In pictures: A-level results joy

An unprecedented annual rise in the A-level pass rate made for many delighted faces as students opened their results on Thursday.

The A-level "gender gap" has accelerated, with 95.4% of girls passing and 93% of boys

The Lee family from Manchester celebrate A grades all round

Ruth de Souza and Vishni Balakrishnan open exam results at St Dunstan's College, south east London

Hugs for Paul Nicholas who got 5 As (L) but Sarah Hunt must wait for her history result due to an Edexcel delay

Double figures: Twins Bahar and Negar Mirshekar-Syahkal and Suzannah and Nicola Robertson gets As

Computer whizz: Ilia Karmanov, 11, passes his A-level in IT studies