THOUSANDS of teenagers across the North-East and North Yorkshire faced a nervous wait last night as they prepared to collect their A-level results.

Universities were also bracing themselves for a rush of phone calls from young people desperate to grab a degree place before controversial top-up fees come into force next year.

This year's clearing process is expected to be very competitive, after a surge in applications from students hoping to escape the £3,000-a-year fees.

Results are expected to improve for the 23rd consecutive year - with the overall pass rate predicted to hit 96.5 per cent - and nearly one in four candidates scoring A grades.

Meanwhile, calls for an overhaul of the A-level and GCSE system had started days before students were allowed to open their envelopes today.

The Government has been widely criticised for rejecting proposals from the Tomlinson Report, to replace A-levels and GCSEs with a European-style diploma.

Leading the calls for the Government to reconsider the proposals was union NATFHE, which represents lecturers.

Barry Lovejoy, head of further education at the union, said: "This would provide opportunities for a balanced mix of vocational and academic studies which better prepare 14 to 18-year-olds for post-school work or study."

His view was shared by many other teaching unions and universities, which now find it hard to distinguish between top-performing students.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "At some stage - sooner rather than later - the Government has got to face the fact that the current system is creaking."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association and former headteacher of Durham Johnston School, said: "The need to change the system that has been in place for more than 50 years does not nullify the success of the 18-year-olds and their schools this week."

The British Chambers of Commerce president Bill Midgley, a North-East-based businessman, said: "The Government missed the opportunity to make a real difference to the skills young people obtain by failing to propose a single overarching diploma earlier this year."

Meanwhile, speaking at a summer school for gifted children, in Kent, Schools Minister Andrew Adonis insisted the Government would not consider changing the system.

"I have made it very clear that A-levels are here to stay and we are not in the business of talking about any other system.

"We want to give absolute confidence to students and parents that they will not only be here to stay, but that they will be improved."

Across the country, 265,000 students will collect their results today.