The proportion of GCSE entries awarded top grades has risen from last year but fewer GCSE entries scored a decent pass this year, national figures show.
Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday to help them progress to sixth form, college or training.
More than a fifth (21.9%) of UK entries were awarded the top grades – at least a 7 or an A-grade – this year, up by 0.1 percentage points on last year, when 21.8% achieved the top grades.
This was higher than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, when 20.8% of entries achieved the top grades.
The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover GCSE entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The proportion of entries getting at least a 4 or a C-grade – considered a “standard pass” – has fallen from 67.6% in 2024 to 67.4% this year – a drop of 0.2 percentage points, but higher than 67.3% in 2019.
Overall, 1,302 16-year-olds in England taking at least seven GCSEs achieved a grade 9 – the highest grade under the numerical grading scale – in all their subjects, up from 1,272 last year, according to the JCQ.
The gap between girls and boys at the top grades is at the narrowest point this century.
Nearly a quarter (24.5%) of girls’ GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 7/A compared to almost a fifth of boys’ entries (19.4%) – a 5.1 percentage point gap.
This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least 2000, which is the earliest archive data available.
Meanwhile, 70.5% of girls’ GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 4/C compared to 64.3% of boys’ entries – a 6.2 percentage point gap.
The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 97.9%, which is the same as 2024 but is down on 98.3% in 2019.
Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator at Ofqual, England’s exams regulator, said this year’s GCSE results are “stable” in comparison to the past two years – when grading returned to pre-pandemic levels in England.
He said the differences this year are “natural variation” that would be seen between any year.
Sir Ian told the PA news agency: “The standard of work required to achieve a grade seven or a grade four at GCSE is the same this year as it was last year, and what we’re seeing is statistically insignificant changes at those key grades from last year to this year.
“That means basically that the underlying pattern, the underlying standard of performance amongst students from last year to this year, is stable.”
On the gender gap, Sir Ian told PA: “What we see today in the results is a very small apparent narrowing of the gap in performance between boys and girls.
“It’s important for people to understand that there is still a gap in the performance of boys and girls, but what we can say is that it doesn’t appear to be growing at the moment.”
In England, Ofqual brought GCSE grading standards back in line with pre-Covid levels in 2023 and exam regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland returned to pre-pandemic grading last year.
The move came after Covid-19 led to an increase in top GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
Many of the pupils who are receiving their GCSE results this summer were in Year 6 when schools closed because of the pandemic.
Education leaders have warned that these pupils, who moved from primary to secondary school in the middle of the pandemic, have faced a series of challenges – including school attendance issues and cost-of-living pressures.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said this cohort of students had shown “remarkable resilience” despite the disruption to their education.
While traditional A*-G grades are used in Northern Ireland and Wales, in England these have been replaced with a 9-1 system, where 9 is the highest.
A 4 is broadly equivalent to a C grade and a 7 is broadly equivalent to an A.
In England, many students who do not secure at least a grade 4 – which is considered a “standard pass” – in English and/or maths GCSE are required to retake the subjects during post-16 education.
Overall UK entries for GCSEs have dropped slightly – down 0.4% on 2024, according to JCQ data.
A breakdown of the data shows that while 16-year-olds still make up the vast majority of students taking GCSEs, entries from this group are down 1.4% on last year.
Entries from students aged 17 and over are up 12.1% to 482,402 compared with 430,377 in 2024.
The proportion of entries across England who secured at least a grade 4 in English language and maths this year has fallen compared to last year.
Overall, 58.2% of entries across England for all ages achieved a grade 4 or above in mathematics, down from 59.6% last year.
Meanwhile, 59.7% of entries across England for all ages achieved a grade 4 or above in English, down from 61.6% last year.
Education leaders have called for the Government’s policy of compulsory resits in the two subjects at GCSE to be scrapped.
Jill Duffy, chief executive of OCR exam board, said: “Nearly a quarter of GCSE maths and English entries are resits. This is an all-time high.
“Less than a fifth of resitting students achieved the grade 4 they need to break out of the resit cycle. This is a resit crisis.
“Tinkering at the edges of policy won’t fix this. We need fundamental reform to maths and English secondary education – especially at Key Stage 3 – to support those who fall behind in these crucial subjects.
“Boys are slowly catching up with girls, but the GCSE attainment gap remains significant.”
More than 360,500 Level 1 and 2 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) results have also been awarded to pupils.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “These students experienced a great deal of disruption earlier in their time at school as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Schools strained every sinew to support those who have needed additional help to catch up and to tackle the lingering impact of the pandemic on attendance rates. However, it has not been easy, and the previous government did not put enough investment or focus into educational recovery.
“Disadvantaged students were often those most severely affected by the disruption of Covid and that has made it even more difficult to close gaps in educational attainment caused by socioeconomic factors.
“Those gaps are reflected in regional disparities evident once again in this year’s results.
“Once again we see that the majority of students who retake GCSE English and maths in post-16 education under a government policy of mandatory resits continue to fall short of a grade 4 standard pass.
“It is utterly demoralising for these young people and there has to be a better way of supporting literacy and numeracy.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said the current GCSE resit policy is “not fit for purpose”.
He added: “NAHT has long called for reform of the current policy that forces students into repeated resits, which is demotivating and ineffective.
“What is needed are more appropriate and engaging alternatives to GCSEs in English and maths at KS4.”
