Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

If you're just joining us, we've spent the last few hours answering your questions. More now on the national GCSE results data released this morning.

The gap between the highest- and lowest-performing regions in England has widened.

London has the highest pass rate (71.7%) and the West Midlands again has the lowest (62.4%).

That’s a 9.3 percentage-point gap. It's risen from 8.7 last year.

It also remains wider than it was at any point in the decade leading up to the Covid pandemic, when it ranged between 6.4 and 7.2 percentage points.

Our panel of experts have been answering your questions about today's GCSE results and what to do next.

If you're just joining us, here's a look back at their advice and guidance:

• One of the most asked questions was about the options available if you didn't get the grades you wanted. Niki McKenna, Head of the 14+ Academies at Leeds City College, says try not to panic as there are still plenty of options available

• Educational content creator Tilly Taylor reveals the biggest mistake students make on results day after seeing a disappointing grade, and provides some advice on how to move forward
• Careers adviser James Platford offers tips on how to plan for the future, but says even he had no idea what to do after leaving school and went from working behind a bar to running his own gastropub
• Deputy principal Jacqui Maher is asked what happens if I don't get the grades I need for my first-choice sixth form or college? She says there may still be some flexibilty and studying the same subject at a different level is one alternative option

Tilly Taylor
Educational content creator

We have experts answering your questions.

You don’t need to feel guilty about being happy with your own results, but be sensitive to what your friend needs. Don’t ask them what they got, ask them how they feel.

Rather than immediately trying to convince them that their results "don’t matter", let them express their emotions. Listen, acknowledge that it’s difficult and be as supportive as possible, reminding them of the hard work they put in.

You can still celebrate your achievement, but perhaps don’t make grades the centre of the conversation around them.

When they’re ready, you can help them work out the practical next steps, whether that’s speaking to their school or college, considering a review of marking or looking at alternative courses.

Jacqui Maher
Deputy principal, South & City College, Birmingham

A question that's come in from our BBC News TikTok account.

It’s natural to feel disappointed but avoid making rash decisions while emotions are running high.

Talk to your teachers or tutors and your family, then start exploring your options.

If you’re unsure what your next step should be, don’t sit at home worrying. Colleges around the country are there to help.

Here at South & City College Birmingham (SCCB), you can talk through your results with our team, explore the courses available and enrol, even if you haven’t applied to us before.

Depending on your results, a review of marking may be worth considering. Your teachers can request your paper and advise whether there is realistic scope for your grade to change.

Alternatively, you may want to retake a particular subject. This can often be done alongside your next stage of study or training, so it doesn’t necessarily have to hold you back.

At SCCB, for example, students can retake maths or English GCSE with additional tuition through the Get Further programme.

Niki McKenna
Head of the 14+ Academies at Leeds City College

We’ve got experts answering your questions.

Yes, if you don’t get a standard pass (grade four) in English or maths, you have the opportunity to resit them until you do.

You may have the option to do so in the autumn, or the next standard exam period in the summer.

Speak to your teacher or local college for advice on the best way forward.

Resitting any other subject is optional depending on your goals and next steps.

If you already know the entry requirements for a course you want to do next, it could be worth exploring retaking your exam if it’s going to help you get there. Speak to your teacher as soon as you can to see what’s possible.

Image source, Suffolk Refugee Support/PA Wire

A student who fled the war in Sudan says passing his maths and English GCSEs is "one of the proudest moments in my life".

"This is the result I was waiting for to step forward," says Nasser Hamid, who studied at Suffolk New College in Ipswich.

The 20-year-old student is an aspiring football referee. An injury ended his dream of being a professional player.

"I recently went to the Edinburgh International Cup and I’d like to continue to progress to the Championship, the Premier League, the World Cup, who knows," he says.

Hamid, who also wants to study engineering at university, urged others in a similar position to "believe in yourself".

"With discipline and hard work, you can achieve your goals," he adds.

James Platford
Careers adviser, National Careers Service

We previously looked at the question of whether employers look at GCSE grades - but does missing a grade mean you need to abandon a particular career path?

