In pictures: A-level celebrations

1 of 8 As envelopes were opened across the country, the celebrations began, with this year's pass rate reaching 96%. Here Sarah Atkinson (right) celebrates getting 5 A grades with friend Chaneal Ellis at Withington School, Manchester.

2 of 8 Identical 18-year-old triplets Lil, Helen and Kate Armstrong, from Truro College, Cornwall, became the first set of triplets to win places at Cambridge University.

3 of 8 It was a good day for twins as well - Matthew and Robert English, students at Preston College, Lancashire, are also heading to Cambridge after getting identical A-Level results - four As each.

4 of 8 Adam Buckland, from St. Albans, was just 13 when he took A-level Computing in the summer. After gaining a C grade, he now says his dream job would be to work for a computer games manufacturer.

5 of 8 William Wheeler, dubbed "Britain's brainiest boy" when he achieved 16 A* grades at GCSE in 2002, is celebrating an equally impressive haul at A-level - 6 A grades.

6 of 8 Young hurdler Ashley Scott, a finalist in the the hit BBC One TV show Born To Win which highlighted junior sporting talent, was jumping for joy after gaining three B grades - enough to read sport science at the University of Northumbria.

7 of 8 Paul Buchanan, 19, from County Antrim, overcame a collapsed lung to gain two As and a B. He was able to pass his good news on quickly unlike some others in the province whose results were delayed by a hoax bomb at a postal sorting office near Belfast.

8 of 8 UCAS clearing still holds out hope for those whose results disappointed. Students can contact the service by calling 0870 1122211 or via ucas.ac.uk