today at 6pm: record gcse passes in england, yes, i passed! reasons to be cheerful after a week of confusion and anxiety — this year the grades were set by teachers. 0h, oh, my god. you got an a. it could have been handled a lot better. things could have been done sooner but at the end of the day things we re but at the end of the day things were sorted. but nearly half a million btec students are told they have to wait longer while their grades are brought into line with the gcse

and a—level results. also tonight: the brother of the manchester arena bomber gets a 55—year sentence. relatives of some victims call hashem abedi a coward for not appearing in court. i can write him off now. he's no longer important in my life. what is important is the families, the bereaved, the injured. in the last hour, people travelling from croatia, austria and trinidad and tobago now face quarantine when arriving in the uk, but portugal is off the list. a prominent critic of russia's president putin is unconscious in hospital — supporters believe alexi navalny has been poisoned. the louder you try to sing the more likely you are to spread the coronavirus. we'll be looking at a new study. and coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news: the fixtures are out for the new prmier league season that starts next month — and there's a tough opening for the champions liverpool.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. thousands of gcse students in england, wales and northern ireland received their results today — and with grades set by teachers there were record pass rates. in england, those getting a grade 4 and above was up by 9%. and those getting the very top grades — that's 7 and above — was up by 25%. in wales, the numbers of pupils getting an a to a* rose by 26%. in northern ireland, too, the number of top grades was up by 5.7% on last year. so, for gcse students there's some relief after all the confusion and anxiety over

this year's results. but spare a thought for half a million btec students who were told late last night that they'd have to wait while their results are also regraded. our education editor branwen jeffreys has spent the day in warrington in cheshire. the envelope some dread. that walk to the results table at school. gcse grades this year like none before. after turmoil and u—turns, they have got what their teachers think they deserve. i just didn't know what was going to happen, if i was going to have lower than what i was hoping for, but it is, yeah, it's pretty nerve—racking. i was worried about being downgraded. i put in all of that time and effort in the last four years, not being able to continue my life and go to college or apprenticeships. english literature, which i'm doing at a—level, i never thought i would have got a nine at that which i'm really proud about. same at french, grade eight,

which i'm really happy about. my target was six, so two above that, i think i did really well. oh, my god! i got an a! they are not the only ones pleased today. overall good grades are up, and no pupil will lose out, getting whichever is the higher mark. in maths and science, we have a number of students, between ten and 15 students in each of the subjects, where the algorithm has given them a grade that is higher than the centre—assessed grade so therefore the grade that they will receive and that they will take with them for their future will be the algorithm grade because that is the highest grade. after months of worrying, they do now have something to celebrate. many getting grades slightly better than they expected based on their teacher estimates. but for some, the waiting isn't over. just at this school, around 100 students still haven't got their btec results. it is, like, deflating because we won't be able to get them results when i can get the rest of them, but i think it's worth the wait because i know

i have probably passed. once i heard why and how they were going to do the system, i think i was ok with it. just to know it would be in the same mark scheme as everything else, so it is marked fairly. so, now, btec grades will also be from teachers, despite being mainly marked on coursework. the idea, to have the same approach for all. in wales and northern ireland, a similar picture of gcse grades going up. that means more signing on for college courses. there was no ideal situation. it is unfortunate for these young people that we have had to go to and fro to get to this point. i'm pleased that for gcse students today they have got to that point a little bit quicker. but for students downgraded in btecs last week, all waiting for results, frustration with the system. it should have been communicated better. because this has obviously affected a lot of people and it wasn't nice

opening that on thursday expecting to get such a high grade and being given the lowest you could possibly get. i was quite disappointed considering there was a lot of time to figure out something and there wasn't much trust in teacher predictions. today, no comment from the regulator in england. ministers insist they were told the system would work. no one keen to take responsibility. lye haré $55 {mm of students that's had to go through what the class of 2020 has endured. so, how have they coped with it all? our education correspondent, elaine dunkley, has been getting reaction in liverpool. this is liverpool. like towns and the country this is liverpool. like towns and