Britain today · Education

GCSE & National 5 results

Four nations, four qualifications, four different denominators. What the headline figure is actually a percentage of — and what it leaves out.

Where this page stands today

The 2026 results were published on the morning of 20 August 2026, and every figure below has been read from the publisher’s own dataset rather than from a press summary. Where a figure is still missing, the slot says what it is waiting for. Where our source disagreed with the figures we were briefed with, the source won and the disagreement is listed at the end.

Section 1

2026 results day, four nations

There is no single “UK GCSE pass rate”, and this page will never print a league table of the four nations. England, Wales and Northern Ireland award GCSEs on grading scales that have diverged — England uses 9–1, Wales and Northern Ireland still use A*–G alongside reformed grades — and Scotland does not award GCSEs at all. Its nearest qualification, National 5, is a different course, sat by a different age profile, marked to a different standard.

Two numbers are shown for England, side by side and never one alone: the all-ages figure, which includes the growing number of post-16 students resitting English and maths, and the age-16 figure, which is the one people mean when they ask how this year’s cohort did. This year the gap between them is 3.7 percentage points at grade 4 and above. That is not a rounding difference — see section 6.

These four figures do not compare

Nothing on this page ranks the four nations against each other. England, Wales and Northern Ireland award GCSEs on grading scales that have diverged; Scotland awards National 5, a different qualification sat by a different age profile. Each figure is reported on its own nation's measure.
  • England

    GCSE, graded 9 to 1

    All ages, grade 4 and above
    67.0%
    All ages, grade 7 and above
    21.8%
    Age 16, grade 4 and above
    70.7%
    Age 16, grade 7 and above
    23.1%

    Entries: 5,719,431

    The all-ages and age-16 figures are always shown together. The all-ages figure includes post-16 resits and is not this year's sixteen-year-olds.

  • Wales

    GCSE, A*–G alongside reformed grades

    All ages, grade C/4 and above
    62.3%
    All ages, grade A/7 and above
    19.6%
    Age 16, grade C/4 and above
    63.7%

    Entries: 289,506

    Entries fell sharply this year as qualification reform worked through. A fall in entries is not a fall in performance — see below.

  • Northern Ireland

    GCSE, A*–G alongside reformed grades

    All ages, grade C/4 and above
    83.6%
    All ages, grade A/7 and above
    31.7%
    All ages, grade G/1 and above
    99.2%

    Entries: 173,477

  • Scotland

    National 5 — not a GCSE, and never ranked against one

    National 5, grades A to C
    79.2%
    National 5, grade A
    40.3%
    National 5, no award
    10.2%

    Entries: 339,760

    National 5 is a different qualification with a different course, cohort and grading standard. It is here because Scotland is part of the story, not because it can be compared with the three columns to its left.

Results-day percentages are shares of entries. One pupil taking ten GCSEs contributes ten observations; a pupil taking none contributes nothing and cannot appear at all. Pupil-level percentages, published months later, are shares of pupils.

Wales: entries fell, and that is not a result

Welsh entries fell 5.7% on last year, from 307,089 to 289,506. Almost all of that is qualification reform working through, not candidates disappearing: the falls are concentrated in the subjects Wales has been changing.

Welsh subjects whose entry count moved most

Entries, all agesWales
  • English Literature29,44920,468 -30.5%
  • Mathematics: Numeracy23,77118,416 -22.5%
  • Digital Technology3,8013,278 -13.8%
  • Chemistry8,6017,786 -9.5%

Subjects with at least 2,000 entries in 2025 whose entry count moved by 8% or more. A fall in entries is not a fall in performance: Wales is part-way through qualification reform, and entry counts move when a qualification changes or stops being compulsory.

JCQ, GCSE results tables, summer 2026. Joint Council for Qualifications.

Section 2

Fifteen years of results

A long results series is one of the easiest things on the internet to misread, because it contains a three-year hole where the exams did not happen. In 2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled and grades were awarded by other means; 2022 was a transition year in which grading was deliberately set between the pandemic years and 2019. Those three years are hatched below, and no comparison is drawn across them.

The question worth asking of the long series is not “are results up on last year” but “where are they against 2019”, the last summer that ran normally.

That comparison steps over the three disrupted years rather than running through them. On it, the share of entries at grade 4/C and above is exactly where it was against 2019 — 67.3% then, 67.3% now — while grade 7/A and above is up 1.2 points, at 22.0%. Entries over the same period rose from 5,547,447 to 6,199,256, which is why a flat percentage is not a flat number of results.

GCSE outcomes, 2011 to 2026
All UK entries, all ages, all subjects, cumulative percentagesUnited Kingdom

Cumulative percentages of entries reaching each key grade. This is JCQ's own all-UK aggregate, not one assembled from the nations.

Dark bars: grade 4/C and above. Mid bars: grade 7/A and above. Hatched years were not awarded by ordinary examination.

No comparison is drawn across 2020 to 2022

2020 and 2021 grades were not awarded by examination, and 2022 was a transition year in which grading was set deliberately between the pandemic years and 2019. No comparison is drawn across that boundary.
View as table
YearEntriesGrade 4/C and aboveGrade 7/A and aboveBasis
20115,151,97069.8%23.2%Examined
20125,225,28869.4%22.4%Examined
20135,445,32468.1%21.3%Examined
20145,217,57368.8%21.3%Examined
20155,277,60469.0%21.2%Examined
20165,240,79666.9%20.5%Examined
20175,443,07266.3%20.0%Examined
20185,470,07666.9%20.5%Examined
20195,547,44767.3%20.8%Examined
20205,692,46476.3%26.2%Not awarded by examination
20215,745,94577.1%28.9%Not awarded by examination
20225,708,87173.2%26.3%Transition year
20235,905,00068.2%22.0%Examined
20246,186,87967.6%21.8%Examined
20256,160,03467.4%21.9%Examined
20266,199,25667.3%22.0%Examined

JCQ, GCSE results tables, summer 2026; JCQ, GCSE full-course results, 2011 to 2024.

How this series was checked

JCQ publishes only the current year and the one before it, so most of this series comes from the archive. Every archive document also prints the previous year in brackets, which makes the series self-checking: each year read from its own document was compared with the same year read from the next year’s comparatives.

  • 2011: JCQ full-course 2012 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2011
  • 2012: JCQ full-course 2013 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2012
  • 2013: JCQ full-course 2014 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2013
  • 2014: JCQ full-course 2015 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2014
  • 2017: JCQ full-course 2018 (comparative) gives 20.0/66.4 against 20.0/66.3 in JCQ full-course 2017 — JCQ restatement, kept the figure from the year's own document
  • 2018: JCQ full-course 2019 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2018
  • 2019: JCQ full-course 2020 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2019
  • 2020: JCQ full-course 2021 (comparative) agrees with JCQ full-course 2020
  • 2023: JCQ full-course 2023 workbook agrees with JCQ full-course 2024 (comparative)
  • 2022: JCQ full-course 2023 workbook agrees with JCQ full-course 2022 workbook
Section 3

Did pupils actually get better?

Results moving is not the same as attainment moving. A grade is a position against a standard, and the standard is set each year. To know whether pupils actually know more, you need a measure that does not move with the grading — and there are only a few.

The National Reference Test. A sample of pupils in England sits the same test each year, in the same conditions, in February and March. Because the test does not change, a shift in scores is evidence about attainment rather than about grading. It is the closest thing England has to an external check on itself, and the 2026 round was published on results day.

A stratified sample of Year 11 students in England sitting the same test each February and March. Participation was 81% in English and 82% in maths. Every year in this series is re-estimated each time the test runs, because all years are calibrated together in one model. The figures here are the 2026 edition's estimates for every year, and differ slightly from those printed in earlier editions.

National Reference Test, English: estimated percentage at grade 4 and above
Fixed test, same standard each yearEngland

The bar is the published 95% confidence interval and the tick is the estimate. Two years whose bars overlap are not distinguishable, however different the point estimates look.

  • 201769.9% (68.3%71.5%)
  • 201869.3% (67.6%71.0%)
  • 201966.0% (64.4%67.7%)
  • 202068.3% (66.7%69.9%)
  • 202167.6% (65.6%69.6%)
  • 202265.8% (64.1%67.6%)
  • 202366.1% (64.4%67.9%)
  • 202465.1% (63.4%66.8%)
  • 202566.9% (65.3%68.6%)
  • 202666.1% (64.6%67.6%)

What the publisher concludes

Comparing 2026 with the 2017 baseline and adjusting for three comparisons, NFER reports a statistically significant decline in the proportion reaching grade 4 or above (1% level) and a decline at grade 5 or above (5% level). There is no statistically significant difference at grade 7.
View as table
YearGrade 4 and above, estimate95% interval
201769.9%68.3% – 71.5%
201869.3%67.6% – 71.0%
201966.0%64.4% – 67.7%
202068.3%66.7% – 69.9%
202167.6%65.6% – 69.6%
202265.8%64.1% – 67.6%
202366.1%64.4% – 67.9%
202465.1%63.4% – 66.8%
202566.9%65.3% – 68.6%
202666.1%64.6% – 67.6%

National Reference Test results digest 2026. NFER for Ofqual.

National Reference Test, maths: estimated percentage at grade 7 and above
Fixed test, same standard each yearEngland

Shown at grade 7 because that is the boundary where the test finds a difference from the 2017 baseline that survives adjustment for multiple comparisons.

  • 201719.9% (18.6%21.2%)
  • 201821.6% (20.2%22.9%)
  • 201922.6% (21.3%23.9%)
  • 202024.4% (23.1%25.8%)
  • 202121.9% (20.0%23.8%)
  • 202221.2% (19.8%22.6%)
  • 202320.0% (18.8%21.2%)
  • 202422.3% (21.0%23.7%)
  • 202522.2% (21.0%23.4%)
  • 202623.9% (22.6%25.2%)

What the publisher concludes

Comparing 2026 with the 2017 baseline and adjusting for three comparisons, NFER reports a statistically significant increase at the grade 7 boundary (1% level). There are no statistically significant differences at grade 4 or grade 5.
View as table
YearGrade 7 and above, estimate95% interval
201719.9%18.6% – 21.2%
201821.6%20.2% – 22.9%
201922.6%21.3% – 23.9%
202024.4%23.1% – 25.8%
202121.9%20.0% – 23.8%
202221.2%19.8% – 22.6%
202320.0%18.8% – 21.2%
202422.3%21.0% – 23.7%
202522.2%21.0% – 23.4%
202623.9%22.6% – 25.2%

National Reference Test results digest 2026. NFER for Ofqual.

What Ofqual did with this evidence

Ofqual judged the NRT's finding of higher maths attainment at grade 7 “clear and sustained” against the 2017 baseline, and “highly likely” to extend across the upper grade range. It instructed exam boards to “reflect this evidence of improvement in their setting of grade boundaries, in the upper grade range” — meaning those boundaries are lower than they would otherwise have been, so more students received higher grades. Ofqual describes this as a genuine improvement in attainment reflected in grading, not a loosening of standards. Grade 4 boundaries were not affected: Ofqual's own account states attainment there is stable.

The NRT's English finding — a statistically significant decline at grade 4 and above since 2017, no significant difference at grade 7 — did not lead to any boundary adjustment. Ofqual's stated reason is that “there has not yet been a consistent enough trend over time to justify any action this year, given the cautious way in which we use evidence from the NRT.” It says it will look again once the 2027 results are in.

Ofqual's own position is that headline GCSE grade percentages are not a pure measure of changing pupil attainment: they also reflect grading decisions like this one, made using external evidence such as the NRT. The maths and English decisions this year differ not because the two subjects were treated by different rules, but because Ofqual judged the maths trend sustained enough to act on and the English trend not yet.

The 2026 National Reference Test: rising attainment in maths and what this means for grades (Michelle Meadows, Chief Standards Adviser, 20 August 2026). Ofqual.

Scotland publishes something no other nation does: how teacher estimates compared with the grades pupils actually got. It is the only routine, published test of the assumption — repeated every results day — that teachers systematically over-predict.

National 5 results against centre estimates, 2025

Course entries, by subject groupingScotland

This is published by subject grouping, not as a single national figure, and no overall percentage is derived here: weighting eleven groupings into one number would be our statistic, not Qualifications Scotland's.

