Students in Lisburn get their GCSE results

About 70% of the GCSE results were released. However, pupils will have to wait another two days for English and Welsh Board grades.

In Northern Ireland, schools return earlier than in England and Wales.

A spokesperson for CCEA, the local exams board, said it provides results as early as possible to allow students to make decisions about their future.

Meanwhile, a new report says one third of pupils were encouraged to stay at school or go to college because they were given a grant.

Grant

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) began in 2004 for 10,000 pupils who decided to stay on in full-time education.

This year, it is expected that 25,000 teenagers will get it.

It appears the weekly grant of up to �30 has encouraged children of poorer families in particular.

Paula Devine of Queen's University said 30% of respondents said that having the EMA influenced their decision whether to stay on at school.

"This was very much correlated to the financial backgrounds of their families," she said.

"For example, just over one half of those respondents, who said that their families were not very well off said that having the EMA really did influence their decision to stay on at school.

"Whereas, for those who said their family was very well off, only 10% said the existence of an EMA influence their decision."