The wait is finally over for this year's class of 2017 as thousands of students pick up their A-level results today.

Teenagers receiving A-level and GCSE grades this summer are the first to experience England's new examination systems.

This year's results mark a key step in major reforms to A-levels introduced by government in recent years, including a move away from coursework and modular exams.

AS results no longer contribute to final A-level marks either.
There was a significant decision to separate AS-levels to form standalone qualifications. It has led to a 42 per cent drop in AS-level entries this year.

The reforms in England - the largest compulsory changes for a generation - are being introduced gradually to match other countries, and to "keep pace with universities' and employers' demands", the exams regulator Ofqual said.

The content for the new A-levels has been reviewed and updated, with universities playing a greater role in this for the new qualifications than previously.

New A-levels in 13 subjects have been taught in schools since September 2015 - art and design, biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, English language, English language and literature, English literature, history, physics, psychology and sociology. Other subjects follow over the next few years.

At GCSE, traditional A*-G grades are to disappear and replaced with a numerical scale, running from 9 for the best achievers, down to 1. GCSE English and maths grades will be the first to be scored numerically next Thursday.

Chris McAree is headteacher of William Howard School in Brampton.

More than 130 teenagers from across north Cumbria are collecting their results there this morning.

He said: "They're coming in from 7am. Hopefully we'll see that three quarters of them will be going on to university and all of them will be able to move on to that next stage in their lives.

"Today is all about celebrating their seven years of really hard work.

"It is about students' great successes and it is also about the schools, colleges and universities being here to support those who may quite not get what they expect."

Sally Collier, Ofqual chief regulator, said: "The content of new A-levels has been refreshed with input from universities in order to better prepare students for further study, and they remain of the same, high standard as the ones they are replacing."

But it is feared that the reforms could sound the death knell for some courses.

A snapshot survey of around 170 heads in England conducted by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) found that 65 per cent have cut the number of AS courses they offer in the wake of the Government's reforms, while 86 per cent said they expect to remove AS courses in the future.