Research and analysis

Qualification results in England: summer 2026

Updated 20 August 2026

Applies to England

About Ofqual

Ofqual is the independent regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Our role is to maintain standards and confidence in regulated qualifications, helping to ensure that those qualifications reliably reflect the knowledge, skills and understanding students have demonstrated in their assessments.

Scope

Each summer, results for many general, vocational and technical qualifications are issued on results days. This year, results for many level 3 qualifications were issued on 13 August 2026 and results for many level 1/2 and level 2 qualifications were issued on 20 August 2026. This release shows figures relating to results issued on or around these dates.

Between 13 August 2026 and 19 August 2026, this release contained only figures relating to level 3 results. On 20 August 2026 it was updated to also include level 1/2 and level 2 results. The report includes figures for summer 2026. For comparison, the accompanying data tables also include all figures for qualification results in previous years from summer 2023.

The number of results issued is different from the number of students receiving results. Many students receive multiple results. Results for GCSE combined science are double-counted in this release, because the qualification is the size of 2 single GCSEs; students are only counted once.

This release only includes results issued to students in schools and colleges in England. For other areas of the UK or results issued at other points in the year, see related statistics.

The qualifications in scope of this release are:

• at level 3: AS and A Levels, tech levels, applied generals, and the Technical Qualification (TQ) within T Levels
• at level 1/2 and level 2: GCSEs, technical awards, and technical certificates

For GCSEs, AS and A Levels, and the TQ within T Levels, the reported results include passing grades and ungraded results (U). For tech levels, applied generals, technical awards and technical certificates, only passing grades are included.

For GCSEs, AS and A Levels, and the TQ within T Levels, this release includes results that were issued to students on results days. For tech levels, applied generals, technical awards and technical certificates, results issued between 1 March 2026 and 31 August 2026 are included; most results will have been issued on results days, but some are issued on-demand. Some included results are provisional and will be issued to students after the publication of this release.

This release does not include results for the overall T Level. Ofqual only regulates the TQ, which comprises the core and occupational specialism components of an overall T Level. For overall T Level results, see the T Level results published by the Department for Education.

The vocational and technical qualifications included in this release are only qualifications that appear on the Department for Education’s performance table lists, namely tech levels, applied generals, technical awards, and technical certificates. Results for other vocational and technical qualifications are also issued each summer and all year round and are reported in the vocational and other qualifications quarterly release.

Figures in this release can differ slightly from other results statistics such as those published by the Department for Education on its Explore Education Statistics platform and exam results data by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Differences are explained in the related statistics section below.

Changes to methodology

We take a more conservative approach where students’ age or sex is not clearly reported to us. A very small number of students with uncertain age or sex are now excluded from age or sex breakdowns. They are still included in the total number of students. Because of this, there can be small differences in sex and age breakdowns compared with figures published last year.

We have changed how some subjects are presented. This aligns with changes made by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) in 2026. Some subjects that used to be combined are now reported separately. For example, what was reported previously as A Level mathematics is now reported separately as mathematics and statistics. This change applies to the data for the current year and previous years. Where subject presentation has changed, the figures are different from what was published last year.

Key headlines

This summer, 7.2 million results were issued in England for level 3, level 1/2 and level 2 general and vocational and technical performance table qualifications (GCSEs, AS, A Levels, technical certificates, technical awards, applied generals, and tech levels). This includes 1.1 million results for level 3 qualifications and 6.1 million results for level 1/2 and level 2 qualifications. For vocational and technical performance table qualifications this only includes results at pass or above.

On 13 August 2026, 48,835 results were issued for AS and 835,950 results were issued for A Levels and on 20 August 2026, 5,720,045 results were issued for GCSEs.

For vocational and technical performance table qualifications, between 1 March and 31 August 2026 a total of 595,490 results at pass or above were issued, including:

• 195,190 results for applied generals (level 3)
• 25,905 results for tech levels (level 3)
• 11,185 results for technical certificates (level 2)
• 363,210 results for technical awards (level 1/2 and level 2)

This summer, 320,505 students in 2,835 schools and colleges received results for A Levels, and 1,047,750 students in 6,040 schools and colleges received results for GCSEs.

This summer, 19,860 students received results for the TQ within T Levels. Ofqual does not regulate or collect data on the industry placement, which is also part of the overall T Level. This is why the number of students receiving results for the TQ within T Levels can differ from overall T Level results.

