One in five GCSE students get top marks but pass rates fall
One in five GCSE students is set to celebrates after receiving top grades - despite the overall pass rate falling again across the UK.
Listen to this article
The dip follows the impact of Covid, with 67.4% of students receiving grades of 4 or C or above across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Teenagers who moved from primary to secondary school in the middle of the pandemic woke up to their GCSE results.
Pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their GCSE and level 2 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) grades on Thursday, helping them progress on to sixth form, college or training.
The proportion of entries receiving the top grades has risen from last year and remains higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total of 21.9% of entries were awarded grade 7/A or above, up slightly from 21.8% in 2024 and higher than 20.8% in 2019.
Read more: GCSE cohort receiving results ‘undoubtedly affected by Covid disruption’
Some 67.4% of entries received a grade 4/C or above.
This is down from 67.6% last year but higher than 67.3% in 2019.
The results could see teenagers could face more competition for sixth form places this summer.
London and south-east England have seen larger year-on-year falls in the GCSE pass rate than all other regions, the 2025 exam figures show.
Some 71.6% of entries in London were awarded grade 4 or above this year, which is considered a standard pass.This is the highest for any region in England, but down nearly a full percentage point from 72.5% in 2024.
In south-east England the proportion has dropped from 70.4% to 70.0%.Most regions have seen a drop in the standard pass rate this year, though by a smaller margin.
Last year, more than a fifth (21.8%) of UK GCSE entries were awarded the top grades - at least a 7 or an A grade, down from 22.0% in 2023.
But it remained higher than in 2019 - the year before the Covid-19 pandemic - when 20.8% of UK GCSE entries scored the top grades.
The proportion of total female entries awarded grade 7/A or above this year was 24.5% - 5.1 percentage points higher than total male entries (19.4%).
This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least the year 2000, which is the earliest available archive data.
The move came after Covid-19 led to an increase in top GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.