Thousands of teenagers across the county will be picking up their long awaited GCSE results today.

Exam conditions returned this year for the first time since 2019 – which is set to lower grades and cause disappointment.

For the past three years exams were cancelled due to Covid, and pupils were instead given grades by their teachers based on mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments.

In 2021, grades reached an all time high, with 28.9% of entries across the country awarded one of the top three grades.

This year it has been predicted that grades marked 7 or above – the equivalent of A or A* – could fall by a record 230,000 this year, as reported in iNews.

Grade 4 or above, equivalent to a C grade, is required in both Maths and English for most apprenticeships, jobs and university degrees.

Student's GCSE results come after A-level pupils received their grades last week.

On Thursday Ucas revealed 425,830 students have taken up places at university so far, 2% down year-on-year.

It was predicted that there could be 80,000 fewer A* and A grades compared to last year.

This week questions are being asked over whether exams should be scrapped altogether.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that GCSEs and A-levels should be cut altogether because they leave children “poorly prepared for work”.

A report from his Institute for Global Change (TBI) has recommended that the education system in England be overhauled so that students can thrive in a digital work environment increasingly geared towards automation and artificial intelligence.

Peter Read, a former Gravesend grammar head who runs the acclaimed KentAdvice.co.uk education website, told KentOnline that an educational revolution is long overdue.

He said: "We are obsessed with exams. We are constrained by this and the idea that exams are what matters when we should be teaching skills."

• Not sure what to do after your GCSE results? Listen to The Hit List today for a show special.

So what if you don't get the results you wanted?

Pupils who want to appeal against their grade must first request that their school or college reviews whether an administrative or procedural error was made.

If the school or college rules no error was made, then students can escalate the appeal to the exam boards, which their school or college is expected to submit on their behalf.

The deadline for in-school enquiries about results for GCSEs is Friday, September 3.