Students were today picking up their A-Level results - after controversial 11th hour changes were announced to the way they will be assessed.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced late on Tuesday that students will be able to use their results in mock tests to appeal if they are unhappy with the grades they are given, and will also be able to sit exams in the autumn.

The move appeared to be a panicked response to the backlash in Scotland of the downgrading of pupils' results - which led to an apology and U-turn.

Nigel Evans, principal at Weymouth College, said he could 'understand the alarm' that students will have regarding this last-minute change, but promised to assess each student's grades on an individual basis.

He said: "The mocks for our students took place in January. The hallmark of an A Level student is that they do a lot of work right coming towards the end, so it's a really tricky situation.

"For some of the students, when you give them a mock in January they say they've only revised 'x' amount so far and will revise the rest after the mocks and students revise right up until the end.

"I think we are going to have to wait and see what our results are like on an initial basis. I can understand the alarm. Things are changing on a daily, even hourly, basis and the last thing any centre wants to do is disadvantage its students.

"I can understand the alarm. Things are changing on a daily, even hourly, basis and the last thing any centre wants to do is disadvantage its students.

"We can't second guess it, let's see what the results are like and take it from that point. We will assess each and every student on an individual basis."

Nick Gibb, the schools minister for England, acknowledged that the Government was 'concerned' about what had happened in Scotland but insisted the system in England remains "robust".

He said that only a "small number" of students would be affected by the change and insisted that ministers have nothing to apologise for by acting so late in the day.

"There is no confusion. We have been very clear from the very beginning. We had to have a system in place to award qualifications to young people given that we had cancelled the exams.

"We apologise to nobody for finding solutions, even at the 11th hour, to stop any student being disadvantaged by this system."

However, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the plan creates potential for 'massive inconsistency' as mock exams are not standardised and some students may not have taken them before schools closed in March.

He said: "The idea of introducing, at the 11th hour, a system in which mock exam results trump calculated grades beggars belief.

"Schools and colleges have spent months diligently following detailed guidance to produce centre-assessed grades, only to find they might as well not have bothered.

"If the Government wanted to change the system it should have spent at least a few days discussing the options rather than rushing out a panicked and chaotic response."