Getting grades lower than you hoped for doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give up on your career goal. There may be several different routes to get you where you want to be.

Speak to your school or college about your options, including resits, further education courses, T-levels, apprenticeships, or other relevant qualifications. For some careers, you may be able to start at a different level and work your way up, or gain experience and qualifications along the way.

It’s also worth checking the entry requirements for your chosen career rather than assuming your grades have ruled it out. Requirements can vary between courses and employers, and there may be alternative routes you haven’t considered.

Image source, Great Ormond Street Hospital

Charlie, a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in central London, has passed 11 GCSEs despite his family worrying that he would not reach secondary school.

The 16-year-old pupil, from Hertfordshire, was just a few months old when he was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a rare and incurable heart condition.

He has spent much of his life at the famous children's hospital and has undergone several major heart surgeries.

Charlie received nines in maths, further maths and biology, as well as eights in chemistry and French.

"It’s quite emotional because I didn’t think he’d be here to do his GCSEs," says his mother Helen. "We’d like to thank his team at GOSH because they did everything they could to get him to be able to sit all the exams. We owe a lot to them.”

"I'm happy and quite surprised," Charlie adds. "I've done better than I thought I would in certain subjects."

Tilly Taylor
Educational content creator

We have experts answering your questions.

Results aren’t a competition between friends. You can be proud of what you’ve achieved without your celebration being insensitive to somebody who is disappointed.

If you’ve done really well and your friend hasn’t, you don’t need to hide your happiness. But read the room.

Celebrate without repeatedly comparing grades, asking everyone exactly what they got, or saying things like, "I can’t believe I only got an eight" in front of somebody who got a five.

Celebrate the end of school and all of your hard work today. Shift the focus away from the results themselves.

Jacqui Maher
Deputy principal, South & City College, Birmingham

We have experts answering your questions.

GCSE results do not expire.

Once you have achieved the qualification, it remains part of your educational record throughout your life with your exam certificate being the official evidence of your result.

In that respect, keep it safe and if you do lose it, you can contact the relevant exam board to request a certified statement of results.

Of course, entry requirements set by colleges, universities and employers can change over time, so it is always worth checking whether you require more recent evidence that your knowledge or skills are up to date.

• Read about how a new app could also provide a digital record of your results going forward

Lola Mayor
Reporting from Caldicot School, Monmouthshire

Jack, from Monmouthshire, recieved several A*s in his results today, but also a U, which stands for "ungraded".

"I couldn't be bothered to do my English literature exam, which is why I got a U," explains Jack.

"But maths was easy, so I just did it."

He says he hasn't "got a clue what to do" next year, but will probably go on to study maths, physics and French, the subjects he got A*s in.

"I'm just doing what I did well in, I guess," he adds.

Alex Akhurst
Your Voice

Image source, Alfie

"I was pretty devastated earlier, but I feel much better now," says Alfie from Hertfordshire, who didn't get the results he was hoping for.

He says he was quite shocked that some of the subjects were much lower than in his mock exams, adding that he was five marks off a pass in English language.

"Even though I haven't done well, I'm keen to help give other people advice and let them know that it’s not the end of the world," he says.

Alfie plans to go to his second-choice media college, and really wants to be involved in media in the future.

Jacqui Maher
Deputy principal, South & City College, Birmingham

We have experts answering your questions.

As with any unexpected outcome, don’t panic!

Don’t assume that your place has automatically been lost - you should contact the sixth form or college as soon as possible and talk through your results.

Depending on the course, your overall performance and the places available, there may be some flexibility.

Of course, if you narrowly missed a required grade, a review of marking might be an option.

If the original course is no longer an option, staff can help you consider alternatives. That might mean studying the same subject at a different level, choosing another course linked to your career ambitions, combining qualifications or retaking maths or English alongside your main programme.

Considering an alternative college can also be worthwhile.

Tilly Taylor
Educational content creator

We've got experts answering your questions - this one came in through the BBC News YouTube account.

