All Btec students will receive their results by the end of next week amid delays, the awarding organisation has said.

Pearson has apologised for the “frustration and additional uncertainty” caused to pupils following its decision to pull the results at the last minute.

Students awaiting grades for university entry are being prioritised and will receive their results from Tuesday onwards, the exam board said, and all the remaining results will be available by Friday next week.

The clarification on timings from the exam boards comes after students and teachers protested in Westminster over the Btec and A-level results chaos.

On Wednesday, just hours before results day, hundreds of thousands of Btec students were told that they would not receive their results following a U-turn.

Pearson said it needed to review the grades of its level one to three Btec qualifications after Ofqual’s decision to allow A-level and GCSE students to use grades based on their teachers’ estimates.

Around 200,000 level one and two entries were due to receive grades on Thursday this week, while 250,000 level three grades were already awarded last week.

A spokeswoman for Pearson said: “We know this has caused frustration and additional uncertainty for students and we are truly sorry.

“No grades will go down as part of this review.

“We believe this will result in the fairest outcomes for the 2020 cohort of Btec learners, and ensure they are not disadvantaged in relation to their peers who have taken A-level and GCSE qualifications.

“We have now written to colleges to confirm that all eligible results will be available by August 28.

“Thank you to all the schools and colleges who have been working so collaboratively with us to support their students at this time.”

We know this has caused frustration and additional uncertainty for students and we are truly sorry

Dozens of people attended a protest over exam results outside Downing Street on Friday where they demanded the immediate sacking of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.

A Ucas spokesman said: “The vast majority of students applying this year with Btecs have secured their place at University, with 45,000 students already placed with their first choice university.

“Approximately 5,800 students were not placed at their original firm choice university and we expect some of those students will, when revised grades are issued, meet the conditions of their original firm offer.

“Ucas will work closely with Pearson to process these results to ensure they can make decisions as soon as possible.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This has been a frustrating episode, and we hope that no student misses out on the university place they had their heart set on as a result of this delay.

“Pearson is doing the right thing in reviewing Btec grades, but it is a pity that it wasn’t quicker off the mark. We are pleased there is now the reassurance of knowing when the results will be available, and that students will soon be able to move on to the next stage of their lives.”

On Friday morning, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps became the latest minister to defend Mr Williamson over the exam results chaos.

He said: “Let’s not pretend that the choices facing the Education Secretary were unique to England or straightforward, because they were not.”