THE big day is nearly here for thousands of GCSE students across Dorset and the New Forest.

Tomorrow morning will see students nervously turning up at schools and colleges to collect their all-important results.

Young people have been waiting for weeks to find out whether they have done enough to move on to the next stage in their education.

Many will be hoping to study A levels or BTECS in sixth form or at college while others will be considering employment or apprenticeships.

Last year saw the introduction of the new 9-1 grades, which replaced A*-C grades in English Language, English Literature and Mathematics.

This year will see 9-1 grades used in many more subjects.

Grades 9-7 are roughly equivalent to A* and A, grades 6-4 equate to B and C and 3-1 cover the old D-G grades.

Students who fail to achieve at least a grade 4 in English and maths will be expected to retake the exams before moving on to further study.

Most schools or colleges will offer classes to prepare people for retakes.

Online platform The Student Room advises: "These are definitely the most important subjects. The first thing to do if you find you haven't passed one or both of them is to speak immediately to the head of the sixth form or college you hope to attend."

It also urges young people to contact their chosen place of study if they have not achieved the grades they were hoping for.

"Many colleges give you an offer where you'll need certain grades to be able to enrol" said a spokesman. "In some cases the entry requirements may be informal, and so you may be let onto the course regardless. However, please note that this does not always apply.

"If you have missed your college requirements, there are a number of different paths you can take. You may retake one or more subjects to help boost your overall grade, or if you think there was an error with the marking of your paper you can apply for a review of marks."

The Daily Echo will be out and about on Thursday and will be visiting as many schools as possible to provide coverage of GCSE results across the area.

They will be featured online at bournemouthecho.co.uk on Thursday and Friday, in the Daily Echo newspaper on Friday and in a special newspaper supplement on Saturday.