GCSE results: Key numbers and trends

Here are the main numbers and trends in this year’s GCSE results:– The proportion of entries receiving the top grades has risen for the second year in a row and remains higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.A total of 22.0% of entries were awarded grade 7/A or above, up slightly from 21.9% in 2025 and higher than the 20.8% in 2019.– Some 67.3% of entries received a grade 4/C or above.This is down from 67.4% last year and is the same as 2019.It is the first time the figure for 4/C has returned to pre-pandemic levels.– The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 97.9%, unchanged from 2025 and below 98.3% in 2019.This is the lowest figure for entries receiving at least a grade 1/G for two decades, since 97.8% in 2005.– The longstanding lead enjoyed by girls over boys for the top grades has narrowed again.The proportion of total female entries awarded grade 7/A or above was 24.4%, 4.8 percentage points higher than the total for male entries (19.6%).This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least the year 2000, which is the earliest available archive data.Last year, girls led boys by 5.1 percentage points (24.5% girls, 19.4% boys).– The gap at grade 4/C has also narrowed.Some 70.2% of all female entries were awarded 4/C or higher, compared with 64.4% for boys, a lead of 5.8 points.This is the narrowest lead for girls at 4/C since at least 2000.Last year the figures were 70.5% for girls and 64.3% for boys, a lead of 6.2 points.– Across the regions of England, London saw the highest proportion of entries awarded grades of 7 or higher at 28.6%, up from 28.4% in 2025, while north-east England had the lowest at 17.7%, down from 17.8% last year.The gap between these two regions now stands at 10.9 percentage points, up from 10.6 points in 2025 and the largest since at least 2010.– Some 31.7% of entries in Northern Ireland received 7/A or higher, above the equivalent figure for England (21.8%) and Wales (19.6%).For entries awarded 4/C or higher, Northern Ireland again had the highest figure, at 83.6%, above England (67.0%) and Wales (62.3%).Read More– The subject with the most entries this year was the science double award, as has been the case since its introduction in 2018, with a total of 1,007,628 entries, up 2% on 2025.Because this is a double award, each entry for the subject is awarded two grades.– Maths remains the subject with the second largest number of entries, with 912,410 this year, up 2% on last year.English language ranks third, with 882,030 entries, a rise of 2%.– Among subjects with more than 100,000 entries, business studies had the largest percentage increase in entries this year, up 8% from 137,924 in 2025 to 148,747 in 2026.– Among subjects with fewer than 100,000 entries, statistics jumped by 11%, from 34,879 entries in 2025 to 38,770 this year.– Overall, there were 6,199,256 GCSE entries, up by 0.6% on last year’s figure of 6,160,034.