Students being left in “limbo” without exam results days after they were due to be published is “not good enough”, an education leader has said.

Exam board Pearson apologised over the weekend as some students were still waiting for their BTec (Business & Technology Education Council) results, leaving them unable to confirm university places.

Hundreds of thousands of students received A-level, BTec and T-level exam results on Thursday, but some in England and Wales who took BTec qualifications had no news of their grades.

Pearson said at the weekend that “a tiny percentage” of students were still waiting to hear their results.

The BBC reported that the delay has affected about 2,000 students.

BTecs are described by Pearson as career–focused qualifications with a focus on skills-based learning.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), criticised the “obfuscation” he had seen when questioning those involved in the system over the delay.

He told BBC Breakfast on Monday that students “deserve better”, adding: “They’ve missed out not just on being able to celebrate with their friends last Thursday how they’ve done, they’re then in this kind of limbo as to whether they’re going to get their higher education course, and then they’re still worrying about whether they’re going to get the accommodation they need.

“Frankly it’s not good enough.”

Mr Barton said he had had numerous conversations with people involved in the system over the past two days, but it had been “a weekend of obfuscation”, with officials claiming the number of students waiting was “hundreds fewer” than the figure reported by the BBC.

A spokesperson for Pearson previously advised any student waiting for their results to call the exam board on 0345 618 0440.

They said university admissions service Ucas had said the best thing a student could do is contact their university of choice directly so the institution knows they want the offered place, and Pearson said it can call universities for students to explain the situation.

The exam board has been contacted for an update.