The latest GCSE results reveal modest changes in overall performance, with notable regional and gender disparities across the United Kingdom. The proportion of entries awarded a grade 7 or A and above increased slightly to 22 percent, up from 21.9 percent in 2025. The share of entries achieving grade 4 or C and above remained nearly steady at 67.3 percent, compared with 67.4 percent last year.

Gender differences persist in attainment levels. Among female candidates, 24.4 percent of entries received grades 7/A or higher, compared to 19.6 percent for male candidates. Similarly, 70.2 percent of female entries earned grade 4/C or above, surpassing the 64.4 percent achieved by boys, marking a gender gap of 5.8 percentage points.

Regionally, London recorded the highest proportion of entries awarded grades 7/A or above at 28.6 percent, continuing its longstanding trend of strong academic performance. In contrast, North East England had the lowest at 17.7 percent, a slight decline from 17.8 percent the previous year. Northern Ireland outperformed both England and Wales in top-grade entries, with 31.7 percent awarded grades 7/A or higher, compared to 21.8 percent in England and 19.6 percent in Wales.

Subject entry figures highlight continued interest in the sciences, with the science double award remaining the most popular subject since its introduction in 2018, attracting 1,007,628 entries. At the other end of the spectrum, leisure and tourism, a subject specific to Northern Ireland, recorded the fewest entries, with just 232 candidates.

Overall, the total number of GCSE entries increased slightly by 0.6 percent to 6,199,256 from 6,160,034 in the previous year. These latest results underscore ongoing regional and gender disparities in attainment, as well as shifting patterns of subject choice.