Percentage of National 5 results below, matching and above the centre estimate, by subject grouping
Subject groupingBelow estimateMatchedAbove estimate
Business16.7%44.9%38.4%
Care35.8%28.3%35.8%
Creative14.5%55.0%30.5%
English14.5%49.2%36.3%
Home Economics19.4%50.2%30.5%
Languages12.5%61.0%26.5%
Mathematics20.7%52.1%27.2%
PE13.4%62.1%24.5%
Science18.8%54.0%27.3%
Social Science26.4%47.9%25.7%
Technology17.6%51.7%30.7%

Results land above the estimate about as often as below it in most groupings. That is not what systematic over-prediction looks like.

Provisional Attainment Statistics 2026; Estimates Analysis Tables 2025. Qualifications Scotland (SQA). Qualifications Scotland publishes the estimates analysis in the November after the exam year, so 2025 is the most recent. The 2026 comparison is not yet published.

Scotland also publishes a deprivation gap. At National 5, the gap between the SIMD quintile 5 (least deprived) and quintile 1 (most deprived) attainment rate narrowed from 16.4pp to 15.6pp at grades A to C, and from 27.2pp to 26.1pp at grade A, between 2025 and 2026. Qualifications Scotland's own published gap, for all three National Qualification levels it awards — not just National 5 — because that is the shape the publisher chose for the table. The gap narrowed at every level and on both measures in 2026.

Deprivation attainment gap, 2025 and 2026

Attainment gap between the SIMD quintile 5 (least deprived) and quintile 1 (most deprived) attainment rate, percentage pointsScotland
Percentage-point gap between SIMD quintile 5 and quintile 1 attainment, by qualification level and grade, 2025 and 2026
QualificationGrade20252026
National 5A27.2pp26.1pp
HigherA21.8pp21.5pp
Advanced HigherA18.1pp16.8pp
National 5A to C16.4pp15.6pp
HigherA to C16.8pp15.9pp
Advanced HigherA to C13.3pp12.1pp

Scotland's learners' achievements celebrated (results-day statement, 4 August 2026). Qualifications Scotland.

Progress 8 has a hole in it.The measure compares a pupil’s GCSE results with how pupils with the same key stage 2 results did. The cohorts sitting GCSEs in 2024/25 and 2025/26 never sat key stage 2 tests — they were cancelled in the pandemic — so there is no baseline to measure progress from. Progress 8 cannot be produced for them. That is a permanent gap in the series, not a delayed statistic.

Awaiting verified data

Scotland’s estimates-versus-actual comparison for 2026, which is published in the November after the exam year. The 2025 edition is above and labelled with that year.

  • Analysis of estimated and resulted grades, 2026 Qualifications Scotland · expected 2026-11-30Scotland publishes its estimates-versus-results comparison in the November after the exam year. The 2025 edition is on the page and labelled with that year; the 2026 one replaces it when it lands.
  • Progress 8 for the 2025/26 cohort Department for Education · no date announcedProgress 8 measures progress from key stage 2. The 2025/26 cohort sat no key stage 2 tests because of the pandemic, so there is no baseline and the measure cannot be produced for them. This is a known gap, not a delayed release.
Section 4

Who reaches the exam?

This is the most important sentence on the page. The headline pass rate is a percentage of entries, not of children. One pupil taking ten GCSEs contributes ten observations. A pupil taking none contributes nothing at all, and so cannot appear in the pass rate in any form.

That means the results-day figure cannot answer “how did this year’s sixteen-year-olds do”. It answers “of the exams that were sat, what share reached each grade”. Those are different questions, and the gap between them is a real population of young people.

How many GCSEs sixteen-year-olds actually sat, 2026
Students, not entriesEngland

116,840 students aged 16 — 17.5% of the cohort in this table — took six GCSEs or fewer.

  • 19,085 · 1.4%
  • 215,440 · 2.3%
  • 312,530 · 1.9%
  • 413,210 · 2.0%
  • 520,470 · 3.1%
  • 646,105 · 6.9%
  • 7107,640 · 16.1%
  • 8172,590 · 25.8%
  • 9189,610 · 28.4%
  • 1073,205 · 10.9%
  • 118,670 · 1.3%
  • 12 or more240 · Less than 0.1%

There is no zero row, and that is the difficulty

The bands count GCSEs taken, so the smallest is one. A student who took no GCSEs is not a zero row: they are not in this table at all, which is the whole difficulty. Ofqual rounds student counts to the nearest 5, so the bands sum to 668,795 against a published total of 668,790. The published total is the one used here.
View as table
GCSEs takenStudents aged 16Share of students aged 16
19,0851.4%
215,4402.3%
312,5301.9%
413,2102.0%
520,4703.1%
646,1056.9%
7107,64016.1%
8172,59025.8%
9189,61028.4%
1073,20510.9%
118,6701.3%
12 or more240Less than 0.1%
Total668,790100.0%

Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026. Ofqual.

Comparing the number of sixteen-year-olds who appear in the results data with the number of sixteen-year-olds in the population gives a coverage gap. That gap is nota count of children who sat no GCSEs, and this page will not label it as one. It also contains pupils outside the awarding bodies’ scope, home-educated pupils, pupils on alternative pathways and vocational routes, migration between the population estimate and the exam series, entries withdrawn or ungraded, and the fact that “sixteen” is defined differently by the two sources. A coverage gap is a question to investigate, not a finding to report.

Two collections counting sixteen-year-olds
  • Students aged 16 with at least one GCSE result668,790

    Ofqual counts students aged 16 at 31 August 2026 who received at least one GCSE result in England.

  • Population estimate for the same cohort709,747

    ONS mid-2025 estimate of the England population aged 15 at 30 June 2025 — the nearest single-year cohort to those aged 16 at 31 August 2026. The two definitions of “sixteen” overlap by about ten months and do not coincide.

coverage gap

40,957 (5.8% of the population estimate)

What this figure is not

This is a difference between two collections, not a count of children who sat no GCSEs, and it is never described as one.

Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026; Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025).

Section 5

The missing pupils

Every nation publishes something about young people who leave school without qualifications, and no two publish the same thing. Northern Ireland counts school leavers with no GCSEs. Scotland reports the share of leavers with at least one qualification at SCQF level 3 or better. England’s equivalent has to be built from the key stage 4 pupil denominator, not by working backwards from entry counts. Wales has no directly equivalent zero-entry table that we have found.

Northern Ireland

School leaversNorthern Ireland

314

leavers with no GCSEs in 2024/25 1.3% of 24,145 leavers. 154 male, 160 female.

The share is up from 0.8% in 2020/21, and it is the highest in the published series since 2012/13. Two decades ago it was 4.5%, falling to 0.4% by the mid-2010s — a rise from a low base, not a return to where it started.

A school-leaver cohort, not a Year 12 cohort. Leavers are counted when they leave school, at different ages, so this cannot be set beside an England or Wales figure measured at the end of key stage 4.

Qualifications and destinations of Northern Ireland school leavers 2024/25.

Scotland

School leaversScotland

97.95%

of leavers in 2024-25 achieved at least one qualification at SCQF level 3 or better — leaving 2.05% without one.

Shown to two decimals because the interesting number is the residual, and rounding 2.05% to one decimal loses a twentieth of it. The series runs back to 2009-10, when it was 96.78%.

A school-leaver cohort, counted when pupils leave rather than at a fixed year group, so it is not the same population as a Year 11 or S4 cohort.

Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 8: 2026 edition.

Wales: an absence, recorded

Wales publishes a Year 11 pupil count but no equivalent table of pupils leaving with no qualifications. The absence is recorded rather than filled with a proxy.

So the honest position is this: there is no clean four-nation series for young people who finish school with no qualifications.Each nation’s number is real and each is measured differently, on different cohorts, at different points. The two figures above are not two points on one scale and are not subtracted from one another. We intend to build that series and will publish the method alongside it. Until then this page reports each nation’s own figure on its own terms, and does not add them together.

Awaiting verified data

England’s equivalent, which has to come from the key stage 4 pupil denominator rather than from entry counts.

Section 6

The resit generation

In England, a pupil who does not reach grade 4 in English or maths is required to keep studying the subject after 16. Every year those students resit, and their entries land in the same results-day totals as the sixteen-year-olds. The post-16 share of English and maths entries has grown substantially, which mechanically pulls the all-ages pass rate below the age-16 one.

Since 2022, the share of England’s English language entries coming from candidates aged 17 and over has risen from 14.9% to 22.9%, and in maths from 18.6% to 25.7%. In absolute terms that is 187,558 post-16 English entries and 219,135 post-16 maths entries this summer.

Post-16 share of England’s English and maths GCSE entries
Entries from candidates aged 17 and over as a share of all England entries in that subject. Age is as at 31 August of the exam year.England

JCQ renamed the English language row from “English” in 2024. Same qualification, renamed row; the series follows the qualification, not the label.

English Language

Mathematics

View as table
SubjectYearEntries aged 17 and overAll entriesShare
English Language2022104,168697,82714.9%
English Language2023117,155728,21016.1%
English Language2024148,569782,02219.0%
English Language2025175,118801,78721.8%
English Language2026187,558819,19922.9%
Mathematics2022134,887723,45018.6%
Mathematics2023154,023761,96120.2%
Mathematics2024185,727816,16522.8%
Mathematics2025206,732831,55624.9%
Mathematics2026219,135851,26825.7%

JCQ, GCSE results tables, summer 2026; JCQ, GCSE full-course results, 2011 to 2024.

This is why the two England figures in section 1 must always appear together. Quoting the all-ages number as “this year’s results” makes a policy about resits look like a fall in sixteen-year-olds’ attainment.

Section 7

Where you live matters

Two different geographies get confused on results day. The regional tables published on the day are organised by exam centre — where the exam was sat — not by where the candidate lives. For a boarding school, a sixth-form college with a wide catchment, or a centre near a border, those are not the same place.

On the age-16 tables, London reaches 75.5% at grade 4 and above against 66.6% in West Midlands. At grade 7 and above the spread is wider still: 30.2% in London against 19.0% in North East.

English regions, results issued to sixteen-year-olds
Results issued to 16-year-old studentsEngland, by exam centre

Regions here are the region of the exam centre, from the National Centre Number register — where the exam was sat, not where the candidate lives.

  • London75.5% / 30.2%
  • South East73.2% / 25.8%
  • South West71.5% / 22.2%
  • East of England70.7% / 23.1%
  • North East69.0% / 19.0%
  • Yorkshire and The Humber69.0% / 20.6%
  • East Midlands68.6% / 19.4%
  • North West67.9% / 20.1%
  • West Midlands66.6% / 19.7%

England: 70.7% at grade 4 and above, 23.1% at grade 7 and above.

View as table
RegionResultsGrade 4 and aboveGrade 7 and above
London809,37075.5%30.2%
South East883,50073.2%25.8%
South West474,31071.5%22.2%
East of England607,32070.7%23.1%
North East217,07069.0%19.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber489,77569.0%20.6%
East Midlands445,49568.6%19.4%
North West688,28067.9%20.1%
West Midlands565,82566.6%19.7%
England5,180,94070.7%23.1%

Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026. Ofqual.

The nine regions above are the coarsest exam-centre view. Ofqual also publishes the same exam-centre results at county and unitary-authority level, and finer still at local-authority- district level — county or city, in the terms most readers would use. Both are for 2026, and both carry the same caveat as the regional table above: Areas are assigned from the postcode of the exam centre in the National Centre Number register, not from where the candidate lives. A school just inside one authority's boundary, or a college drawing pupils from several, is counted wherever it is registered — not spread across the areas its pupils live in.

Among sixteen-year-olds, City of London reaches 99.2% at grade 4 and above against 52.5% in Knowsley — a 46.7pp spread across 153 counties and unitary authorities, wider than the 8.9pp spread across the nine regions. At local-authority-district level, finer again, the spread runs from 52.5% in Knowsley to 99.2% in City of London 46.7pp, across 296 districts.

Counties and unitary authorities, results issued to sixteen-year-olds
Results issued to 16-year-old studentsEngland, by exam centre, county/unitary authority

Areas are assigned from the postcode of the exam centre in the National Centre Number register, not from where the candidate lives. A school just inside one authority's boundary, or a college drawing pupils from several, is counted wherever it is registered — not spread across the areas its pupils live in.

