessements were downgraded. some headteachers are angry, describing the results as unfathomable and unfair. i've got kids in tears. i've never... in all the years i've been in teaching, 22 years, i've never seen so many unhappy students on a results day. israel and the united arab emirates agree to establish diplomatic