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Number of results issued by type of qualification

Between 1 March and 31 August 2026, 221,095 results for level 3 tech levels and applied generals, and 374,395 results for level 1/2 and level 2 technical awards and technical certificates were issued. On 13 August 2026, 884,785 results for AS and A Levels were issued and on 20 August 2026, 5,720,045 results for GCSEs were issued.

This summer, 320,505 students received results for A Levels and 1,047,750 students received results for GCSEs. Student counts are based on unique student identifiers; see the contextual information. Student counts for vocational and technical performance table qualifications are not possible because student identifiers are not consistent.

This summer, 19,860 students received results for the TQ within T Levels. Ofqual does not regulate or collect data on the industry placement, which is also part of the overall T Level. This is why the number of students receiving results for the TQ within T Levels can differ from overall T Level results.

See the accompanying data tables for previous years.

Level 3 qualifications

Table 1. Number of results issued for level 3 qualifications by type of qualification

Qualification level	Type of qualification	Number of awarding organisations issuing results	Number of qualifications with results issued	Number of results issued
Level 3	A Level	4	137	835,950
Level 3	AS	4	95	48,835
Level 3	Applied generals	6	112	195,190
Level 3	Tech levels	10	100	25,905
Level 3	All	13	444	1,105,880

In table 1, the total number of awarding organisations issuing results does not equal the sum across types of qualification, because a single awarding organisation can issue results for more than one type of qualification.

TQ within T Levels

Table 2 shows the number of results issued for the core and occupational specialism components of the TQ within T Levels. This table includes all results issued this academic year. Because students can take the core and occupational specialism components in different years, this table includes the number of results for all students, irrespective of whether or not they are completing their T Level this summer.

Table 2. Number of results issued for TQ components within T Levels

Qualification level	Component	Number of awarding organisations issuing results	Number of qualifications with results issued	Number of results issued
Level 3	Core	4	22	23,600
Level 3	Occupational specialism	3	21	19,730

Level 1/2 and level 2 qualifications

Table 3. Number of results issued for level 1/2 and level 2 qualifications by type of qualification

Qualification level	Type of qualification	Number of awarding organisations issuing results	Number of qualifications with results issued	Number of results issued
Level 1/2 and level 2	GCSE	4	130	5,720,045
Level 1/2 and level 2	Technical award	6	45	363,210
Level 2	Technical certificates	8	40	11,185
Level 1/2 and level 2	All	11	215	6,094,440

In table 3, the total number of awarding organisations issuing results does not equal the sum across types of qualification, because a single awarding organisation can issue results for more than one type of qualification.

Focus: A Levels

See the accompanying data tables for additional figures, such as numbers of students or results alongside the percentages and figures for previous years.

See the contextual information for details on how to interpret the figures.

For further breakdowns of results issued by subject and sex, see the JCQ exam results data. Figures in this release can differ slightly from those published by JCQ, as explained in related statistics.

Number of students by subject

Table 4 shows the 5 subjects with the most students receiving results. The percentage of male and female students is shown for each subject.

Ofqual groups qualifications according to subject groupings established by JCQ.

Student counts are based on unique student identifiers; see the contextual information. There can be a small percentage of students for whom sex is unknown or missing. Because of that, the percentages of male and female students do not always add up to 100%.

More detailed subject breakdowns can also be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: A Level: subject combinations and outcomes.

Table 4. Top 5 subjects with the most students receiving results

Subject	Number of students receiving results	Percentage male	Percentage female
Mathematics	107,300	63.1%	36.8%
Psychology	76,100	24.6%	75.4%
Biology	68,005	35.1%	64.9%
Chemistry	61,050	43.4%	56.5%
Economics	45,915	69.6%	30.4%

Number of A Levels taken by student age

This summer, 320,505 students received results for A Levels. Students took 3 A Levels on average. Students aged 18 years (the most common age to take A Levels) took 3 A Levels on average.

Table 5 shows the percentage of students of all ages and of 18-year-old students by number of A Levels taken.

Table 5. Percentage of all students and 18-year-old students by number of A Levels taken

Number of A Levels taken	Number of students of all ages	Percentage of students of all ages	Number of 18-year-old students	Percentage of 18-year-old students
1	42,155	13.2%	29,980	10.4%
2	57,510	17.9%	50,550	17.5%
3	204,810	63.9%	193,275	66.9%
4	15,830	4.9%	14,975	5.2%
5 or more	205	Less than 0.1%	170	Less than 0.1%

Students achieving all A* grades by number of A Levels taken

Table 6 shows the percentage of 18-year-old students achieving A* grades in all their A Levels.

