Top GCSE grades increase as boys narrow gap on girls

GCSE results this year have seen a slight rise in the proportion of top grades awarded, while the gap between girls and boys narrowed to its closest point this century.

- ELEANOR BUSBY, ALISON KERSHAW, IAN JONES

Students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland received their exam results yesterday. More than one in five (21.9 per cent) UK GCSE entries secured the highest marks - at least a grade 7 or an A – a marginal rise of 0.1 percentage points from last year's 21.8 per cent.

This figure also surpasses the 20.8 per cent recorded in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

The proportion of entries getting at least a 4 or a C grade – considered a “standard pass” – has fallen from 67.6 per cent in 2024 to 67.4 per cent this year – a drop of 0.2 percentage points.

However, this remains marginally higher than the 67.3 per cent seen in 2019. These national figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover all GCSE entries from the three nations.

Nearly a quarter (24.5 per cent) of girls' GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 7/A compared to almost a fifth of boys' entries (19.4 per cent) – a 5.1 percentage point gap. This is the narrowest lead enjoyed by girls since at least 2000, which is the earliest archive data available.