153 areas, highest to lowest.

  1. City of London99.2% / 93.7%
  2. Richmond upon Thames86.7% / 45.1%
  3. Kingston upon Thames85.8% / 48.1%
  4. Sutton83.0% / 43.4%
  5. Trafford83.0% / 42.3%
  6. Wokingham82.3% / 34.9%
  7. Hammersmith and Fulham81.4% / 38.4%
  8. Isles of Scilly81.4% / 15.7%
  9. Barnet80.6% / 39.0%
  10. Rutland80.4% / 28.0%
  11. Buckinghamshire80.1% / 36.5%
  12. Wandsworth79.9% / 35.8%
  13. Surrey79.6% / 32.0%
  14. Merton79.0% / 33.1%
  15. Westminster78.8% / 32.0%
  16. Southwark78.4% / 33.9%
  17. Kensington and Chelsea78.3% / 31.0%
  18. Bath and North East Somerset78.0% / 27.5%
  19. Hackney77.7% / 31.2%
  20. Redbridge77.7% / 30.9%
  21. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole77.4% / 26.8%
  22. Gloucestershire77.1% / 29.2%
  23. York77.1% / 29.9%
  24. Bromley77.0% / 29.5%
  25. Hertfordshire76.9% / 29.8%
  26. Brighton and Hove76.7% / 30.4%
  27. Cambridgeshire76.4% / 32.0%
  28. Ealing76.3% / 30.9%
  29. West Berkshire76.1% / 26.4%
  30. Southend-on-Sea76.0% / 32.5%
  31. Reading75.9% / 36.3%
  32. Windsor and Maidenhead75.9% / 27.6%
  33. Bexley75.7% / 30.3%
  34. Newham75.1% / 28.6%
  35. Oxfordshire74.7% / 28.2%
  36. Slough74.7% / 33.7%
  37. Camden74.6% / 31.5%
  38. Stockport74.3% / 26.0%
  39. Gateshead74.1% / 23.6%
  40. Bracknell Forest73.7% / 24.0%
  41. Hillingdon73.5% / 26.9%
  42. Hounslow73.5% / 25.4%
  43. Warrington73.4% / 23.4%
  44. Calderdale73.3% / 23.6%
  45. Harrow73.3% / 29.6%
  46. Stockton-on-Tees73.3% / 22.0%
  47. Brent73.1% / 27.2%
  48. West Sussex73.0% / 22.5%
  49. Islington72.7% / 27.8%
  50. North Yorkshire72.7% / 21.6%
  51. Warwickshire72.7% / 26.5%
  52. Greenwich72.4% / 25.5%
  53. Wakefield72.3% / 21.7%
  54. Tower Hamlets72.1% / 23.9%
  55. Waltham Forest72.1% / 27.0%
  56. Leeds72.0% / 23.8%
  57. Torbay72.0% / 25.7%
  58. Kent71.4% / 24.9%
  59. Barking and Dagenham71.3% / 21.8%
  60. Lewisham71.3% / 24.7%
  61. Devon71.2% / 21.0%
  62. Leicestershire71.2% / 20.9%
  63. Solihull71.2% / 23.0%
  64. Hampshire71.1% / 21.8%
  65. North Somerset71.1% / 19.9%
  66. Haringey71.0% / 27.8%
  67. North Tyneside71.0% / 20.9%
  68. Plymouth70.9% / 20.7%
  69. Cheshire East70.8% / 20.3%
  70. City of Bristol70.8% / 25.4%
  71. Westmorland and Furness70.6% / 17.8%
  72. Cheshire West and Chester70.3% / 21.9%
  73. East Sussex70.3% / 19.1%
  74. Havering70.3% / 20.3%
  75. Croydon70.2% / 22.4%
  76. Nottinghamshire70.0% / 20.5%
  77. Newcastle upon Tyne69.9% / 24.1%
  78. Wiltshire69.9% / 21.2%
  79. Kirklees69.6% / 22.2%
  80. Leicester69.5% / 21.4%
  81. Wirral69.5% / 22.6%
  82. County Durham69.4% / 19.5%
  83. Doncaster69.3% / 19.1%
  84. South Gloucestershire69.3% / 19.3%
  85. County of Herefordshire69.1% / 18.1%
  86. Derbyshire69.1% / 17.8%
  87. Bolton69.0% / 21.6%
  88. East Riding of Yorkshire69.0% / 17.3%
  89. Manchester69.0% / 23.1%
  90. Lambeth68.9% / 22.5%
  91. Sheffield68.9% / 22.7%
  92. Barnsley68.8% / 17.8%
  93. Dorset68.8% / 16.6%
  94. Northumberland68.8% / 17.2%
  95. Cornwall68.5% / 18.9%
  96. Lancashire68.5% / 19.4%
  97. Birmingham68.4% / 24.0%
  98. Essex68.4% / 21.0%
  99. West Northamptonshire68.2% / 18.8%
  100. Darlington68.1% / 17.2%
  101. Enfield68.1% / 24.9%
  102. Norfolk68.0% / 17.5%
  103. Redcar and Cleveland67.9% / 15.4%
  104. Sunderland67.8% / 16.6%
  105. Worcestershire67.8% / 17.9%
  106. Lincolnshire67.6% / 18.6%
  107. Medway67.4% / 19.3%
  108. Somerset67.4% / 18.0%
  109. Swindon67.3% / 16.6%
  110. South Tyneside67.2% / 13.9%
  111. Thurrock67.2% / 17.7%
  112. Wigan67.2% / 16.8%
  113. Bedford67.1% / 17.6%
  114. North Lincolnshire67.1% / 14.7%
  115. North Northamptonshire67.0% / 17.4%
  116. Luton66.7% / 19.2%
  117. Wolverhampton66.7% / 19.8%
  118. Salford66.6% / 19.3%
  119. Sefton66.5% / 18.0%
  120. Suffolk66.4% / 17.7%
  121. Tameside66.4% / 17.0%
  122. St. Helens65.9% / 16.1%
  123. Milton Keynes65.7% / 18.4%
  124. Coventry65.5% / 19.6%
  125. Peterborough65.4% / 17.1%
  126. Telford and Wrekin65.3% / 19.9%
  127. Staffordshire65.2% / 15.6%
  128. Bury65.1% / 17.0%
  129. Dudley65.0% / 15.6%
  130. Nottingham65.0% / 19.4%
  131. Central Bedfordshire64.8% / 16.1%
  132. Oldham64.6% / 17.6%
  133. Blackburn with Darwen64.0% / 18.6%
  134. Southampton63.8% / 17.5%
  135. Rotherham63.5% / 15.4%
  136. Walsall63.1% / 18.6%
  137. City of Kingston upon Hull62.9% / 17.4%
  138. Derby62.8% / 17.4%
  139. Cumberland62.6% / 12.3%
  140. Portsmouth62.6% / 16.0%
  141. Rochdale62.3% / 14.9%
  142. Shropshire62.3% / 15.2%
  143. North East Lincolnshire62.1% / 13.0%
  144. Hartlepool61.9% / 14.2%
  145. Bradford61.8% / 17.0%
  146. Liverpool61.1% / 18.9%
  147. Middlesbrough60.7% / 14.0%
  148. Sandwell60.6% / 14.0%
  149. Halton60.2% / 12.2%
  150. Blackpool60.0% / 11.7%
  151. Isle of Wight59.5% / 12.8%
  152. Stoke-on-Trent58.1% / 12.9%
  153. Knowsley52.5% / 8.3%

England: 70.7% at grade 4 and above, 23.1% at grade 7 and above.

View as table
AreaRegionResultsGrade 4 and aboveGrade 7 and above
City of LondonLondon76599.2%93.7%
Richmond upon ThamesLondon21,95086.7%45.1%
Kingston upon ThamesLondon18,58085.8%48.1%
SuttonLondon28,63583.0%43.4%
TraffordNorth West28,77583.0%42.3%
WokinghamSouth East20,30582.3%34.9%
Hammersmith and FulhamLondon14,22081.4%38.4%
Isles of ScillySouth West17081.4%15.7%
BarnetLondon43,64080.6%39.0%
RutlandEast Midlands5,61080.4%28.0%
BuckinghamshireSouth East59,93580.1%36.5%
WandsworthLondon18,94079.9%35.8%
SurreySouth East118,74579.6%32.0%
MertonLondon17,21579.0%33.1%
WestminsterLondon17,05078.8%32.0%
SouthwarkLondon28,48578.4%33.9%
Kensington and ChelseaLondon8,88578.3%31.0%
Bath and North East SomersetSouth West19,46578.0%27.5%
HackneyLondon20,40077.7%31.2%
RedbridgeLondon33,74577.7%30.9%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleSouth West35,16077.4%26.8%
GloucestershireSouth West62,10077.1%29.2%
YorkYorkshire and The Humber16,55077.1%29.9%
BromleyLondon33,93077.0%29.5%
HertfordshireEast of England136,29576.9%29.8%
Brighton and HoveSouth East22,42576.7%30.4%
CambridgeshireEast of England61,04576.4%32.0%
EalingLondon33,15076.3%30.9%
West BerkshireSouth East19,04076.1%26.4%
Southend-on-SeaEast of England23,01576.0%32.5%
ReadingSouth East15,64075.9%36.3%
Windsor and MaidenheadSouth East17,16575.9%27.6%
BexleyLondon26,98575.7%30.3%
NewhamLondon40,18575.1%28.6%
OxfordshireSouth East65,73074.7%28.2%
SloughSouth East22,99574.7%33.7%
CamdenLondon14,34074.6%31.5%
StockportNorth West24,84074.3%26.0%
GatesheadNorth East16,29574.1%23.6%
Bracknell ForestSouth East13,02073.7%24.0%
HillingdonLondon32,86073.5%26.9%
HounslowLondon28,79573.5%25.4%
WarringtonNorth West21,37573.4%23.4%
CalderdaleYorkshire and The Humber22,61073.3%23.6%
HarrowLondon25,52073.3%29.6%
Stockton-on-TeesNorth East19,33573.3%22.0%
BrentLondon27,98073.1%27.2%
West SussexSouth East76,80073.0%22.5%
IslingtonLondon11,52572.7%27.8%
North YorkshireYorkshire and The Humber53,31072.7%21.6%
WarwickshireWest Midlands55,33572.7%26.5%
GreenwichLondon25,48572.4%25.5%
WakefieldYorkshire and The Humber31,65572.3%21.7%
Tower HamletsLondon25,57072.1%23.9%
Waltham ForestLondon26,51072.1%27.0%
LeedsYorkshire and The Humber78,64572.0%23.8%
TorbaySouth West12,92072.0%25.7%
KentSouth East155,01571.4%24.9%
Barking and DagenhamLondon26,48071.3%21.8%
LewishamLondon20,49571.3%24.7%
DevonSouth West58,80571.2%21.0%
LeicestershireEast Midlands65,36071.2%20.9%
SolihullWest Midlands25,60571.2%23.0%
HampshireSouth East123,41571.1%21.8%
North SomersetSouth West20,03571.1%19.9%
HaringeyLondon23,29071.0%27.8%
North TynesideNorth East16,94071.0%20.9%
PlymouthSouth West22,23070.9%20.7%
Cheshire EastNorth West37,08070.8%20.3%
City of BristolSouth West36,38570.8%25.4%
Westmorland and FurnessNorth West19,28070.6%17.8%
Cheshire West and ChesterNorth West32,09570.3%21.9%
East SussexSouth East44,27070.3%19.1%
HaveringLondon26,70070.3%20.3%
CroydonLondon35,07570.2%22.4%
NottinghamshireEast Midlands74,08070.0%20.5%
Newcastle upon TyneNorth East23,81069.9%24.1%
WiltshireSouth West44,43069.9%21.2%
KirkleesYorkshire and The Humber41,03569.6%22.2%
LeicesterEast Midlands37,80569.5%21.4%
WirralNorth West29,90069.5%22.6%
County DurhamNorth East40,73069.4%19.5%
DoncasterYorkshire and The Humber24,82069.3%19.1%
South GloucestershireSouth West21,85569.3%19.3%
County of HerefordshireWest Midlands15,57569.1%18.1%
DerbyshireEast Midlands63,96069.1%17.8%
BoltonNorth West32,56069.0%21.6%
East Riding of YorkshireYorkshire and The Humber26,24569.0%17.3%
ManchesterNorth West56,41069.0%23.1%
LambethLondon18,79568.9%22.5%
SheffieldYorkshire and The Humber47,65568.9%22.7%
BarnsleyYorkshire and The Humber18,54568.8%17.8%
DorsetSouth West31,13568.8%16.6%
NorthumberlandNorth East24,71568.8%17.2%
CornwallSouth West43,44568.5%18.9%
LancashireNorth West112,62568.5%19.4%
BirminghamWest Midlands123,76568.4%24.0%
EssexEast of England136,09568.4%21.0%
West NorthamptonshireEast Midlands42,62568.2%18.8%
DarlingtonNorth East9,20068.1%17.2%
EnfieldLondon32,83068.1%24.9%
NorfolkEast of England70,71568.0%17.5%
Redcar and ClevelandNorth East11,30567.9%15.4%
SunderlandNorth East22,20067.8%16.6%
WorcestershireWest Midlands51,84067.8%17.9%
LincolnshireEast Midlands67,75567.6%18.6%
MedwaySouth East30,45567.4%19.3%
SomersetSouth West44,91067.4%18.0%
SwindonSouth West21,28567.3%16.6%
South TynesideNorth East12,13567.2%13.9%
ThurrockEast of England17,16067.2%17.7%
WiganNorth West29,64067.2%16.8%
BedfordEast of England22,23567.1%17.6%
North LincolnshireYorkshire and The Humber14,24567.1%14.7%
North NorthamptonshireEast Midlands32,70067.0%17.4%
LutonEast of England26,33566.7%19.2%
WolverhamptonWest Midlands29,61066.7%19.8%
SalfordNorth West20,84066.6%19.3%
SeftonNorth West24,36066.5%18.0%
SuffolkEast of England66,08066.4%17.7%
TamesideNorth West23,43566.4%17.0%
St. HelensNorth West15,43065.9%16.1%
Milton KeynesSouth East31,09565.7%18.4%
CoventryWest Midlands34,35065.5%19.6%
PeterboroughEast of England24,17565.4%17.1%
Telford and WrekinWest Midlands19,49565.3%19.9%
StaffordshireWest Midlands74,85065.2%15.6%
BuryNorth West18,62565.1%17.0%
DudleyWest Midlands28,11065.0%15.6%
NottinghamEast Midlands26,84065.0%19.4%
Central BedfordshireEast of England24,94564.8%16.1%
OldhamNorth West28,75564.6%17.6%
Blackburn with DarwenNorth West18,26064.0%18.6%
SouthamptonSouth East19,31063.8%17.5%
RotherhamYorkshire and The Humber25,92563.5%15.4%
WalsallWest Midlands27,76063.1%18.6%
City of Kingston upon HullYorkshire and The Humber23,46562.9%17.4%
DerbyEast Midlands27,68562.8%17.4%
CumberlandNorth West21,91562.6%12.3%
PortsmouthSouth East18,23062.6%16.0%
RochdaleNorth West22,90562.3%14.9%
ShropshireWest Midlands25,54062.3%15.2%
North East LincolnshireYorkshire and The Humber12,02062.1%13.0%
HartlepoolNorth East8,19061.9%14.2%
BradfordYorkshire and The Humber53,29561.8%17.0%
LiverpoolNorth West41,69061.1%18.9%
MiddlesbroughNorth East12,22560.7%14.0%
SandwellWest Midlands33,57560.6%14.0%
HaltonNorth West10,97560.2%12.2%
BlackpoolNorth West8,59060.0%11.7%
Isle of WightSouth East9,36559.5%12.8%
Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands21,50058.1%12.9%
KnowsleyNorth West7,76552.5%8.3%