Table 6. Percentage of 18-year-old students achieving all A* grades by number of A Levels taken

Number of A Levels taken	Number of 18-year-old students	Number of 18-year-old students achieving all A* grades	Percentage of all 18-year-old students achieving all A* grades
1	29,980	675	2.3%
2	50,550	450	0.9%
3	193,275	4,195	2.2%
4	14,975	1,900	12.7%
5 or more	170	25	15.8%

Students achieving all A* grades by sex

Table 7 shows the percentage of male and female 18-year-old students achieving A* grades in all their A Levels taken.

The number of students corresponding to the percentages shown below can be found in the accompanying data tables.

Table 7. Percentage of male and female 18-year-old students achieving all A* grades by number of A Levels taken

Number of A Levels taken	Percentage of female 18-year-old students achieving all A* grades	Percentage of male 18-year-old students achieving all A* grades
1	2.7%	1.7%
2	0.9%	0.9%
3	2.1%	2.3%
4	10.9%	13.7%
5 or more	14.0%	17.0%

A Level outcomes by region

Table 8 shows the percentage of A Level results at grade A and above and grade C and above, for all subjects combined, compared across regions of England.

Regional results by subject, county and unitary authority, and local authority district can also be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: A Level: grade outcomes by administrative areas in England. Figures in the interactive visualisation can differ slightly from the figures reported here. This is because of a small difference in how we assign schools and colleges to regions. The school or college’s region always comes from the National Centre Number (NCN) register. In this release, we use the digits that indicate region in the National Centre Number itself. In the visualisation, regions are assigned using the postcode of the school or college’s address.

Table 8. Percentage of A Level results at grade A and above and grade C and above by region, all subjects combined

Region	Number of results	Percentage of results at grade A and above	Percentage of results at grade C and above
North East	25,990	23.1%	75.8%
North West	92,840	26.5%	78.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber	63,950	25.7%	78.1%
East Midlands	61,965	23.1%	73.5%
West Midlands	81,530	24.2%	74.6%
East of England	98,595	27.9%	77.9%
London	168,505	32.7%	80.5%
South East	166,940	31.5%	79.5%
South West	75,630	27.1%	77.9%
England	835,950	28.3%	78.1%

A Level outcomes by type of school or college

Awarding organisations report where a student sat their exam with a centre identifier that comes from the National Centre Number (NCN) register. Schools and colleges self-report their centre type by choosing a single category from the list. These categories are not mutually exclusive. This means the accuracy of table 9 below depends on how accurately schools and colleges have classified themselves. Table 9 is based on the centre types in the NCN register, with one exception. Some selective schools listed in other categories on the NCN register were moved to the ‘grammar school’ category to improve the accuracy of this centre type. The category ‘all state-funded’ includes all centre types except those that self-categorised as ‘independent’ or ‘other’.

Table 9 shows the percentage of results at grade A and above and grade C and above by these centre types. More detailed breakdowns can also be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: A Level: outcomes by centre type.

Table 9. Percentage of A Level results at grade A and above and grade C and above by centre type, all subjects combined

Centre type (self-reported)	Number of results	Percentage of results at grade A and above	Percentage of results at grade C and above
Academies	318,030	23.5%	75.8%
Free school	18,255	27.0%	76.3%
Further education establishment	51,280	12.8%	63.8%
Grammar schools	83,585	43.4%	88.4%
Local authority maintained secondary comprehensive schools	94,270	23.0%	76.3%
Secondary modern schools	21,460	22.4%	73.6%
Sixth form college	125,805	25.6%	78.1%
All state-funded	712,685	25.4%	76.8%
Independent or private school including city technology colleges (CTCs)	107,940	48.6%	89.4%
Other	15,325	20.4%	57.8%

Focus: TQ components within T Levels

The Technical Qualification (TQ) comprises the core and occupational specialism components of an overall T Level. For overall T Level outcomes, please see T Level results published by the Department for Education.

In table 10 and table 11, results are only included for students who are expected to complete their T Level this summer and have received a grade for both the occupational specialism and core component. Core results for students expected to complete this summer might have been issued in previous years.

More detailed breakdowns including by T Level pathway can be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: T Level Technical Qualification (TQ) outcomes.

Table 10. Occupational specialism: Percentage of results at each grade and above for students who are expected to complete their T Level this summer

Occupational specialism grade	Percentage of results
Distinction	18.3%
Merit and above	71.8%
Pass and above	95.4%

Table 11. Core: Percentage of results at each grade and above for students who are expected to complete their T Level this summer

Core grade	Percentage of results
A*	0.6%
A and above	7.1%
B and above	25.0%
C and above	55.2%
D and above	85.4%
E and above	98.7%

Focus: Applied generals and tech levels

Applied generals and tech levels are level 3 qualifications that appear on the Department for Education’s (DfE) 16 to 18 qualifications performance table lists.

