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Pupils in Paddock Wood, Kent, opened their results on live television
There has been a drop in the proportion of GCSE exam entries awarded top grades, for the second year in a row.
More than 600,000 teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving results, with head teachers saying changes have caused "a lot of turbulence" in grades.
The proportion of exam entries graded between an A* and a C was 68.1%, down from 69.4% last year.
And the proportion getting an A* or an A fell from 22.4% to 21.3%.
The overall pass rate also fell marginally, for the first time in the exam's 25-year history.
The results - released by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) - show dramatic increases in numbers of pupils sitting the exams early, particularly in maths and English.
'Damaging trend'In English, the proportion of entries awarded A*s to Cs fell by 0.5 percentage points, to 63.6%. In maths, the fall was of 0.8 percentage points.
JCQ analysis suggests these early entries could be partly responsible for the drop in results as 16-year-olds are outperforming 15-year-olds.
The JCQ described this as a "damaging trend", not in the best interests of pupils but driven by the accountability system, where schools are measured on how many pupils get at least a C grade in English and maths.
There was a big fall in pupils getting top grades in the sciences, following the introduction of new syllabuses and exams.
This year 53.1% of science entries were awarded between an A* and a C, down from 60.7% last year. That was the biggest fall in top results across all the subjects.
The results also show an increase in those taking foreign languages and humanities at GCSE level.
This trend is likely to be linked to the introduction in the autumn of 2010 of a new league table measure, known as the English Baccalaureate, which now rates schools on how many pupils get GCSEs in such subjects, as well as sciences and English and maths.
Entries for geography jumped by 19.2% this year, while those for history rose 16.7%.
Entries for traditional modern foreign languages - French, German and Spanish - are up by 16.9% compared with last year, reversing a long-term downward trend.
Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said: "It is very pleasing to see the increase in these important subjects - the ones that will keep pupils' options open in the future. I am particularly delighted to see a languages revival - with an increase in the number of entries to French, German and Spanish GCSEs after years of decline.
"The EBacc is the platform for young people to go on to A-levels and high-quality vocational study. It will help them compete with their peers in the world's best education jurisdictions, where they are expected to study a rigorous academic core."
'Significant turbulence'Michael Turner, director of the JCQ, said: "There are many underlying factors affecting this year's GCSEs, including a sizeable increase in entry by 15-year-olds, new science specifications designed with greater challenge, early and multiple entry in mathematics and an increase in the number of students taking IGCSEs [international GCSEs].
"All of these have had an impact on results," he added.
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The BBC's Hywel Griffith speaks to students collecting their results at Rhydywaun school in Wales
England's exams watchdog Ofqual has suggested able students are more likely to take IGCSEs as some believe them to be tougher, and that this may skew the GCSE results downwards. However, others have suggested IGCSEs are easier and may favour less able students.
Head teachers have warned that this year's results would show "significant turbulence" in grades.
Brian Lightman, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "There's lots of good news, particularly that schools, students and teachers have worked really hard in a constantly changing and turbulent environment.
"There has been a lot of turbulence, a lot of unpredictability.
"A number of trends are to be welcomed, for example the increase in languages. There's no doubt the E-Bacc [English Baccalaureate] has had an impact on these subjects."
He added: "It is clear that the bar has been raised on grading in key subjects this year, especially in science. We don't object to making GCSE grading tougher but it needs to happen in a planned, coherent way that is understood by employers, universities and parents. The piecemeal changes we've had in the last few years make it impossible to compare grades from one year to the next."
'Distorting standards'Mary Bousted, head of the ATL teachers' union, said it was worrying that the overall pass rate for GCSEs had fallen for the first time ever, and that the proportion of exam entries graded between an A* and a C had dropped too.
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Conservative MP Graham Stuart said: "Any change to examinations tends to lead to greater volatility"
"If pupils and schools are working harder and harder to achieve grades A* to C they cannot be penalised for doing so by having fixed pass rates," she said.
"This puts schools in the invidious position of never being able to achieve what is demanded of them."
Conservative MP and chairman of the Commons education committee Graham Stuart, said: "All this work goes into gaining these qualifications. If those qualifications lose currency, if there's a form of inflation going on then that undermines all the hard work of school....
"There's broad support for saying that we must maintain standards over time."
Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg said: "There has been a big increase in the number of young people taking two or more exams in the same subject. This is bad for standards, school budgets and learning. Michael Gove needs to get a grip on the multiple entry exam practice that is distorting standards.
"We need an exam system that maintains standards year on year, accurately reflects pupil performance and that employers, universities, parents and young people have confidence in."
Marking and grading has been tightened for English following an outcry and a legal challenge by schools over last year's results in English.
Ofqual says it is maintaining standards and that students are getting the "right results".
Across the UK, the biggest falls in GCSE entries scoring top grades (both A* to C and A and A*) were in England.
In Wales, there was a slight fall in the A* to C group, but the proportion of entries awarded an A or A* remained unchanged on last year at 19.2%.
In Northern Ireland, there was a rise on both measures. A total of 28% of entries were graded A or A*, compared with 21.2% in England.
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