Ofqual Analytics, GCSE grade outcomes by administrative area, 2026. Sourced from Ofqual Analytics' own data export, not from the region table used elsewhere on this page (which reads Ofqual's results-day spreadsheet). The two collections measure the same thing and are usually within a few results of each other, but Analytics is not guaranteed to match the results-day table to the decimal — both are Ofqual's own figures, drawn from the same underlying data at slightly different points.

Local authority districts, results issued to sixteen-year-olds
Results issued to 16-year-old studentsEngland, by exam centre, local authority district

Areas are assigned from the postcode of the exam centre in the National Centre Number register, not from where the candidate lives. A school just inside one authority's boundary, or a college drawing pupils from several, is counted wherever it is registered — not spread across the areas its pupils live in.

296 areas, highest to lowest.

  1. City of London99.2% / 93.7%
  2. Cambridge88.3% / 54.3%
  3. Richmond upon Thames86.7% / 45.1%
  4. Waverley86.7% / 37.1%
  5. Kingston upon Thames85.8% / 48.1%
  6. Guildford85.2% / 39.0%
  7. Mole Valley84.0% / 35.5%
  8. St Albans83.8% / 38.6%
  9. Sutton83.0% / 43.4%
  10. Three Rivers83.0% / 37.6%
  11. Trafford83.0% / 42.3%
  12. Tunbridge Wells83.0% / 34.3%
  13. Epsom and Ewell82.8% / 41.9%
  14. Winchester82.5% / 35.5%
  15. Wokingham82.3% / 34.9%
  16. Cheltenham82.0% / 40.9%
  17. Elmbridge81.8% / 34.8%
  18. East Hampshire81.6% / 29.3%
  19. Gloucester81.4% / 37.7%
  20. Hammersmith and Fulham81.4% / 38.4%
  21. Isles of Scilly81.4% / 15.7%
  22. South Oxfordshire81.3% / 31.1%
  23. Cotswold80.9% / 26.4%
  24. Barnet80.6% / 39.0%
  25. East Hertfordshire80.4% / 28.8%
  26. Rushcliffe80.4% / 30.9%
  27. Rutland80.4% / 28.0%
  28. Hertsmere80.3% / 38.4%
  29. Buckinghamshire80.1% / 36.5%
  30. Mid Sussex79.9% / 30.2%
  31. Wandsworth79.9% / 35.8%
  32. Chelmsford79.8% / 35.2%
  33. South Cambridgeshire79.7% / 33.9%
  34. Watford79.3% / 35.8%
  35. Merton79.0% / 33.1%
  36. Westminster78.8% / 32.0%
  37. Hart78.4% / 26.0%
  38. Southwark78.4% / 33.9%
  39. Kensington and Chelsea78.3% / 31.0%
  40. Bath and North East Somerset78.0% / 27.5%
  41. South Hams77.9% / 25.0%
  42. Hackney77.7% / 31.2%
  43. Redbridge77.7% / 30.9%
  44. Stratford-on-Avon77.7% / 34.5%
  45. Stroud77.7% / 28.9%
  46. Adur77.5% / 25.1%
  47. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole77.4% / 26.8%
  48. Oxford77.3% / 37.4%
  49. East Cambridgeshire77.2% / 27.0%
  50. Worthing77.2% / 23.0%
  51. York77.1% / 29.9%
  52. Bromley77.0% / 29.5%
  53. Surrey Heath77.0% / 26.9%
  54. Brentwood76.8% / 27.3%
  55. Warwick76.8% / 30.1%
  56. Brighton and Hove76.7% / 30.4%
  57. Hinckley and Bosworth76.4% / 22.7%
  58. Woking76.4% / 26.4%
  59. Ealing76.3% / 30.9%
  60. South Kesteven76.3% / 28.7%
  61. Harborough76.2% / 23.4%
  62. Uttlesford76.1% / 26.9%
  63. West Berkshire76.1% / 26.4%
  64. Southend-on-Sea76.0% / 32.5%
  65. Tonbridge and Malling76.0% / 35.2%
  66. Dartford75.9% / 33.3%
  67. Reading75.9% / 36.3%
  68. Windsor and Maidenhead75.9% / 27.6%
  69. Bexley75.7% / 30.3%
  70. Rugby75.6% / 29.5%
  71. Preston75.5% / 26.3%
  72. South Norfolk75.5% / 22.2%
  73. Gedling75.1% / 23.3%
  74. Horsham75.1% / 25.4%
  75. Newham75.1% / 28.6%
  76. Slough74.7% / 33.7%
  77. Camden74.6% / 31.5%
  78. Derbyshire Dales74.6% / 20.1%
  79. Ribble Valley74.5% / 23.9%
  80. Runnymede74.5% / 29.3%
  81. Lewes74.3% / 20.4%
  82. Stockport74.3% / 26.0%
  83. Colchester74.1% / 28.6%
  84. Gateshead74.1% / 23.6%
  85. Reigate and Banstead74.1% / 26.0%
  86. Broxtowe74.0% / 24.3%
  87. South Derbyshire73.9% / 20.4%
  88. Eastleigh73.8% / 24.5%
  89. North Devon73.8% / 20.4%
  90. North Hertfordshire73.8% / 27.3%
  91. Bracknell Forest73.7% / 24.0%
  92. Hillingdon73.5% / 26.9%
  93. Hounslow73.5% / 25.4%
  94. West Oxfordshire73.5% / 25.7%
  95. Worcester73.5% / 24.5%
  96. Chorley73.4% / 22.5%
  97. Warrington73.4% / 23.4%
  98. Calderdale73.3% / 23.6%
  99. Harrow73.3% / 29.6%
  100. Stockton-on-Tees73.3% / 22.0%
  101. Spelthorne73.2% / 24.5%
  102. Brent73.1% / 27.2%
  103. Oadby and Wigston73.0% / 25.3%
  104. Tandridge72.9% / 22.4%
  105. Islington72.7% / 27.8%
  106. North Yorkshire72.7% / 21.6%
  107. Rother72.7% / 19.8%
  108. East Devon72.5% / 24.3%
  109. Greenwich72.4% / 25.5%
  110. Maidstone72.3% / 24.2%
  111. Wakefield72.3% / 21.7%
  112. Exeter72.2% / 24.6%
  113. Lancaster72.1% / 26.9%
  114. Tower Hamlets72.1% / 23.9%
  115. Waltham Forest72.1% / 27.0%
  116. Leeds72.0% / 23.8%
  117. Lichfield72.0% / 18.8%
  118. Torbay72.0% / 25.7%
  119. Fylde71.6% / 19.1%
  120. Welwyn Hatfield71.5% / 22.2%
  121. Barking and Dagenham71.3% / 21.8%
  122. Lewisham71.3% / 24.7%
  123. Solihull71.2% / 23.0%
  124. Wealden71.2% / 21.1%
  125. Babergh71.1% / 19.5%
  126. Broadland71.1% / 17.2%
  127. Gravesham71.1% / 20.2%
  128. Malvern Hills71.1% / 19.5%
  129. North Somerset71.1% / 19.9%
  130. Tewkesbury71.1% / 16.5%
  131. Canterbury71.0% / 24.6%
  132. Chichester71.0% / 20.0%
  133. Haringey71.0% / 27.8%
  134. North Tyneside71.0% / 20.9%
  135. South Ribble71.0% / 19.1%
  136. Vale of White Horse71.0% / 26.6%
  137. Plymouth70.9% / 20.7%
  138. Cheshire East70.8% / 20.3%
  139. City of Bristol70.8% / 25.4%
  140. West Devon70.6% / 16.9%
  141. Westmorland and Furness70.6% / 17.8%
  142. Charnwood70.5% / 22.4%
  143. Epping Forest70.5% / 20.6%
  144. Bromsgrove70.3% / 20.0%
  145. Cheshire West and Chester70.3% / 21.9%
  146. Havering70.3% / 20.3%
  147. Norwich70.3% / 25.4%
  148. Sevenoaks70.3% / 22.7%
  149. Croydon70.2% / 22.4%
  150. Fareham70.2% / 18.3%
  151. New Forest69.9% / 18.8%
  152. Newcastle upon Tyne69.9% / 24.1%
  153. West Lindsey69.9% / 22.2%
  154. Wiltshire69.9% / 21.2%
  155. Dacorum69.8% / 21.1%
  156. Huntingdonshire69.7% / 20.2%
  157. Kirklees69.6% / 22.2%
  158. Leicester69.5% / 21.4%
  159. Rossendale69.5% / 24.8%
  160. Wirral69.5% / 22.6%
  161. Chesterfield69.4% / 20.3%
  162. County Durham69.4% / 19.5%
  163. Amber Valley69.3% / 16.3%
  164. Doncaster69.3% / 19.1%
  165. Erewash69.3% / 18.1%
  166. South Gloucestershire69.3% / 19.3%
  167. County of Herefordshire69.1% / 18.1%
  168. Bolton69.0% / 21.6%
  169. Cherwell69.0% / 19.9%
  170. East Riding of Yorkshire69.0% / 17.3%
  171. Manchester69.0% / 23.1%
  172. Wyre69.0% / 15.4%
  173. Lambeth68.9% / 22.5%
  174. Sheffield68.9% / 22.7%
  175. Barnsley68.8% / 17.8%
  176. Dorset68.8% / 16.6%
  177. Mid Suffolk68.8% / 18.6%
  178. North East Derbyshire68.8% / 16.2%
  179. Northumberland68.8% / 17.2%
  180. High Peak68.7% / 18.0%
  181. Mid Devon68.7% / 19.5%
  182. Cornwall68.5% / 18.9%
  183. Birmingham68.4% / 24.0%
  184. North Kesteven68.4% / 14.6%
  185. Rochford68.3% / 14.6%
  186. Ashford68.2% / 21.6%
  187. West Northamptonshire68.2% / 18.8%
  188. Bassetlaw68.1% / 17.3%
  189. Darlington68.1% / 17.2%
  190. Enfield68.1% / 24.9%
  191. Redcar and Cleveland67.9% / 15.4%
  192. Stevenage67.8% / 20.1%
  193. Sunderland67.8% / 16.6%
  194. Rushmoor67.6% / 21.5%
  195. Test Valley67.6% / 18.1%
  196. Wychavon67.6% / 15.9%
  197. Medway67.4% / 19.3%
  198. Somerset67.4% / 18.0%
  199. Stafford67.4% / 18.1%
  200. Newark and Sherwood67.3% / 18.0%
  201. Swindon67.3% / 16.6%
  202. South Staffordshire67.2% / 13.8%
  203. South Tyneside67.2% / 13.9%
  204. Thurrock67.2% / 17.7%
  205. Wigan67.2% / 16.8%
  206. Basingstoke and Deane67.1% / 18.8%
  207. Bedford67.1% / 17.6%
  208. North Lincolnshire67.1% / 14.7%
  209. South Holland67.1% / 16.3%
  210. North Northamptonshire67.0% / 17.4%
  211. Broxbourne66.7% / 17.1%
  212. East Staffordshire66.7% / 18.1%
  213. Eastbourne66.7% / 18.4%
  214. Luton66.7% / 19.2%
  215. Wolverhampton66.7% / 19.8%
  216. Salford66.6% / 19.3%
  217. Folkestone and Hythe66.5% / 16.4%
  218. North Norfolk66.5% / 16.2%
  219. Sefton66.5% / 18.0%
  220. Melton66.4% / 13.9%
  221. Tameside66.4% / 17.0%
  222. East Suffolk66.3% / 16.7%
  223. Staffordshire Moorlands66.3% / 15.5%
  224. Ipswich66.2% / 19.0%
  225. Torridge66.0% / 14.6%
  226. St. Helens65.9% / 16.1%
  227. Arun65.7% / 15.9%
  228. Milton Keynes65.7% / 18.4%
  229. Coventry65.5% / 19.6%
  230. Nuneaton and Bedworth65.5% / 17.2%
  231. Teignbridge65.5% / 16.7%
  232. Braintree65.4% / 14.5%
  233. Peterborough65.4% / 17.1%
  234. Telford and Wrekin65.3% / 19.9%
  235. West Lancashire65.3% / 16.0%
  236. Bury65.1% / 17.0%
  237. Thanet65.1% / 19.3%
  238. Dudley65.0% / 15.6%
  239. Nottingham65.0% / 19.4%
  240. Central Bedfordshire64.8% / 16.1%
  241. Oldham64.6% / 17.6%
  242. Swale64.3% / 16.5%
  243. Breckland64.2% / 13.4%
  244. Blackburn with Darwen64.0% / 18.6%
  245. Southampton63.8% / 17.5%
  246. North West Leicestershire63.7% / 14.0%
  247. East Lindsey63.6% / 14.6%
  248. Rotherham63.5% / 15.4%
  249. Crawley63.3% / 14.6%
  250. Walsall63.1% / 18.6%
  251. City of Kingston upon Hull62.9% / 17.4%
  252. Derby62.8% / 17.4%
  253. West Suffolk62.8% / 16.2%
  254. Dover62.7% / 16.3%
  255. Hastings62.7% / 11.9%
  256. Cumberland62.6% / 12.3%
  257. Portsmouth62.6% / 16.0%
  258. Rochdale62.3% / 14.9%
  259. Shropshire62.3% / 15.2%
  260. Great Yarmouth62.2% / 13.4%
  261. Lincoln62.1% / 13.6%
  262. North East Lincolnshire62.1% / 13.0%
  263. North Warwickshire62.0% / 13.6%
  264. Harlow61.9% / 13.6%
  265. Hartlepool61.9% / 14.2%
  266. Bradford61.8% / 17.0%
  267. Blaby61.6% / 14.8%
  268. Forest of Dean61.5% / 14.0%
  269. King's Lynn and West Norfolk61.5% / 12.2%
  270. Redditch61.5% / 11.3%
  271. Mansfield61.3% / 13.7%
  272. Hyndburn61.1% / 12.7%
  273. Liverpool61.1% / 18.9%
  274. Middlesbrough60.7% / 14.0%
  275. Sandwell60.6% / 14.0%
  276. Newcastle-under-Lyme60.3% / 13.3%
  277. Halton60.2% / 12.2%
  278. Ashfield60.1% / 12.1%
  279. Blackpool60.0% / 11.7%
  280. Isle of Wight59.5% / 12.8%
  281. Castle Point59.3% / 11.6%
  282. Maldon58.7% / 10.4%
  283. Cannock Chase58.2% / 12.5%
  284. Basildon58.1% / 13.1%
  285. Stoke-on-Trent58.1% / 12.9%
  286. Wyre Forest57.9% / 11.2%
  287. Boston57.5% / 13.0%
  288. Bolsover57.4% / 11.4%
  289. Pendle57.4% / 9.8%
  290. Gosport56.6% / 10.4%
  291. Tamworth56.5% / 8.1%
  292. Fenland56.4% / 11.0%
  293. Burnley55.5% / 10.5%
  294. Havant55.3% / 10.4%
  295. Tendring53.5% / 10.5%
  296. Knowsley52.5% / 8.3%