See the contextual information for details on how to interpret the figures.

Figures in this release differ from those published by JCQ, as explained in related statistics.

More detailed breakdowns by subject area, grading structure, student sex and student age can be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: PTQ level 3 outcomes.

Number of results issued by subject area

For vocational and technical performance table qualifications, Ofqual groups qualifications according to 15 different sector subject areas (SSA).

Tables 12a and 12b show, for each type of qualification, the sector subject areas which had the most results issued. The percentage of results issued by sex (male and female) is presented for each sector subject area.

See the accompanying data tables for full breakdowns, including figures for previous years.

There can be a small percentage of results where the student’s sex is unknown or missing. Because of that, the percentage of results by sex (male and female) does not always add up to 100%.

Table 12a. Applied generals: Number of results issued by sector subject area (SSA)

Qualification level	Type of qualification	SSA	Number of results	Percentage of results issued to male students	Percentage of results issued to female students
Level 3	Applied generals	Business, Administration and Law	49,145	56.6%	43.4%
Level 3	Applied generals	Social Sciences	41,085	27.8%	72.2%
Level 3	Applied generals	Leisure, Travel and Tourism	27,120	64.5%	35.4%
Level 3	Applied generals	Science and Mathematics	26,635	36.8%	63.2%
Level 3	Applied generals	Health, Public Services and Care	23,520	7.7%	92.3%
Level 3	Applied generals	All other SSAs combined	27,680	66.0%	34.0%
Level 3	Applied generals	Total	195,190	44.4%	55.6%

Table 12b. Tech levels: Number of results issued by sector subject area (SSA)

Qualification level	Type of qualification	SSA	Number of results	Percentage of results issued to male students	Percentage of results issued to female students
Level 3	Tech levels	Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care	8,080	23.0%	77.0%
Level 3	Tech levels	Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies	3,985	90.2%	9.7%
Level 3	Tech levels	Construction, Planning and the Built Environment	3,730	94.8%	5.2%
Level 3	Tech levels	Arts, Media and Publishing	3,435	59.7%	39.8%
Level 3	Tech levels	Digital Technology	3,030	82.1%	17.9%
Level 3	Tech levels	All other SSAs combined	3,645	38.5%	61.5%
Level 3	Tech levels	Total	25,905	57.6%	42.3%

Outcomes by grading structure

Different qualifications use different grading structures. Results in table 13 and table 14 are presented separately for qualifications with different grading structures.

Top grade means the highest grade possible within the grading structure. For example, in a PPP (triple pass) to D*D*D* (triple distinction star) structure, D*D*D* would be the top grade.

Different grading structures and different numbers of available grades mean that the top grade can represent different ranges of achievement. This should be taken into account when interpreting the total percentage of results at top grade(s) in table 14 and table 15. For example, a D* in a P, M, D, D* structure may reflect a wider range of achievement than a D*D*D* does in the more granular PPP to D*D*D* structure, but these will both be reported as a ‘top grade’.

Results issued between 1 March and 31 August 2026 are included.

Table 13. Applied generals: number of results issued and number of top grades by grading structure

Grading structure	Number of results	Number of top grades issued	Percentage of results at the top grade(s)
E, D, C, B, A, A*	25,835	890	3.4%
E, D, C, B, A	16,010	2,150	13.4%
P, M, D, D*	103,010	13,580	13.2%
PP, MP, MM, DM, DD, D*D, D*D*	15,660	1,400	8.9%
PPP, MPP, MMP, MMM, DMM, DDM, DDD, D*DD, D*D*D, D*D*D*	33,120	1,560	4.7%
Pass, High Pass, Merit, High Merit, Distinction	1,550	165	10.6%
Total	195,190	19,745	10.1%

Table 14. Tech levels: number of results issued and number of top grades by grading structure

Grading structure	Number of results	Number of top grades issued	Percentage of results at the top grade(s)
D, C, B, A, A*	1,755	150	8.5%
P, M, D	340	95	28.4%
P, M, D, D*	11,785	1,390	11.8%
PP, MP, MM, DM, DD, D*D, D*D*	4,375	700	16.0%
PPP, MPP, MMP, MMM, DMM, DDM, DDD, D*DD, D*D*D, D*D*D*	7,365	455	6.2%
Pass, High Pass, Merit, High Merit, Distinction	285	30	10.5%
Total	25,905	2,825	10.9%

Focus: GCSEs

See the accompanying data tables for numbers of students alongside the percentages and for previous years.

