Pupils are jubilant after GCSE grades rose for a second year in a row, with top marks given to one in five entries – but pass rates for English and maths have dropped again to their lowest in a decade.

Boys are closing in on the lead that girls have had since 1989, with the gap reducing again this year to its narrowest point since 2000.

As hundreds of thousands of pupils picked up their GCSE results this morning, 22 per cent were awarded at least 7 or A, up from 21.9 per cent last year.

It means GCSE grading still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, as in 2019 the proportion was just 20.8 per cent.

While every UK nation apart from Scotland takes GCSEs, England now uses the grades 9 to 1, while Wales and Northern Ireland still use A* to G.

Grade 7 is roughly equivalent to A and grade 4 is broadly equivalent to C.

In 2024, 21.8 per cent of entries were at least 7/A, while in 2023 it was 22 per cent.

In England, the proportion graded 9 – considered to be a high A*, was 5 per cent, down from 5.1 last year and equal to 5 per cent in 2024.

The figures were published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents GCSE exam boards.

Most of the pupils receiving GCSE results this morning were in Year 5 when schools closed because of Covid-19, meaning their secondary education was not disrupted by the height of the pandemic. 

Across all nations, 67.3 per cent of pupils achieved grade 4/C or above, down from 67.4 per cent in 2025.

Grade 4/C is considered a 'standard pass' and is a basic requirement for many employers and universities.

By subject, 60 per cent passed in English language, down from 60.2 per cent last year – and 57.3 passed maths, down from 58.3 per cent last year. These pass rates are the lowest in a decade.

This is the second year pass rates have dropped in these subjects – likely caused by older pupils resitting them having previously failed to pass.

This year saw a rise in the number of 17-year-olds taking both subjects. 

In England, pupils who do not secure at least a grade 4 in English and/or maths GCSE are required to retake the subjects during post-16 education.

However, the Government is introducing a 'basic skills' alternative qualification for over-16s who fail, which in future people who score very low will be able to take instead.

This morning, the Education Secretary Lucy Powell pledged to crack down on the 'pernicious' system of GCSE resits which sees youngsters fail repeatedly.

She told The Times she wanted to end the resit 'treadmill of failure' which sees about 200,000 teenagers in England fail in both subjects repeatedly and never achieve the pass mark.

And she said more of those who receive a 2 or below are expected to be steered towards new stepping-stone qualifications called 'Level 1s'.

She later added on BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I'm going to be bringing in a new stepping stone qualification, as we're calling it, a level one… in maths and in English, so that there is an additional qualification that young people can work towards. And I want to work with employers to make sure that that qualification is credible, is respected, and that employers see that as sufficient or more than sufficient for young people to go on to do things like an apprenticeship in construction or health and social care.' 

Meanwhile, boys are doing better than last year – while girls are doing worse.

Some 19.6 per cent of boys got 7/A, compared with 24.4 per cent of girls – a gap of 4.8 percentage points.

Last year, 19.4 per cent of boys got 7/A, compared with 24.5 per cent of girls – a 5.1 percentage point gap.

Ms Powell said: 'Good luck to everyone receiving your results today, and huge thanks to the teachers and families who have helped to get you here.

'Whatever that piece of paper says, you should be proud of the hard work and commitment you've put in, and excited about what comes next.

'We will ensure every child has access to high-quality options whether that's academic, vocational, technical, creative or a mix.

'Everyone should have the chance to follow the path that's right for them and build a successful career.'

The figures also revealed regional divides widening, raising concerns that some areas of the country are being left behind.

The gap in top grades between London – the best performing region – and the North East – the worst performing – has widened to a record high of 10.9 percentage points up from 10.6 last year.

In north-west England, 18.9 per cent of entries received grade 7 or above, up slightly from 18.8 per cent in 2025.

The gap between London and the North West has widened to 9.7 points from 9.6 in 2025, close to the recent record of 9.9 points in 2024.

In London 28.6 per cent of entries were graded at 7/A or above, while in the North West it was 18.9 per cent.

There has also been a widening of the gap between London and both the East and West Midlands, to the largest size since at least 2010.

In the East Midlands, 18.2 per cent of entries received grade 7 or above, 10.4 points behind London (up from 10.3 points in 2025), while in the West Midlands it was 18.3 per cent of entries, 10.3 points behind London (up from 9.9).

The regional patterns are more varied for GCSE entries awarded grade 4 or above.

London again has the highest rate at 71.7 per cent, up from 71.6 per cent in 2025, but here it is the West Midlands that has the lowest figure, at 62.4 per cent, down from 62.9 per cent.

South-west England saw the largest percentage-point drop, falling from 69.1 per cent to 68.3 per cent.

The gap has narrowed between the capital and north-east England, from 6.7 points to 6.5, with the North East seeing a rise in entries awarded grade 4 or above from 64.9 per cent to 65.2 per cent.

This year, JCQ is publishing results for each local authority for the first time.

Those figures show that although London has the highest regional rate for GCSEs awarded grade 7 or above, at 28.6 per cent, the local rates across the capital vary from a low of 19.0 per cent in Havering to a high of 43.4 per cent in Richmond upon Thames – a difference of 24.4 percentage points.