England: 70.7% at grade 4 and above, 23.1% at grade 7 and above.

View as table
AreaCounty/unitary authorityResultsGrade 4 and aboveGrade 7 and above
City of LondonCity of London76599.2%93.7%
CambridgeCambridgeshire14,61588.3%54.3%
Richmond upon ThamesRichmond upon Thames21,95086.7%45.1%
WaverleySurrey15,33586.7%37.1%
Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames18,58085.8%48.1%
GuildfordSurrey14,63585.2%39.0%
Mole ValleySurrey8,83084.0%35.5%
St AlbansHertfordshire23,47083.8%38.6%
SuttonSutton28,63583.0%43.4%
Three RiversHertfordshire13,41083.0%37.6%
TraffordTrafford28,77583.0%42.3%
Tunbridge WellsKent15,64583.0%34.3%
Epsom and EwellSurrey10,83582.8%41.9%
WinchesterHampshire11,62582.5%35.5%
WokinghamWokingham20,30582.3%34.9%
CheltenhamGloucestershire11,55582.0%40.9%
ElmbridgeSurrey10,93581.8%34.8%
East HampshireHampshire12,37081.6%29.3%
GloucesterGloucestershire13,61581.4%37.7%
Hammersmith and FulhamHammersmith and Fulham14,22081.4%38.4%
Isles of ScillyIsles of Scilly17081.4%15.7%
South OxfordshireOxfordshire15,55081.3%31.1%
CotswoldGloucestershire9,65580.9%26.4%
BarnetBarnet43,64080.6%39.0%
East HertfordshireHertfordshire21,35580.4%28.8%
RushcliffeNottinghamshire14,48080.4%30.9%
RutlandRutland5,61080.4%28.0%
HertsmereHertfordshire14,04580.3%38.4%
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire59,93580.1%36.5%
Mid SussexWest Sussex15,90079.9%30.2%
WandsworthWandsworth18,94079.9%35.8%
ChelmsfordEssex19,06079.8%35.2%
South CambridgeshireCambridgeshire16,21579.7%33.9%
WatfordHertfordshire7,75079.3%35.8%
MertonMerton17,21579.0%33.1%
WestminsterWestminster17,05078.8%32.0%
HartHampshire11,24078.4%26.0%
SouthwarkSouthwark28,48578.4%33.9%
Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea8,88578.3%31.0%
Bath and North East SomersetBath and North East Somerset19,46578.0%27.5%
South HamsDevon6,69077.9%25.0%
HackneyHackney20,40077.7%31.2%
RedbridgeRedbridge33,74577.7%30.9%
Stratford-on-AvonWarwickshire14,34577.7%34.5%
StroudGloucestershire11,21577.7%28.9%
AdurWest Sussex5,17077.5%25.1%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole35,16077.4%26.8%
OxfordOxfordshire12,62577.3%37.4%
East CambridgeshireCambridgeshire9,83577.2%27.0%
WorthingWest Sussex10,61577.2%23.0%
YorkYork16,55077.1%29.9%
BromleyBromley33,93077.0%29.5%
Surrey HeathSurrey7,04577.0%26.9%
BrentwoodEssex11,66576.8%27.3%
WarwickWarwickshire11,20576.8%30.1%
Brighton and HoveBrighton and Hove22,42576.7%30.4%
Hinckley and BosworthLeicestershire13,16576.4%22.7%
WokingSurrey9,69576.4%26.4%
EalingEaling33,15076.3%30.9%
South KestevenLincolnshire14,61576.3%28.7%
HarboroughLeicestershire9,56576.2%23.4%
UttlesfordEssex7,52576.1%26.9%
West BerkshireWest Berkshire19,04076.1%26.4%
Southend-on-SeaSouthend-on-Sea23,01576.0%32.5%
Tonbridge and MallingKent15,65076.0%35.2%
DartfordKent17,05575.9%33.3%
ReadingReading15,64075.9%36.3%
Windsor and MaidenheadWindsor and Maidenhead17,16575.9%27.6%
BexleyBexley26,98575.7%30.3%
RugbyWarwickshire11,96575.6%29.5%
PrestonLancashire12,51575.5%26.3%
South NorfolkNorfolk13,14075.5%22.2%
GedlingNottinghamshire11,18075.1%23.3%
HorshamWest Sussex14,28575.1%25.4%
NewhamNewham40,18575.1%28.6%
SloughSlough22,99574.7%33.7%
CamdenCamden14,34074.6%31.5%
Derbyshire DalesDerbyshire6,68074.6%20.1%
Ribble ValleyLancashire8,43074.5%23.9%
RunnymedeSurrey9,46574.5%29.3%
LewesEast Sussex9,50574.3%20.4%
StockportStockport24,84074.3%26.0%
ColchesterEssex20,60574.1%28.6%
GatesheadGateshead16,29574.1%23.6%
Reigate and BansteadSurrey15,06574.1%26.0%
BroxtoweNottinghamshire8,85574.0%24.3%
South DerbyshireDerbyshire6,91073.9%20.4%
EastleighHampshire15,13073.8%24.5%
North DevonDevon9,15073.8%20.4%
North HertfordshireHertfordshire10,77573.8%27.3%
Bracknell ForestBracknell Forest13,02073.7%24.0%
HillingdonHillingdon32,86073.5%26.9%
HounslowHounslow28,79573.5%25.4%
West OxfordshireOxfordshire11,48073.5%25.7%
WorcesterWorcestershire10,77573.5%24.5%
ChorleyLancashire11,59073.4%22.5%
WarringtonWarrington21,37573.4%23.4%
CalderdaleCalderdale22,61073.3%23.6%
HarrowHarrow25,52073.3%29.6%
Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees19,33573.3%22.0%
SpelthorneSurrey10,15073.2%24.5%
BrentBrent27,98073.1%27.2%
Oadby and WigstonLeicestershire8,81073.0%25.3%
TandridgeSurrey6,76072.9%22.4%
IslingtonIslington11,52572.7%27.8%
North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire53,31072.7%21.6%
RotherEast Sussex8,69572.7%19.8%
East DevonDevon10,92072.5%24.3%
GreenwichGreenwich25,48572.4%25.5%
MaidstoneKent19,91072.3%24.2%
WakefieldWakefield31,65572.3%21.7%
ExeterDevon8,94572.2%24.6%
LancasterLancashire10,84572.1%26.9%
Tower HamletsTower Hamlets25,57072.1%23.9%
Waltham ForestWaltham Forest26,51072.1%27.0%
LeedsLeeds78,64572.0%23.8%
LichfieldStaffordshire9,88572.0%18.8%
TorbayTorbay12,92072.0%25.7%
FyldeLancashire5,98071.6%19.1%
Welwyn HatfieldHertfordshire9,75071.5%22.2%
Barking and DagenhamBarking and Dagenham26,48071.3%21.8%
LewishamLewisham20,49571.3%24.7%
SolihullSolihull25,60571.2%23.0%
WealdenEast Sussex12,00571.2%21.1%
BaberghSuffolk7,81571.1%19.5%
BroadlandNorfolk11,83571.1%17.2%
GraveshamKent12,18071.1%20.2%
Malvern HillsWorcestershire7,33071.1%19.5%
North SomersetNorth Somerset20,03571.1%19.9%
TewkesburyGloucestershire9,51571.1%16.5%
CanterburyKent14,58571.0%24.6%
ChichesterWest Sussex8,39571.0%20.0%
HaringeyHaringey23,29071.0%27.8%
North TynesideNorth Tyneside16,94071.0%20.9%
South RibbleLancashire12,36571.0%19.1%
Vale of White HorseOxfordshire12,93571.0%26.6%
PlymouthPlymouth22,23070.9%20.7%
Cheshire EastCheshire East37,08070.8%20.3%
City of BristolCity of Bristol36,38570.8%25.4%
West DevonDevon3,39070.6%16.9%
Westmorland and FurnessWestmorland and Furness19,28070.6%17.8%
CharnwoodLeicestershire17,34570.5%22.4%
Epping ForestEssex10,32570.5%20.6%
BromsgroveWorcestershire11,71570.3%20.0%
Cheshire West and ChesterCheshire West and Chester32,09570.3%21.9%
HaveringHavering26,70070.3%20.3%
NorwichNorfolk10,11570.3%25.4%
SevenoaksKent5,35570.3%22.7%
CroydonCroydon35,07570.2%22.4%
FarehamHampshire10,78570.2%18.3%
New ForestHampshire13,85569.9%18.8%
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne23,81069.9%24.1%
West LindseyLincolnshire8,56069.9%22.2%
WiltshireWiltshire44,43069.9%21.2%
DacorumHertfordshire16,14069.8%21.1%
HuntingdonshireCambridgeshire13,22069.7%20.2%
KirkleesKirklees41,03569.6%22.2%
LeicesterLeicester37,80569.5%21.4%
RossendaleLancashire7,50069.5%24.8%
WirralWirral29,90069.5%22.6%
ChesterfieldDerbyshire9,98069.4%20.3%
County DurhamCounty Durham40,73069.4%19.5%
Amber ValleyDerbyshire11,29569.3%16.3%
DoncasterDoncaster24,82069.3%19.1%