See the contextual information for details on how to interpret the figures.

For further breakdowns of results issued by subject and sex, see the JCQ exam results data. Figures in this release can differ slightly from those published by JCQ, as explained in related statistics.

Number of students by subject

Table 15 shows the 5 subjects with the most students receiving results. The percentage of male and female students is shown for each subject.

Ofqual groups qualifications according to subject groupings established by JCQ.

Student counts are based on unique student identifiers; see the contextual information. There can be a small percentage of students for whom sex is unknown or missing. Because of that, the percentages of male and female students do not always add up to 100%.

Elsewhere in this release, results for GCSE combined science are double counted, because the qualification is the size of 2 single GCSEs; students receiving results in GCSE combined science are only counted once.

More detailed subject breakdowns can also be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: GCSE: subject combinations and outcomes.

Table 15. Top 5 subjects with the most students receiving results

Subject	Number of students receiving results	Percentage male	Percentage female
Mathematics	851,250	49.8%	50.1%
English language	819,260	52.3%	47.7%
English literature	613,550	50.5%	49.5%
Combined science	471,390	50.4%	49.6%
History	289,660	49.4%	50.6%

Number of GCSEs taken by student age

This summer, 1,047,750 students received results for GCSEs. Students took 5 GCSEs on average. Students aged 16 years (the most common age to take GCSEs), took 8 GCSEs on average.

Table 16 shows the percentage of students of all ages and 16-year-old students by number of GCSEs taken.

Table 16. Percentage of all students and 16-year-old students by number of GCSEs taken

Number of GCSEs taken	Percentage of students of all ages	Percentage of 16-year-old students
1	25.4%	1.4%
2	11.9%	2.3%
3	1.6%	1.9%
4	1.5%	2.0%
5	2.2%	3.1%
6	4.5%	6.9%
7	10.3%	16.1%
8	16.6%	25.8%
9	18.2%	28.4%
10	7.0%	10.9%
11	0.8%	1.3%
12 or more	Less than 0.1%	Less than 0.1%

Student outcomes by number of GCSEs taken

Table 17 shows the percentage of 16-year-old students achieving a grade 4 or above, a grade 7 or above or a grade 9 in all their GCSEs by the number of GCSEs taken. The number of students corresponding to the percentages shown below can be found in the accompanying data tables.

Table 17. Percentage of 16-year-old students achieving all grade 9, all grade 7 or above and all grade 4 or above by number of GCSEs taken

Number of GCSEs taken	Number of 16-year-old students	Percentage of 16-year-old students achieving all grade 9	Percentage of 16-year-old students achieving all grade 7 or above	Percentage of 16-year-old students achieving all grade 4 or above
1	9,085	13.4%	29.4%	53.5%
2	15,440	6.3%	22.0%	40.5%
3	12,530	5.5%	23.7%	47.6%
4	13,210	3.1%	15.0%	40.1%
5	20,470	1.2%	8.0%	28.9%
6	46,105	0.4%	3.1%	24.7%
7	107,640	0.1%	1.8%	27.6%
8	172,590	0.1%	2.5%	37.0%
9	189,610	0.2%	5.7%	53.0%
10	73,205	0.8%	16.0%	75.0%
11	8,670	1.0%	21.0%	83.5%
12 or more	240	[c]	20.7%	80.5%

[c] Percentages have been suppressed for confidentiality

Student outcomes by sex

Table 18 shows the percentage of male and female 16-year-old students achieving a grade 4 or above, a grade 7 or above or a grade 9 in all their GCSEs. The figures only include 16-year-old students who took 7 or more GCSEs (551,950). The number of students corresponding to the percentages shown below can be found in the accompanying data tables.

Table 18. Percentage of female and male 16-year-old students achieving all grade 4 or above, all grade 7 or above, and all grade 9 for students taking 7 or more GCSEs

Grades achieved in 7 or more GCSEs	Percentage of 16-year-old students	Percentage of female 16-year-old students	Percentage of male 16-year-old students
All grade 4 or above	46.5%	51.1%	41.9%
All grade 7 or above	5.6%	6.7%	4.4%
All grade 9	0.2%	0.3%	0.2%

GCSE outcomes by region

Table 19a and table 19b show the percentage of GCSE results at grade 7 and above and grade 4 and above for all subjects combined, compared across regions of England. Table 19a includes all results. Table 19b only includes results issued to 16-year-old students.

