The London boroughs with the best and worst A-level grades have been revealed.

Topping the table is Richmond upon Thames, where almost half (48.7 per cent) of A level entries received an A or A*, according to data published by Ofqual.

This was followed by Kingston (45.3%), Sutton (44.5%), Southwark (43.8%) and Newham (43.2%).

At the other end of the table, less than 20% of A level entries in Tower Hamlets (17.1%), Havering (17.5%), Islington (19.1%) and Barking & Dagenham (19.1%) received an A or A*.

The figures reveal stark disparities across the capital, with the proportion of top grades in Richmond nearly three times that of Tower Hamlets — a gap of 31.6 percentage points.

Merton appears to be London’s standout perform this year, recording the biggest improvement of any borough. The proportion of A/A* grades climbed 3.6 percentage points, from 37.1% to 40.7%, propelling Merton into London’s top nine.

Haringey also recorded a remarkable rise, with top grades increasing 3.3 percentage points, from 39.8% to 43.1%, placing the borough sixth in the capital.

Camden, on the other hand, saw the largest decline falling from 32.1% to 30.5%.

Guildford in Surrey tops the list for England as a whole, with some 50.0% of exam entries within the local authority this year awarded A or A*, up from 48.8% in 2025.

Across the country, only one of the top 10 areas is outside southern England: Trafford in Greater Manchester, which is joint seventh on the list with 45.1%.

The area with the lowest proportion of A-level entries getting an A or above this year is Harlow in Essex, on 7.0%, followed by Test Valley in Hampshire (9.9%), Hartlepool (10.5%) and Castle Point in Essex (11.8%).

Meanwhile, the gap between the proportion of entries in London getting the top grades and the equivalent figure in both the North East and the East Midlands has reached its largest ever size.

On Thursday, it was revealed that 32.7% of pupils collecting their grades in London were allocated A*- A classifications – a 0.6% increase compared to 2025.

The next best performing region, the South East, saw 31.5% of students achieve A*- A grades compared to 31.3% last year.

The East of England was third at 27.9% - a 0.1% drop on 2025. London grades were 9.6 percentage points ahead of the worst performing regions - the North East and East Midland. This is the biggest it has been since the present system of grading began in 2010.

No data has been published by Ofqual for Bolsover, Fareham, Knowsley and the Isles of Scilly, due to the low number of A-level entries.

The list is ordered by percentage, starting with the highest, and reads from left to right: name of local authority; proportion of entries receiving A or A* in 2026; proportion (in brackets) receiving A or A* in 2025.

Here is a full list by local area of the proportion of A-level entries awarded A or A*:

Richmond upon Thames 48.7% (49.5%)

Kingston upon Thames 45.3% (46.4%)

Sutton 44.5% (44.4%)

Southwark 43.8% (44.4%)

Newham 43.2% (40.8%)

Haringey 43.1% (39.8%)

Hammersmith & Fulham 43.0% (41.0%)

Westminster 42.7% (39.9%)

Merton 40.7% (37.1%)

Barnet 38.6% (37.3%)

Harrow 36.0% (34.5%)

Kensington & Chelsea 34.0% (31.9%)

Wandsworth 33.1% (32.6%)

Brent 32.4% (32.9%)

Ealing 31.3% (30.2%)

Camden 30.5% (32.1%)

Bromley 29.6% (29.8%)

Hackney 27.3% (26.2%)

Lewisham 27.1% (26.3%)

Croydon 26.1% (26.4%)

Lambeth 25.3% (25.5%)

Bexley 24.1% (23.2%)

Greenwich 23.6% (22.5%)

Redbridge 23.4% (23.5%)

Enfield 23.3% (23.7%)

Hillingdon 22.2% (22.5%)

Waltham Forest 21.9% (22.7%)

Hounslow 21.5% (20.8%)

Barking & Dagenham 19.1% (20.0%)

Islington 19.1% (19.6%)

Havering 17.5% (14.9%)

Tower Hamlets 17.1% (17.0%)