ErewashDerbyshire9,05069.3%18.1%
South GloucestershireSouth Gloucestershire21,85569.3%19.3%
County of HerefordshireCounty of Herefordshire15,57569.1%18.1%
BoltonBolton32,56069.0%21.6%
CherwellOxfordshire13,13569.0%19.9%
East Riding of YorkshireEast Riding of Yorkshire26,24569.0%17.3%
ManchesterManchester56,41069.0%23.1%
WyreLancashire9,34569.0%15.4%
LambethLambeth18,79568.9%22.5%
SheffieldSheffield47,65568.9%22.7%
BarnsleyBarnsley18,54568.8%17.8%
DorsetDorset31,13568.8%16.6%
Mid SuffolkSuffolk9,51568.8%18.6%
North East DerbyshireDerbyshire6,24568.8%16.2%
NorthumberlandNorthumberland24,71568.8%17.2%
High PeakDerbyshire7,77068.7%18.0%
Mid DevonDevon6,79068.7%19.5%
CornwallCornwall43,44568.5%18.9%
BirminghamBirmingham123,76568.4%24.0%
North KestevenLincolnshire10,31568.4%14.6%
RochfordEssex8,00068.3%14.6%
AshfordKent13,44568.2%21.6%
West NorthamptonshireWest Northamptonshire42,62568.2%18.8%
BassetlawNottinghamshire9,73568.1%17.3%
DarlingtonDarlington9,20068.1%17.2%
EnfieldEnfield32,83068.1%24.9%
Redcar and ClevelandRedcar and Cleveland11,30567.9%15.4%
StevenageHertfordshire10,30567.8%20.1%
SunderlandSunderland22,20067.8%16.6%
RushmoorHampshire7,76067.6%21.5%
Test ValleyHampshire10,37567.6%18.1%
WychavonWorcestershire8,07567.6%15.9%
MedwayMedway30,45567.4%19.3%
SomersetSomerset44,91067.4%18.0%
StaffordStaffordshire9,74567.4%18.1%
Newark and SherwoodNottinghamshire8,51067.3%18.0%
SwindonSwindon21,28567.3%16.6%
South StaffordshireStaffordshire8,71567.2%13.8%
South TynesideSouth Tyneside12,13567.2%13.9%
ThurrockThurrock17,16067.2%17.7%
WiganWigan29,64067.2%16.8%
Basingstoke and DeaneHampshire14,84067.1%18.8%
BedfordBedford22,23567.1%17.6%
North LincolnshireNorth Lincolnshire14,24567.1%14.7%
South HollandLincolnshire8,34567.1%16.3%
North NorthamptonshireNorth Northamptonshire32,70067.0%17.4%
BroxbourneHertfordshire9,30566.7%17.1%
East StaffordshireStaffordshire15,14566.7%18.1%
EastbourneEast Sussex9,30066.7%18.4%
LutonLuton26,33566.7%19.2%
WolverhamptonWolverhampton29,61066.7%19.8%
SalfordSalford20,84066.6%19.3%
Folkestone and HytheKent8,10566.5%16.4%
North NorfolkNorfolk7,52066.5%16.2%
SeftonSefton24,36066.5%18.0%
MeltonLeicestershire4,37566.4%13.9%
TamesideTameside23,43566.4%17.0%
East SuffolkSuffolk19,08566.3%16.7%
Staffordshire MoorlandsStaffordshire10,10066.3%15.5%
IpswichSuffolk14,44066.2%19.0%
TorridgeDevon4,50066.0%14.6%
St. HelensSt. Helens15,43065.9%16.1%
ArunWest Sussex10,58065.7%15.9%
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes31,09565.7%18.4%
CoventryCoventry34,35065.5%19.6%
Nuneaton and BedworthWarwickshire10,80065.5%17.2%
TeignbridgeDevon8,41565.5%16.7%
BraintreeEssex12,30565.4%14.5%
PeterboroughPeterborough24,17565.4%17.1%
Telford and WrekinTelford and Wrekin19,49565.3%19.9%
West LancashireLancashire9,19565.3%16.0%
BuryBury18,62565.1%17.0%
ThanetKent9,97065.1%19.3%
DudleyDudley28,11065.0%15.6%
NottinghamNottingham26,84065.0%19.4%
Central BedfordshireCentral Bedfordshire24,94564.8%16.1%
OldhamOldham28,75564.6%17.6%
SwaleKent12,78064.3%16.5%
BrecklandNorfolk9,68564.2%13.4%
Blackburn with DarwenBlackburn with Darwen18,26064.0%18.6%
SouthamptonSouthampton19,31063.8%17.5%
North West LeicestershireLeicestershire8,05563.7%14.0%
East LindseyLincolnshire11,14063.6%14.6%
RotherhamRotherham25,92563.5%15.4%
CrawleyWest Sussex11,85563.3%14.6%
WalsallWalsall27,76063.1%18.6%
City of Kingston upon HullCity of Kingston upon Hull23,46562.9%17.4%
DerbyDerby27,68562.8%17.4%
West SuffolkSuffolk15,22062.8%16.2%
DoverKent10,33562.7%16.3%
HastingsEast Sussex4,77062.7%11.9%
CumberlandCumberland21,91562.6%12.3%
PortsmouthPortsmouth18,23062.6%16.0%
RochdaleRochdale22,90562.3%14.9%
ShropshireShropshire25,54062.3%15.2%
Great YarmouthNorfolk7,31562.2%13.4%
LincolnLincolnshire8,68062.1%13.6%
North East LincolnshireNorth East Lincolnshire12,02062.1%13.0%
North WarwickshireWarwickshire7,02062.0%13.6%
HarlowEssex9,20061.9%13.6%
HartlepoolHartlepool8,19061.9%14.2%
BradfordBradford53,29561.8%17.0%
BlabyLeicestershire4,03561.6%14.8%
Forest of DeanGloucestershire6,54561.5%14.0%
King's Lynn and West NorfolkNorfolk11,10561.5%12.2%
RedditchWorcestershire6,49061.5%11.3%
MansfieldNottinghamshire10,62561.3%13.7%
HyndburnLancashire7,56061.1%12.7%
LiverpoolLiverpool41,69061.1%18.9%
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough12,22560.7%14.0%
SandwellSandwell33,57560.6%14.0%
Newcastle-under-LymeStaffordshire8,89060.3%13.3%
HaltonHalton10,97560.2%12.2%
AshfieldNottinghamshire10,69060.1%12.1%
BlackpoolBlackpool8,59060.0%11.7%
Isle of WightIsle of Wight9,36559.5%12.8%
Castle PointEssex7,61559.3%11.6%
MaldonEssex3,80058.7%10.4%
Cannock ChaseStaffordshire7,42058.2%12.5%
BasildonEssex15,65558.1%13.1%
Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent21,50058.1%12.9%
Wyre ForestWorcestershire7,45557.9%11.2%
BostonLincolnshire6,09557.5%13.0%
BolsoverDerbyshire6,03057.4%11.4%
PendleLancashire8,25057.4%9.8%
GosportHampshire5,50556.6%10.4%
TamworthStaffordshire4,95056.5%8.1%
FenlandCambridgeshire7,16056.4%11.0%
BurnleyLancashire9,04055.5%10.5%
HavantHampshire9,93055.3%10.4%
TendringEssex10,34053.5%10.5%
KnowsleyKnowsley7,76552.5%8.3%

Ofqual Analytics, GCSE grade outcomes by administrative area, 2026. Sourced from Ofqual Analytics' own data export, not from the region table used elsewhere on this page (which reads Ofqual's results-day spreadsheet). The two collections measure the same thing and are usually within a few results of each other, but Analytics is not guaranteed to match the results-day table to the decimal — both are Ofqual's own figures, drawn from the same underlying data at slightly different points.

The pupil-level local-authority data, published later, is the one that supports statements about places. Each nation publishes it on its own geography — English local authorities, Welsh local authorities, Northern Irish local government districts, Scottish council areas — and on its own measure. A number from one nation’s table cannot be set beside another’s.

In England the spread on a single measure is 44.6 percentage points: 24.7% of pupils in Knowsley reached grade 5 in English and maths, against 69.3% in Kingston upon Thames. Wales publishes a points score rather than a percentage, so no equivalent sentence can be written about it.

Four geographies, four measures

Four nations, four geographies, four measures. These lists sit beside each other and are never merged, ranked together or averaged.

England

Pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs, 2024/25. Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in state-funded schools.