Regional results by subject, county and unitary authority, and local authority district can also be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: GCSE: grade outcomes by administrative areas in England. Figures in the interactive visualisation can differ slightly from the figures reported here. This is because of a small difference in how we assign schools and colleges to regions. The school or college’s region always comes from the National Centre Number (NCN) register. In this release, we use the digits that indicate region in the National Centre Number itself. In the visualisation, regions are assigned using the postcode of the school or college’s address.

Table 19a. Percentage of GCSE results at grade 7 and above and grade 4 and above by region, all subjects combined

Region	Number of results	Percentage of results at grade 7 and above	Percentage of results at grade 4 and above
North East	237,520	17.7%	65.2%
North West	767,215	18.9%	63.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber	549,185	19.0%	64.2%
East Midlands	486,965	18.2%	65.0%
West Midlands	631,225	18.3%	62.4%
East of England	657,355	22.0%	67.6%
London	905,140	28.6%	71.7%
South East	967,950	24.5%	69.9%
South West	517,495	21.0%	68.3%
England	5,720,045	21.8%	67.0%

Table 19b. Percentage of GCSE results at grade 7 and above and grade 4 and above by region, only results issued to 16-year-old students, all subjects combined

Region	Number of results issued to 16-year-old students	Percentage of results at grade 7 and above	Percentage of results at grade 4 and above
North East	217,070	19.0%	69.0%
North West	688,280	20.1%	67.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber	489,775	20.6%	69.0%
East Midlands	445,495	19.4%	68.6%
West Midlands	565,825	19.7%	66.6%
East of England	607,320	23.1%	70.7%
London	809,370	30.2%	75.5%
South East	883,500	25.8%	73.2%
South West	474,310	22.2%	71.5%
England	5,180,940	23.1%	70.7%

GCSE outcomes by type of school or college

Awarding organisations report where a student sat their exam with a centre identifier that comes from the National Centre Number (NCN) register. Schools and colleges self-report their centre type by choosing a single category from the list. These categories are not mutually exclusive. This means the accuracy of table 20 below depends on how accurately schools and colleges have classified themselves. Table 20 is based on the centre types in the NCN register, with one exception. Some selective schools listed in other categories on the NCN register were moved to the ‘grammar school’ category to improve the accuracy of this centre type. The category ‘all state-funded’ includes all centre types except those that self-categorised as ‘independent’ or ‘other’.

Table 20 shows the percentage of results at grade 7 and above, and grade 4 and above by centre type. More detailed breakdowns can also be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: GCSE: outcomes by centre type.

Table 20. Percentage of GCSE results at grade 7 and above and grade 4 and above by centre type, all subjects combined

Centre type (self-reported)	Number of results	Percentage of results at grade 7 and above	Percentage of results at grade 4 and above
Academies	3,189,275	19.7%	68.2%
Free school	159,235	21.7%	68.2%
Further education establishment	351,225	1.3%	17.6%
Grammar schools	266,265	63.2%	97.4%
Local authority maintained secondary comprehensive schools	1,129,615	20.1%	68.6%
Secondary modern schools	279,085	16.8%	64.9%
Sixth form college	30,135	3.9%	32.2%
All state-funded	5,404,835	20.6%	66.1%
Independent or private school including city technology colleges (CTCs)	268,760	47.1%	88.4%
Other	46,450	14.8%	53.1%

Focus: Technical award and technical certificate results

Technical awards are level 1/2 and level 2 qualifications that appear on the Department for Education’s (DfE) Key Stage 4 performance table lists. Technical certificates are level 2 qualifications and appear on the Department for Education’s (DfE) 16 to 18 qualifications performance table lists.

See the contextual information for details on how to interpret the figures.

Figures in this release differ from those published by JCQ, as explained in related statistics.

More detailed breakdowns by subject area, grading structure, student sex and student age can be found in the interactive visualisation on Ofqual Analytics: PTQ level 1/2 outcomes.

Number of results issued by subject area

For vocational and technical performance table qualifications, Ofqual groups qualifications according to 15 different sector subject areas (SSA).

Tables 21a and 21b show, for each type of qualification, the sector subject areas which had the most results issued. The percentage of results issued by sex (male and female) is presented for each sector subject area. See the accompanying data tables for full breakdowns, including figures for previous years.

There can be a small percentage of results where the student’s sex is unknown or missing. Because of that, the percentage of results by sex (male and female) does not always add up to 100%.