Try to remember that their initial reaction may come from worrying about what happens next, rather than from how they feel about you.

Understand it's an emotional time for everyone, but try to focus the conversation on the practical question: What are my options from here?

You might still have your sixth-form or college place, you may be able to change subjects, resit something, or take a different course altogether.

Getting perfect grades isn't necessary and, regardless of what results you get, you have opportunities.

Image source, Joanne

A 56-year-old nurse is "over the Moon" at passing her GCSE maths nearly 40 years after she last attempted the qualification.

Joanne, in Gateshead, failed her GCSE three times in the late 1980s and "never went back to it" at the time, she tells BBC 5 Live's Rima Ahmed.

"I went into nursing when I was 19 and I selected a hospital to train at where you didn't need maths. I became a qualified registered nurse."

Since then she has received a child health degree and has a master's degree but at 55 Joanne still wanted to pass her maths exams - so attended a local college and did a part-time course after work and has received a grade four.

"I don't need it in my job because I've got a really good job and I've gotten there just through hard work and what I've done through my career," she says, but she "wanted to have it".

"I'm an advocate for having resits."

Jared Evitts
BBC Newsbeat, reporting from south Wales

Friends Jake and Haydn are happy with their GCSE results as they’ve secured the grades needed for their upcoming college course.

The pair, both 16, who studied at Lewis School Pengam in south Wales, will now enter into a pre-apprenticeship course in engineering together.

And after interviewing at the college this afternoon, they’re off for a round of golf to celebrate.

"We're not good [at golf] but it’s a good laugh," they tell BBC Newsbeat.

They also give a shout-out to the parents who helped them get through the exam period.

James Platford
Careers adviser, National Careers Service

We have experts answering your questions.

It is really hard to have a plan at your age, especially with the changing environment in various career sectors due to AI and other technologies.

My advice is to pick what feels right for you now. Set yourself up with the best education you can get as this will help you for the rest of your life.

Try to get work experience from different career sectors to test the water and see what fits. Use your network and contact companies directly to help find different work experience.

I had no idea what I wanted to do, ended up working behind a bar when I left school, and five years later was running my own gastropub.

Twenty-five years later, I switched careers and became a careers adviser. I will probably change career again before I retire.

Good luck with your choices.

Niki McKenna
Head of the 14+ Academies at Leeds City College

We have experts answering your questions.

If you can’t pick up your results in person, you may be able to get them online using the government’s new app, the Education Record.

Around one in five secondary schools in England have access to the app, but it requires an individual QR code - so if you’ve not already heard from your school about it, it may not be available there.

I’d encourage young people to collect their results in person where possible.

A parent or carer can also collect them on your behalf.

You’ll usually need to provide a signed letter giving your permission, and some form of ID may be required.

Every school and college has its own process for when pupils cannot collect their results in person, so it’s best to check with them.

Emily Doughty
Reporting from Lees Brook Academy in Derby

Image source, Handout

In between answering your questions, we've also been looking into whether there have been any issues with the new app which has been delivering results to pupils at 750 schools in England today.

Having already opened them in person at his school in Derby this morning, it was a bit of a wait for student James to be able to see his results on the app too.

He had expected to see them from 11:00, but when he opened the app at 11:30 he couldn’t see his results.

They are through now though, and he's happy with the confirmation of his grades.

We've not had reports of wider technical issues, and the government told us it had always said results would be available from 11:00, rather than at 11:00 exactly.

It's also only about one in five schools which have signed up to get their results on the app, so most people won't be able to use it this year.

Tilly Taylor
Educational content creator

We have experts answering your questions - this one came through our BBC News TikTok account.

The biggest mistake is panicking before finding out what the results actually mean for your next step, and making a rash, impulsive decision.

Students can see one disappointing grade and immediately think everything has gone wrong, when they may still have their sixth-form place or plenty of alternative routes available.

Check what grades you need to move on to the next step, then speak to your school or college, understand your options, and then make a decision.