  1. Kingston upon Thames69.3%
  2. Sutton67.9%
  3. Richmond upon Thames64.9%
  4. Trafford63.9%
  5. Barnet63.1%
  6. Hammersmith and Fulham61.7%
  7. Kensington and Chelsea61.4%
  8. Wokingham60.8%
  9. Redbridge59.5%
  10. Buckinghamshire58.7%
  11. Westminster58.3%
  12. Slough57.5%
  13. Southend-on-Sea57.1%
  14. Wandsworth57.1%
  15. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole56.7%
  16. Ealing56.7%
  17. Merton56.4%
  18. York55.8%
  19. Surrey55.2%
  20. Southwark54.9%
  21. Rutland54.3%
  22. Bexley53.8%
  23. Harrow53.6%
  24. Bromley53.5%
  25. Newham53.4%
  26. Hertfordshire53.4%
  27. Brent53.2%
  28. Gloucestershire53.1%
  29. Hounslow52.8%
  30. Reading51.3%
  31. Calderdale50.7%
  32. Gateshead49.9%
  33. Warwickshire49.8%
  34. Torbay49.6%
  35. Cambridgeshire49.6%
  36. Hillingdon49.5%
  37. Windsor and Maidenhead49.3%
  38. Hackney49.1%
  39. Stockport48.9%
  40. Bath and North East Somerset48.7%
  41. West Berkshire48.4%
  42. Oxfordshire48.4%
  43. Islington48.0%
  44. Warrington47.9%
  45. Brighton and Hove47.9%
  46. Stockton-on-Tees47.6%
  47. Solihull47.6%
  48. Haringey47.6%
  49. Barking and Dagenham47.5%
  50. Havering47.5%
  51. Tower Hamlets47.5%
  52. North Yorkshire47.0%
  53. Kent47.0%
  54. Nottinghamshire46.9%
  55. Camden46.8%
  56. Leicestershire46.8%
  57. Kirklees46.5%
  58. Leeds46.5%
  59. Greenwich46.4%
  60. Bracknell Forest46.3%
  61. Plymouth46.2%
  62. Redcar and Cleveland46.2%
  63. Devon46.1%
  64. Bristol, City of45.9%
  65. West Sussex45.9%
  66. Darlington45.7%
  67. Waltham Forest45.6%
  68. North Somerset45.5%
  69. Isles of Scilly45.5%
  70. Wakefield45.5%
  71. Enfield45.5%
  72. Newcastle upon Tyne45.5%
  73. Birmingham45.4%
  74. Thurrock45.3%
  75. Cheshire East45.1%
  76. Barnsley45.0%
  77. Norfolk44.9%
  78. Lewisham44.8%
  79. Hampshire44.8%
  80. Wiltshire44.6%
  81. Milton Keynes44.2%
  82. Medway44.1%
  83. Wirral44.0%
  84. Blackburn with Darwen43.9%
  85. Bolton43.9%
  86. Doncaster43.9%
  87. Bedford43.7%
  88. Lancashire43.5%
  89. Cornwall43.3%
  90. Leicester43.2%
  91. North Tyneside43.2%
  92. Swindon43.1%
  93. Essex43.1%
  94. Hartlepool42.9%
  95. Derbyshire42.9%
  96. Herefordshire, County of42.8%
  97. South Gloucestershire42.8%
  98. East Riding of Yorkshire42.6%
  99. Luton42.4%
  100. Cheshire West and Chester42.4%
  101. Croydon42.4%
  102. Westmorland and Furness42.3%
  103. West Northamptonshire42.0%
  104. Lincolnshire41.9%
  105. North Lincolnshire41.8%
  106. East Sussex41.8%
  107. Northumberland41.7%
  108. Sheffield41.7%
  109. County Durham41.6%
  110. Central Bedfordshire41.5%
  111. Sunderland41.5%
  112. Manchester41.3%
  113. Lambeth41.1%
  114. Coventry41.1%
  115. Tameside40.9%
  116. Worcestershire40.9%
  117. Dorset40.7%
  118. Dudley40.7%
  119. Somerset40.3%
  120. Salford40.2%
  121. Suffolk39.9%
  122. Nottingham39.8%
  123. Wolverhampton39.5%
  124. Sefton39.5%
  125. Staffordshire39.5%
  126. Halton39.3%
  127. Telford and Wrekin39.2%
  128. Peterborough39.2%
  129. Southampton38.9%
  130. Bury38.9%
  131. Derby38.8%
  132. Walsall38.7%
  133. Wigan38.7%
  134. Rotherham38.7%
  135. South Tyneside38.5%
  136. Liverpool38.1%
  137. North Northamptonshire38.0%
  138. Bradford37.4%
  139. Middlesbrough37.1%
  140. Isle of Wight37.1%
  141. Shropshire36.9%
  142. Oldham36.7%
  143. Kingston upon Hull, City of36.6%
  144. Cumberland36.5%
  145. North East Lincolnshire36.2%
  146. St. Helens35.9%
  147. Portsmouth35.2%
  148. Rochdale35.0%
  149. Sandwell33.8%
  150. Stoke-on-Trent33.2%
  151. Blackpool30.3%
  152. Knowsley24.7%
View as table
EnglandPupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs (per cent)
Kingston upon Thames69.3%
Sutton67.9%
Richmond upon Thames64.9%
Trafford63.9%
Barnet63.1%
Hammersmith and Fulham61.7%
Kensington and Chelsea61.4%
Wokingham60.8%
Redbridge59.5%
Buckinghamshire58.7%
Westminster58.3%
Slough57.5%
Southend-on-Sea57.1%
Wandsworth57.1%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole56.7%
Ealing56.7%
Merton56.4%
York55.8%
Surrey55.2%
Southwark54.9%
Rutland54.3%
Bexley53.8%
Harrow53.6%
Bromley53.5%
Newham53.4%
Hertfordshire53.4%
Brent53.2%
Gloucestershire53.1%
Hounslow52.8%
Reading51.3%
Calderdale50.7%
Gateshead49.9%
Warwickshire49.8%
Torbay49.6%
Cambridgeshire49.6%
Hillingdon49.5%
Windsor and Maidenhead49.3%
Hackney49.1%
Stockport48.9%
Bath and North East Somerset48.7%
West Berkshire48.4%
Oxfordshire48.4%
Islington48.0%
Warrington47.9%
Brighton and Hove47.9%
Stockton-on-Tees47.6%
Solihull47.6%
Haringey47.6%
Barking and Dagenham47.5%
Havering47.5%
Tower Hamlets47.5%
North Yorkshire47.0%
Kent47.0%
Nottinghamshire46.9%
Camden46.8%
Leicestershire46.8%
Kirklees46.5%
Leeds46.5%
Greenwich46.4%
Bracknell Forest46.3%
Plymouth46.2%
Redcar and Cleveland46.2%
Devon46.1%
Bristol, City of45.9%
West Sussex45.9%
Darlington45.7%
Waltham Forest45.6%
North Somerset45.5%
Isles of Scilly45.5%
Wakefield45.5%
Enfield45.5%
Newcastle upon Tyne45.5%
Birmingham45.4%
Thurrock45.3%
Cheshire East45.1%
Barnsley45.0%
Norfolk44.9%
Lewisham44.8%
Hampshire44.8%
Wiltshire44.6%
Milton Keynes44.2%
Medway44.1%
Wirral44.0%
Blackburn with Darwen43.9%
Bolton43.9%
Doncaster43.9%
Bedford43.7%
Lancashire43.5%
Cornwall43.3%
Leicester43.2%
North Tyneside43.2%
Swindon43.1%
Essex43.1%
Hartlepool42.9%
Derbyshire42.9%
Herefordshire, County of42.8%
South Gloucestershire42.8%
East Riding of Yorkshire42.6%
Luton42.4%
Cheshire West and Chester42.4%
Croydon42.4%
Westmorland and Furness42.3%
West Northamptonshire42.0%
Lincolnshire41.9%
North Lincolnshire41.8%
East Sussex41.8%
Northumberland41.7%
Sheffield41.7%
County Durham41.6%
Central Bedfordshire41.5%
Sunderland41.5%
Manchester41.3%
Lambeth41.1%
Coventry41.1%
Tameside40.9%
Worcestershire40.9%
Dorset40.7%
Dudley40.7%
Somerset40.3%
Salford40.2%
Suffolk39.9%
Nottingham39.8%
Wolverhampton39.5%
Sefton39.5%
Staffordshire39.5%
Halton39.3%
Telford and Wrekin39.2%
Peterborough39.2%
Southampton38.9%
Bury38.9%
Derby38.8%
Walsall38.7%
Wigan38.7%
Rotherham38.7%
South Tyneside38.5%
Liverpool38.1%
North Northamptonshire38.0%
Bradford37.4%
Middlesbrough37.1%
Isle of Wight37.1%
Shropshire36.9%
Oldham36.7%
Kingston upon Hull, City of36.6%
Cumberland36.5%
North East Lincolnshire36.2%
St. Helens35.9%
Portsmouth35.2%
Rochdale35.0%
Sandwell33.8%
Stoke-on-Trent33.2%
Blackpool30.3%
Knowsley24.7%

Northern Ireland

Five or more GCSEs A*–C including GCSE English and GCSE maths, 2024/25. School leavers, by 2014 local government district of pupil residence.

A school-leaver cohort, not a Year 12 cohort. Leavers are counted when they leave school, at different ages, so this cannot be set beside an England or Wales figure measured at the end of key stage 4.

  1. Lisburn and Castlereagh79.1%
  2. Fermanagh and Omagh78.0%
  3. Mid Ulster74.7%
  4. Ards and North Down74.5%
  5. Newry, Mourne and Down73.3%
  6. Antrim and Newtownabbey73.2%
  7. Causeway Coast and Glens70.8%
  8. Mid and East Antrim70.2%
  9. Derry City and Strabane69.7%
  10. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon69.0%
  11. Belfast66.4%
View as table
Northern IrelandFive or more GCSEs A*–C including GCSE English and GCSE maths (per cent)
Lisburn and Castlereagh79.1%
Fermanagh and Omagh78.0%
Mid Ulster74.7%
Ards and North Down74.5%
Newry, Mourne and Down73.3%
Antrim and Newtownabbey73.2%
Causeway Coast and Glens70.8%
Mid and East Antrim70.2%
Derry City and Strabane69.7%
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon69.0%
Belfast66.4%

Scotland

Five or more qualifications at SCQF level 3 or better, all SCQF measure, 2024-25. Secondary school leavers.

Councils whose figure is suppressed for disclosure control are listed with no value rather than left out, so the list is still all 32.

  1. East Dunbartonshire95.7%
  2. East Renfrewshire95.5%
  3. Falkirk95.0%
  4. South Ayrshire94.7%
  5. Midlothian92.2%
  6. Edinburgh City92.1%
  7. South Lanarkshire91.8%
  8. East Lothian91.7%
  9. Fife91.7%
  10. Perth & Kinross90.6%
  11. Scottish Borders90.3%
  12. West Lothian90.3%
  13. Inverclyde90.2%
  14. North Lanarkshire89.5%
  15. North Ayrshire88.5%
  16. Stirling88.3%
  17. East Ayrshire87.7%
  18. Renfrewshire87.2%
  19. Glasgow City87.0%
  20. Angus86.9%
  21. Shetland Islands86.9%
  22. Aberdeen City85.6%
  23. Aberdeenshire83.9%
  24. Argyll & Bute83.5%
  25. Dundee City83.4%
  26. Dumfries & Galloway83.1%
  27. Highland80.9%
  28. Moray80.8%
  29. West Dunbartonshire80.6%
  30. Clackmannanshire79.6%
  31. Na h-Eileanan Siar76.7%

Not shown because the publisher suppressed the figure for disclosure control: Orkney Islands.

View as table
ScotlandFive or more qualifications at SCQF level 3 or better, all SCQF measure (per cent)
East Dunbartonshire95.7%
East Renfrewshire95.5%
Falkirk95.0%
South Ayrshire94.7%
Midlothian92.2%
Edinburgh City92.1%
South Lanarkshire91.8%
East Lothian91.7%
Fife91.7%
Perth & Kinross90.6%
Scottish Borders90.3%
West Lothian90.3%
Inverclyde90.2%
North Lanarkshire89.5%
North Ayrshire88.5%
Stirling88.3%
East Ayrshire87.7%
Renfrewshire87.2%
Glasgow City87.0%
Angus86.9%
Shetland Islands86.9%
Aberdeen City85.6%
Aberdeenshire83.9%
Argyll & Bute83.5%
Dundee City83.4%
Dumfries & Galloway83.1%
Highland80.9%
Moray80.8%
West Dunbartonshire80.6%
Clackmannanshire79.6%
Na h-Eileanan Siar76.7%

Wales

Capped 9 point score, interim measure version, 2024/25. Pupils in Year 11 at the start of the academic year.