Table 21a. Technical awards: Number of results issued by sector subject area (SSA)

Qualification level	Type of qualification	SSA	Number of results	Percentage of results issued to male students	Percentage of results issued to female students
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	Leisure, Travel and Tourism	84,375	70.0%	29.8%
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	Health, Public Services and Care	75,220	7.4%	92.6%
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	Arts, Media and Publishing	62,575	52.3%	47.7%
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	Retail and Commercial Enterprise	45,520	43.4%	56.5%
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	Business, Administration and Law	32,845	64.6%	35.4%
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	All other SSAs combined	62,670	81.7%	18.2%
Level 1/2 and Level 2	Technical award	Total	363,210	52.2%	47.8%

Table 21b. Technical certificates: Number of results issued by sector subject area (SSA)

Qualification level	Type of qualification	SSA	Number of results	Percentage of results issued to male students	Percentage of results issued to female students
Level 2	Technical certificates	Construction, Planning and the Built Environment	4,600	96.7%	3.3%
Level 2	Technical certificates	Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care	4,215	31.3%	68.7%
Level 2	Technical certificates	Health, Public Services and Care	575	13.2%	86.8%
Level 2	Technical certificates	Digital Technology	565	86.5%	13.5%
Level 2	Technical certificates	Business, Administration and Law	555	66.7%	33.3%
Level 2	Technical certificates	All other SSAs combined	675	47.0%	52.9%
Level 2	Technical certificates	Total	11,185	62.7%	37.2%

Outcomes by grading structure

Different qualifications use different grading structures. Results in table 22 and table 23 are presented separately for qualifications with different grading structures.

Top grade means the highest grade possible within the grading structure. Different grading structures and different numbers of available grades mean that the top grade can represent different ranges of achievement. For example, in a L1P (level 1 pass) to L2D* (level 2 distinction star) structure, L2D* would be the top grade. This should be taken into account when interpreting the total percentage of results at top grade(s) in table 20 and table 21.

All qualifications with the P, M, D, D* grading structure are level 2, so all grades represent a level 2 achievement.

Results issued between 1 March and 31 August 2026 are included.

Table 22. Technical awards: number of results issued and number of top grades by grading structure

Grading structure	Number of results	Number of top grades issued	Percentage of results at the top grade(s)
L1P, L1M, L1D, L1D*, L2P, L2M, L2D, L2D*	62,925	2,335	3.7%
L1P, L1M, L1D, L2P, L2M, L2D, L2D*	299,000	13,180	4.4%
P, M, D, D*	1,290	20	1.6%
Total	363,210	15,535	4.3%

Table 23. Technical certificates: number of results issued and number of top grades by grading structure

Grading structure	Number of results	Number of top grades issued	Percentage of results at the top grade(s)
P, M, D	775	105	13.3%
P, M, D, D*	9,185	520	5.6%
PP, MP, MM, DM, DD	1,225	105	8.7%
Total	11,185	725	6.5%

Technical awards by region

We assign regions for technical awards in a different way compared with GCSEs and A Levels. The data for technical awards does not always contain National Centre Numbers. Instead, we assign regions using the school or college’s postcode which is submitted to us by awarding organisations. This means the accuracy of table 24 depends on how accurately postcodes are reported to us.

Table 24: Technical awards: Number of results issued by region, all sector subject areas combined

Region	Number of results
North East	25,695
North West	55,230
Yorkshire and The Humber	52,480
East Midlands	33,625
West Midlands	50,005
East of England	38,025
London	27,235
South East	46,045
South West	34,875
England	363,210

Contextual information

For GCSEs, AS and A Levels, and the TQ within T Levels, all valid results issued on results days which include passing grades and ungraded results (U) are reported. For vocational and technical performance table qualifications only passing grades issued between 1 March and 31 August are included because fails are not consistently recorded by awarding organisations for all qualifications.

Results for GCSE combined science are double-counted in this release, because the qualification is the size of 2 single GCSEs; students are only counted once.

Outcomes representing the absence of a result (Q, X) are also issued on results days. The absence of a result can be due to ongoing malpractice investigations, students being absent from the assessment, or results being pending due to marks for one or more components not being available at the time of awarding (for example, due to a delay in moderation). These outcomes are not included in this release.

Results are different from certificates. The results issued on results days are provisional and may be changed, for example following a review or appeal. Certificates reflect the final record of achievement. Certificates are usually issued some time after results are issued. Because results are provisional when this release is published, the final number of certificates reported in future publications can be different.

