Key events
Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland await grades
Mabel Banfield-Nwachi
Good morning and welcome to our GCSE results day live blog.
Today, like every year, hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland anxiously await their grades.
In ۲۰۲۵, there was an overall rise in grades among ۱۶-year-olds taking GCSEs and the gap between boys and girls has narrowed to its smallest level since ۲۰۱۶.
Boys showed improved performances in some of the major subjects like maths and English, while girls slipped backwards in their traditionally strong subjects such as English.
The results mean that the gender gap in favour of girls is now the smallest since separate data for ۱۶-year-olds in England was first published in ۲۰۱۶.
Pupils in England who were thought to have been among the worst affected by Covid bounced back in their GCSE results last year, with more achieving top grades despite the disruption of the pandemic.
The percentage of pupils who achieved a grade ۷ and above was ۲۳% in ۲۰۲۵, up from ۲۲.۶% in ۲۰۲۴. While those who achieved a grade ۴ and above (pass) was ۷۰.۴%, a slight increase from ۷۰.۴% last year.
For pupils in Northern Ireland, the proportion getting A and A* – equivalent to grades ۷ and above in England – rose by a full percentage point to ۳۱.۴%, while the proportion getting grades C or above went up to ۶۳.۸%.
In Wales, where letter grades are also still used, pupils getting the top grades rose to ۲۰.۱%, up from ۱۹.۸% in ۲۰۲۴, and those getting a C or better edged up by ۰.۳ percentage points to ۶۳.۸% this year.
If the GCSE results follow last week’s A-level results, it might be a bumper year for grades. The proportion of students in England gaining the highest grade of A* in A-level subjects rose to ۹.۷%, up from ۹.۴% last year, setting a new record outside the pandemic era, when exams were scrapped.
Northern Ireland was the best-performing country, with ۳۰.۷% of grades being As and A*s, followed by ۲۹.۶% in Wales and ۲۸.۷% in England.
The GCSE cohort taking exams in ۲۰۲۶ were in Year ۵ when the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns began in ۲۰۲۰. They faced severe disruption during key developmental years (perhaps less so than the ۲۰۲۵ cohort, who were in their final year at primary school in ۲۰۲۰), particularly the primary-to-secondary transition period, chronic absenteeism, and mental health challenges.
Follow along as we look at whether the overall ۹-۴ pass rates are affected in key subjects like English and maths, as well as if girls’ overall results drop again.
