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 slightly on last year, when 21.8% achieved the top grade
Thousands of students were celebrating on Thursday after the number of teenagers awarded top GCSE grades increased from last year.
National figures also showed a fall in the number of entries scoring a decent pass compared to 2024 but higher than the year before Covid struck. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said this cohort of students had shown “remarkable resilience” despite the disruption to their education.
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 slightly 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.
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The data also showed the gap between girls and boys at the top grades is at the narrowest point since 2000. While girls are still outperforming their male classmates in terms of both top grades and reaching at least a 4/C, their results dropped slightly this year.
Overall, 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, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications. Last year, 24.7% of girls’ entries scored one of the top grades, compared to 19.0% of those from boys: a 5.7 percentage point gap.
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 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.”
Those celebrating included a Ukrainian refugee who received special recognition for her art GCSE and achieved seven grade 9s and one 8 in total. Liza Minenko, 16, fled Ukraine in 2022 with her family after spending two weeks in a basement in Kyiv after the war broke out.
When her family arrived in the UK, Liza and her two siblings were given full scholarships by Brighton College. She said: “I was nervous, but I am so happy. I have mixed feelings. I want to go back to Ukraine but we are all really scared to go back to Kyiv. I haven’t seen my grandparents for years since the start of the war but I know they will be proud of what I have achieved today.”
Elsewhere, a young shepherd collected her GCSE results while accompanied by her sheep, Kevin. Milly Johnson, 16, who has won awards for sheep-handling, brought along the North Ronaldsay sheep to pick up her results from Tarleton Academy near Preston in Lancashire on Thursday. She said: “He’s my best friend and he comes pretty much everywhere with me.”
The latest figures also show that private schools have widened their lead slightly over their state school counterparts in terms of top grades. The gap in entries achieving at least a 7/A between private and state schools is now 28.6 points, up from 28.4 points last year.
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