A-level results: Key numbers and trends

Here are the main numbers and trends in this year’s A-level results:– The proportion of candidates receiving top grades has risen for the third year in a row and remains higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.A total of 28.5% of UK entries were awarded either an A or A*, up from 28.3% in 2025 and above the 25.4% in 2019.This is the highest proportion on record outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22 (when the figure peaked at 44.8% in 2021).– Some 9.6% of UK entries received an A*.This is also the third increase in a row and is up from 9.4% last year.Discounting the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22 – when the figure peaked at 19.1% in 2021 – 9.6% is the highest proportion since the A* grade was first awarded in 2010.– A total of 78.4% of entries received a C or above, up from 77.9% in 2025.This is again the highest percentage for this level of grade outside the pandemic (the figure peaked at 88.5% in 2021).– The overall pass rate (grades A* to E) was 97.5%. This is unchanged from 97.5% in 2025 and is slightly below 2019, which was 97.6%.– Among the regions of England, London saw the highest proportion of entries awarded grades of A or A* (32.7%, up from 32.1% in 2025) while north-east England and the East Midlands had the joint lowest (23.1%).The East Midlands saw the largest year-on-year fall, down 0.7 points from 23.8%, while north-east England rose slightly by 0.2 points, up from 22.9%.The 9.6 percentage point gap between London and the North East, and between London and the East Midlands, is the largest between these pairs of regions since the present system of grading began in 2010, according to Press Association analysis of results data.– Some 30.7% of entries in Northern Ireland received A or A*, up year-on-year from 30.3%; this was higher than the equivalent figure for Wales (29.6%, up from 29.5%) and England (28.3%, up from 28.2%).– Boys have extended their lead over girls in the top grades.The proportion of boys’ entries awarded A or A* this year was 28.9%, 0.9 percentage points higher than the equivalent figure for girls’ entries (28.0%).Last year, boys led girls by 0.2 percentage points (28.4% for boys, 28.2% for girls)It is the second year in a row that boys have led girls in entries getting A or above, following a period from 2020-24 when girls were ahead.– Boys have also extended their lead over girls in the highest grade, A*.The proportion of boys’ entries awarded A* this year was 10.2%, 1.1 points higher than girls (9.1%).Read MoreLast year, boys led girls by 0.8 percentage points (9.9% for boys, 9.1% for girls).Boys led girls at A* from 2012 through to 2019, before girls moved in front during the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22, after which boys reclaimed a lead in 2023.– The most popular subject this year was maths, for the 13th year in a row. It had 115,380 entries, up 3.9% from 111,033 in 2025.About one in eight of all A-level entries this year were for maths.Psychology is once again the second most popular subject, with biology remaining in third place and chemistry in fourth.Economics has entered the top five most popular subjects for the first time, ranking in fifth place and up from 10th last year.It replaces business studies, which has dropped from fifth to sixth.– A total of 906,425 A-levels were awarded this year, up 2.7% on last year’s 882,653.