Student counts are based on unique student identifiers. However, because data is provisional there can be mistakes, such as more than one student being reported with the same identifier. This can result in very small differences of up to 0.01% between the number of students per subject reported in this release and the number of results issued per subject reported in other publications.

Where figures compare student age groups, the age refers to students’ age at the end of the academic year on 31 August.

In this release, some figures compare male and female students. Ofqual does not collect this information directly but instead receives it from awarding organisations, who in turn receive it from schools and colleges. While we understand the majority of this data to relate to students’ legal sex, in some cases it might reflect students’ gender identity instead.

Data source

All data in this release is supplied directly to Ofqual by awarding organisations prior to results days. When Ofqual receives the data, some results may not have been fully processed. For comparability, data for previous years reported in the accompanying data tables also represents this snapshot of provisional data prior to results days.

Confidentiality and rounding

To ensure confidentiality, the data in this release and the accompanying data tables has been rounded in line with Ofqual’s rounding policy.

Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. If the value is below 5, it is represented as ‘fewer than 5’ and 0 represents zero values. Where individual rounded values have been presented in a table along with their sum total, the total may be slightly different to the sum of these individual rounded values because it has been calculated using the original unrounded values.

Percentages have been derived from unrounded values. Percentages have been rounded to one decimal place. Due to this rounding, percentages may not always add to up exactly 100%.

Related statistics

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) publishes exam results data for its member organisations on results days.

The Department for Education publishes a range of statistical releases throughout the year, including T Level results on level 3 results day, on its Explore Education Statistics platform.

Figures in this release can differ from those published by JCQ and the Department for Education.

JCQ publishes exam results data for its member organisations only and report figures for UK overall. Ofqual’s data covers JCQ member organisations and other awarding organisations and only covers results issued to students in England. The Department for Education statistics only relate to students at the end of Key Stage 4 or 16 to 19 study in schools and colleges. Ofqual data includes all students in England.

Also, Ofqual receives data directly from awarding organisations a little earlier than JCQ and the Department for Education. At that time, a small number of results are still being processed. This can lead to minor differences in the figures reported by Ofqual, the Department for Education and JCQ.

This release does not include results for the overall T Level. For overall T Level results, see T Level results published by the Department for Education. Ofqual only regulates the TQ, which comprises the core and occupational specialism components of an overall T Level. Ofqual does not regulate or collect data on the industry placement, which is also part of the overall T Level. This is why the number of students receiving results for the TQ within T Levels can differ from overall T Level results.

More detailed data breakdowns relating to results issued on results days is published on Ofqual Analytics:

• outcomes by subject and sex for GCSEs and A Levels, applied generals, tech levels, technical awards, and technical certificates
• outcomes by route and pathway for the TQ within T Levels
• outcomes by administrative areas in England for GCSEs and A Levels
• outcomes for subject combinations for GCSEs and A Levels
• centre variability in outcomes for GCSEs and A Levels
• outcomes by centre type for GCSEs and A Levels

Ofqual Analytics also has interactive visualisations covering qualifications not in scope of this release.

See Statistics at Ofqual for links to other statistical releases. For certificates issued across the year for GCSEs, AS and A Levels, and most vocational and technical qualifications, see our annual qualifications market report and vocational and other qualifications quarterly releases.

For statistics related to other UK regions, see publications by:

• CCEA Regulation (for Northern Ireland)
• Qualifications Scotland
• Qualifications Wales

Equalities analysis

Each year since 2020, Ofqual has published equalities analyses for qualification results issued in the summer series. We will do so again later this year.

The equalities analysis explores how the results for different groups of students have changed over time, when controlling for other variables, through a common statistical technique called multivariate regression modelling. By including prior attainment (and other variables) in the analysis we are able measure the impact of each student characteristic on qualification outcomes once all others have been held constant. Prior attainment is key to this analysis as it is the strongest predictor of achievements in these qualifications, and its inclusion allows for more accurate modelling of the effect size of other variables. Without the prior attainment data in our analysis, differences are likely to be wrongly attributed to other variables leading to a misleading picture.

We will publish this towards the end of the year as this complex analysis takes time to complete. As with last year, we cannot include analyses for level 1, level 1/2, and level 2 qualifications, including GCSEs. This is because prior attainment information from Key Stage 2 is not available. Key stage 2 assessments did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior attainment information is available for level 3 qualifications, including A Levels, so we will publish analyses for these qualifications.

Useful links

• Data tables accompanying this release
• GCSE and A Level grading: what you need to know
• Ofqual guide for schools and colleges
• Ofqual student guide to exams and assessments