Wales publishes an average points score, not a percentage reaching a grade. There is no arithmetic that turns it into England's, Northern Ireland's or Scotland's measure, and none is attempted.

  1. Monmouthshire375.9
  2. Rhondda Cynon Taff370.9
  3. Powys369.4
  4. Vale of Glamorgan366.8
  5. Cardiff366.2
  6. Swansea360.4
  7. Newport359.9
  8. Merthyr Tydfil359.4
  9. Bridgend358.8
  10. Gwynedd358.1
  11. Torfaen354.5
  12. Ceredigion351.8
  13. Pembrokeshire349.0
  14. Flintshire348.6
  15. Blaenau Gwent342.9
  16. Conwy342.3
  17. Caerphilly342.2
  18. Carmarthenshire341.7
  19. Wrexham338.7
  20. Isle of Anglesey337.7
  21. Neath Port Talbot332.8
  22. Denbighshire330.8
View as table
WalesCapped 9 point score, interim measure version (points)
Monmouthshire375.9
Rhondda Cynon Taff370.9
Powys369.4
Vale of Glamorgan366.8
Cardiff366.2
Swansea360.4
Newport359.9
Merthyr Tydfil359.4
Bridgend358.8
Gwynedd358.1
Torfaen354.5
Ceredigion351.8
Pembrokeshire349.0
Flintshire348.6
Blaenau Gwent342.9
Conwy342.3
Caerphilly342.2
Carmarthenshire341.7
Wrexham338.7
Isle of Anglesey337.7
Neath Port Talbot332.8
Denbighshire330.8

Awaiting verified data

England’s local-authority figures for the 2025/26 cohort. The list above is the 2024/25 published set and is labelled with that year.

  • Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 (provisional) Department for Education · expected 2026-10-15Pupil-level attainment for the 2025/26 cohort, including the local-authority breakdowns. Until it lands, the pupil-level LA figures on this page are the 2024/25 published set and are labelled with that year. This is separate from the exam-centre county/district figures for 2026, which are already on the page — see ofqual-analytics-admin-areas-2026 — and are on a different geography and a different measure.
  • Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 (revised) Department for Education · expected 2027-02-25The revised set supersedes the provisional one; figures here move to it when it publishes.
  • Ofqual summer 2026 results and entries — any revision Ofqual · no date announcedThe results-day tables are provisional. Ofqual revises entry and outcome tables through the autumn; this page follows the latest published version.
Section 8

Britain against comparable countries

Qualifications cannot be translated between countries. A GCSE grade 5 is not a percentage of anything another country awards, and any table claiming to rank nations by exam results is comparing different tests taken by different populations under different rules.

The one defensible international comparison is PISA, where fifteen-year-olds in every participating country sit the same assessment. On PISA 2022 the United Kingdom scored 489.0 in mathematics (standard error 2.2) and 494.4 in reading (standard error 2.4).

Those scores carry a sampling caveat that the OECD attaches to the UK, and small differences between countries are not meaningful once standard errors are taken into account — which is why our PISA comparison presents rank bands rather than a single position.

PISA tests a sample of 15-year-olds in each system — not a whole year group, not every pupil, and not school leavers. A PISA mean is an estimate of how 15-year-olds in that system would have scored, published with the standard error that says how precisely it is known.

PISA also publishes a single United Kingdom mean. It is not on these tables. It is an average of the same pupils already counted in the four nation rows, so placing it alongside them would rank the field against part of itself. The UK-wide figures are given in the methodology section instead.

Awaiting verified data

A G7 comparison. Our verified PISA dataset covers EU and EFTA countries plus the four UK nations — it does not contain Canada, Japan or the United States, and has no science measure. Publishing a G7 ranking would mean asserting figures from a source we have not ingested, so the comparison waits until we have.

Section 9

How this sits beside the rest of the picture

GCSE results do not happen in isolation from school funding, family income or the labour market sixteen-year-olds are heading into. This site holds independently-verified series on some of those, and the two below are shown beside the GCSE trend — never merged with it, never a ratio of it, never a chart with GCSE results on one axis and something else on the other. Two lines moving together over a decade in which teaching, funding, the pandemic and the cost of living all changed cannot isolate one cause, so the site does not try to. It shows both series, sourced separately, and lets the reader look.

GCSE results and education spending

Shown together, not combined

Two series, two sources, two geographies close but not identical (GCSE is UK-wide, spending is England-only). Placed together because James asked whether results and funding move together, not because this page has evidence either way.
GCSE results, grade 4 and above
JCQ full-course results, cumulative percentageUnited Kingdom, all ages

latest: 67.6%

Exam years only — 2020, 2021 and 2022 are excluded because grades were not awarded by examination in those years.

JCQ, GCSE results tables, summer 2026.

Local authority net education expenditure
Cash terms, not adjusted for inflation, £billionEngland

latest: 79.4bn

Financial year, e.g. “15” is 2015–16. Cash figures: a rising bar is not necessarily rising spending power once prices are accounted for.

DfE, LA and school expenditure. See /education/funding.

GCSE results and child poverty

Shown together, not combined

Same rule: two independently-sourced series, placed together for the reader to look at, not a computed relationship. Child poverty here is a UK figure; GCSE results are also UK-wide, but on a different population (all GCSE entries, not the same children tracked over time).
GCSE results, grade 4 and above
JCQ full-course resultsUnited Kingdom, all ages

latest: 67.4%

Exam years only — 2020, 2021 and 2022 are excluded because grades were not awarded by examination in those years.

JCQ, GCSE results tables, summer 2026.

Child poverty, relative, after housing costs
BREAK IN SERIES at 2021/22: from that year DWP integrates benefit administrative records into the survey, correcting under-reported income.United Kingdom

latest: 27.4%

Break in series at 2021/22: DWP changed its method that year, so the fall after 2020 is largely methodological, not a real drop. See /inequality.

DWP, Households Below Average Income (Table 1.4a).

The labour-market comparison the brief asked for, and what is missing

The most recent verified figure this site holds for youth unemployment is 16.2% (April–June 2026, ages 16–24, United Kingdom) — see /employment. That is a single current figure, not a historical series, and it is 16–24, not the 16–18 age band the brief asked about: no verified 16–18-specific series exists on this site to show instead.

NEET — young people Not in Education, Employment or Training — is the measure that would sit most naturally beside GCSE results, and this site does not yet hold a verified NEET series at national or regional level to publish here. That is a recorded gap, not a filled slot: adding it would mean going through the same source-verification this page’s other figures went through, not reusing a number seen in passing.

Section 10

What the headline doesn’t tell you

Six things the results-day number cannot answer, each of which needs a different dataset:

  • How many young people sat nothing at all — needs a pupil denominator, not an entry denominator. Section 4 shows how far a coverage gap gets, and where it stops.
  • Whether pupils know more than last year — needs a fixed test, not a graded one. Section 3 has one.
  • How many pupils got both English and maths — needs pupil-level data; the headline counts subjects separately. Section 7’s England list is on that measure, a year behind.
  • Whether the gap between richer and poorer pupils moved — needs the disadvantage breakdown, published later.
  • Whether a place improved — needs pupil-level local authority data, not exam-centre regions. Both are in section 7, kept apart.
  • Whether Britain is behind other countries — needs a common assessment, not translated qualifications.

The indicators worth watching, once the data supports them: the distribution of how many qualifications pupils took, which section 4 now carries for England; core attainment in English and maths separately and together; and the gaps by disadvantage, special educational needs, sex, area and school type.

Section 11

Methodology and caveats

Denominators. Results-day percentages are shares of entries. Pupil-level percentages, published months later, are shares of pupils. The two will not match and are not meant to.

Why Scotland is never ranked against the GCSE nations. National 5 is a different qualification with a different course, cohort and grading standard. Placing it in a table beside GCSE results would imply a comparison the data cannot support.

Grading changes.England’s move from A*–G to 9–1 was phased subject by subject between 2017 and 2019, so a single cohort sat a mixture of both. Wales and Northern Ireland reformed on different timetables again. A grade 4 is broadly a low C and a grade 5 a high C or low B, but the mapping is approximate and was never intended to be exact — see different rulers.

Entries can fall without performance changing. When a nation reforms a qualification or changes which subjects are compulsory, entry numbers move for reasons that have nothing to do with how pupils did. Any large fall in entries is checked against the reform timetable before it is described as anything else — which is why the Welsh falls in section 1 are reported as entry movements and not as results.

Two counts of England, and they differ slightly. JCQ counts 5,719,431 GCSE entries in England; Ofqual counts 5,720,045results issued. The two organisations collect from the awarding bodies on different bases and neither is a correction of the other, so each figure on this page is labelled with the source it came from and the two are never summed, differenced or used as one another’s denominator.

Provisional figures. Results-day tables are provisional. JCQ, Ofqual and Qualifications Scotland all revise them in the months afterwards, and this page follows the latest published version rather than freezing results day.

2020, 2021 and 2022. Exams cancelled, then a transition year. No comparison is drawn across that boundary anywhere on this page.

Where the source disagreed with the brief

This page was drafted against a set of 2026 figures supplied editorially. They were treated as sanity checks, not as values to publish, and every one was read again from the publisher's own dataset. Most matched exactly. These did not, and in each case the published source is what appears above.

  • Northern Ireland, A*–G

    Brief:
    96.8%
    Published:
    99.2%

    96.8% is Wales’s A*–G figure in the same table, not Northern Ireland’s.

    JCQ Table 1, Northern Ireland, all ages, grade G/1 and above

  • Post-16 share of English and maths entries, 2026

    Brief:
    English 24.4%, maths 27.1%
    Published:
    English 22.9%, maths 25.7%

    No definition available in the published tables reproduces the brief’s figures. The share here is one published entry count divided by another from the same table.

    JCQ Table 1, England, entries aged 17 and over against all England entries in the subject

  • England age-16 students

    Brief:
    668,795
    Published:
    668,790

    The brief summed the bands. Ofqual rounds each band to the nearest 5, so the bands sum to five more than Ofqual’s own total. The published total is used.

    Ofqual, Table 16, published total

  • Coverage gap against the population estimate

    Brief:
    ≈49,000, 6.9% (population 718,143)
    Published:
    40,957, 5.8% (population 709,747)

    The brief’s population figure does not correspond to any ONS single-year estimate for this cohort. The estimate used, and its definition, are stated on the page.

    ONS mid-2025 population estimate, England, age 15

  • Northern Ireland leavers with no GCSEs

    Brief:
    1.0% rising to 1.2%
    Published:
    1.1% rising to 1.3%

    The count and the sex split in the brief were exact; the percentages were each a tenth of a point low.

    Department of Education NI, Table 11

  • Scotland leavers with at least one SCQF level 3 qualification

    Brief:
    97.7%
    Published:
    97.95%

    97.7% matches no year in the published series: the nearest is 2023-24 at 97.81%, and 2024-25 is the latest available.

    Scottish Government, Table 5, 2024-25

  • Scotland, estimates versus actual

    Brief:
    estimated A–C 77.8% against actual 78.7%; 52.3% exact, 29.5% higher, 18.2% lower
    Published:
    published by subject grouping only

    Qualifications Scotland publishes this split for eleven subject groupings and no national total. Weighting them into one number would be our statistic, not theirs, so the groupings are shown instead.

    Qualifications Scotland, Estimates Analysis Tables 2025

What we are waiting for

Everything this page is still missing, why, and where to check — with the releases that have landed left in place, so the record of what we waited for survives.

Education statistics releases this page is waiting on
ReleasePublisherExpectedStatus
JCQ GCSE results tables 2026 (Tables 1–9) and the three press noticesJoint Council for Qualifications2026-08-20read at source 20 August 2026
National Reference Test 2026 digestNFER for Ofqual2026-08-20read at source 20 August 2026
GCSE grade outcomes by administrative area (regions, counties/unitary authorities, local authority districts), 2019–2026Ofqual2026-08-20read at source 22 August 2026
Analysis of estimated and resulted grades, 2026Qualifications Scotland2026-11-30awaiting
Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 (provisional)Department for Education2026-10-15awaiting
Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 (revised)Department for Education2027-02-25awaiting
Ofqual summer 2026 results and entries — any revisionOfqualno date announcedawaiting
Progress 8 for the 2025/26 cohortDepartment for Educationno date announcedawaiting

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