Local rates for top GCSE grades span an even greater range in north-west England, from 8.3 per cent in Knowsley to 39.7 per cent in Trafford, while eastern England has the greatest range of all, from a low of 10.2 per cent in Castle Point to a high of 53.5 per cent in Cambridge: a difference of 43.4 percentage points.

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: 'It is a damning indictment of 21st-century Britain that where you happen to grow up has such a profound impact on your educational and life chances.

'Something is fundamentally amiss when children with the same talents and potential face such different prospects simply because of where they happen to live.

'England's educational divide is a story of London increasingly pulling away from much of the rest of the country.

'But these broad regional divides conceal an even more troubling geography of opportunity: sometimes a few streets, or a different postcode, can make the difference between a life of opportunity and a life of overlooked talent.'

Chris Zarraga, director of Schools North East, added: 'There is not a North-South divide in the quality of schools, nor in the talent, potential or aspirations of young people.

'There is a structural divide in the circumstances and opportunities surrounding them. The regional results table is a map of that divide, not a map of school quality.

'Schools in the North East are working incredibly hard to overcome those circumstances. But schools cannot independently fix poverty, stretched public services, shortages in Send (special educational needs and disabilities) support, transport barriers, unequal access to enrichment or very different local economic opportunities.

'These inequalities are neither inevitable nor acceptable. The Government needs to treat them as a system challenge and address the conditions around schools as well as what happens inside them.

'Results day should reflect young people's potential and hard work, not the structural advantages or disadvantages of their postcode.'

At a national level, 31.7 per cent of entries in Northern Ireland received grade 7/A or higher, above the equivalent figure for England (21.8 per cent) and Wales (19.6 per cent).

For entries awarded 4/C or higher, Northern Ireland was ahead at 83.6 per cent, some way above England (67.0 per cent) and Wales (62.3 per cent).

Northern Ireland's lead is part of a long-running trend which experts have previously linked to the nation retaining the grammar school system. 

The rise in top grades overall across the UK may once again spark concerns about artificial grade inflation – although Ofqual, the regulator, insisted this has not played a part.

Grade inflation was rife during the New Labour years, when officials repeatedly insisted that pupils genuinely were getting cleverer every year.

The proportion of top grades rose every single year between 2002 and 2011.

However, after the Tories won the election in 2010 they instructed Ofqual to make sure the proportion getting these top grades remained roughly the same each year.

This is adjusted slightly for the ability of each cohort, which is measured by sample tests earlier in the year.

Roughly one in five have got A/7 grades over the last 15 years, but the pandemic frustrated the regulator's efforts because exam cancellations meant teachers decided grades – leading to massive inflation.

In 2020, the year Covid struck, 26.2 per cent of entries were A/7 – rising again to 28.9 per cent in 2021.

In 2022, exams were laid on again, with the regulator bringing grading halfway back to normal in a stepped return.

While grades have now been brought back down, they are still higher than before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the persistent gap between boys and girls will reignite debates over whether the nation is neglecting male pupils.

In a forecast report ahead of GCSEs this year, Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said he has called for many years 'without success' for the gender gap to be investigated. 

But the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB) said the disparities are not only present at GCSE level.

'Girls are consistently outperforming boys in education,' CPRMB research officer Martha Lucas said.

'The gap emerges in early years education by age five.

'It then continues into Sats and across GCSEs where a greater percentage of girls' entries will get a grade four or above, the standard pass level.'

She said it then continues into the final two years of school – with tens of thousands more A-levels taken this year by girls than boys.

'It's a continued pattern that really spans the educational journey,' Ms Lucas said.

She called it very concerning.

'When around a third of boys' entries to GCSE are consistently not meeting a grade 4 each year, which is the standard pass level, it is a massive concern,' she said.

'For a lot of employment meeting that grade 4 in maths and English is a barrier to finding that employment.

'This year, the number of male Neets (not in education, employment or training) hit more than 500,000.

'So boys are consistently leaving school without the qualifications nor education necessary for them to thrive in adult life – get a job, be in employment – and quite frankly that desperately needs to change.'

In a report last year, Professor Smithers said the talents of boys are not being developed as 'fully' as they could be, but this year he questioned whether girls might have an 'inherent advantage'.

'My first thought was that this was against the vibes of the time when the emphasis is on equality for women,' he continued.

'Since men generally come out on top in the workplace, why bother.

'More recently I have been thinking the unthinkable in these days when the cancel culture is in overdrive.

'The sex differences in education achievement are so regular and persistent that they could be inherent differences. This should be taken on board in any inquiry.'

Professor Elliot Major said: 'There's no single reason why boys do less well at school.

'Some of the gaps start very young, particularly around language and reading. As boys get older, things like reading habits, behaviour, engagement with school, peer pressure and attitudes about what it means to be a boy can all play a part.'

Last week, the opposite trend happened at A-level, with experts saying it is because no subject is compulsory – allowing pupils to play to their strengths.

Overall, 28.9 per cent of boys' A-level entries scored an A* or A this summer, compared with 28 per cent of their female classmates' entries – a gap of 0.9 percentage points.