Hundreds of thousands of 16-year-olds across England, Wales and Northern Ireland began collecting their GCSE, BTec and Cambridge National results from 08:00 BST on Thursday, marking the culmination of the first full exam cycle largely free of pandemic-era adjustments. National headline figures are due at 09:30, when the Department for Education will publish overall pass rates and grade distributions. Officials said the outcome should show a "steadying of the ship" after years of COVID-19 disruption. Former Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman and Association of School and College Leaders president Pepe Di'Iasio told BBC Radio 4 that they expect grading to reflect a gradual return to 2019 standards, while also acknowledging persistent regional gaps and lingering effects of remote learning. School Standards Minister Catherine McKinnell called the day "a celebration of resilience" for students, teachers and families.