GCSE results show sharp decline
GCSE results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland have shown a sharp decline, with the proportion of A*-C grades dropping 2.1 per cent compared to last year.
A drop in pupils achieving a C or above was predicted before the results were released, due to the new policy that requires 17 year-olds to re-sit English and Maths if they got a D or lower the first time around.
Of the older pupils retaking exams, fewer than a third achieved a C or above, compared to 70 per cent of 16 year-olds taking the exams for the first time.
However, while the number of resits impacted the large fall in grades, the proportion of first time entries gaining A*-C was still down by 1.3 per cent compared to 2015.
The number of students achieving top grades also fell for the fifth year in a row, with the proportion gaining A or A* dropping 0.7 per cent to 20.5 per cent.
English and Maths saw some of the largest falls, with the proportion of pupils gaining A*-C in English falling 5.2 per cent to 60.2 per cent and maths dropping 2.3 percentage points.
Read moreLatest News
16/04/2026 - 12:03
Job adverts for secondary school teaching roles have dropped to their lowest level in nine years, raising fresh concerns about teacher recruitment in England.
16/04/2026 - 10:42
Ofqual has fined Cambridge OCR £270,000 for errors relating to A and AS Level physics exam papers in summer 2025.
15/04/2026 - 09:37
The government has announced the locations of 19 new Technical Excellence Colleges, backed by £175 million investment in skills training in priority areas.
14/04/2026 - 10:11
New research suggests that eight out of 10 people (80%) back banning cars in streets around schools to encourage children to travel by healthier alternatives.
14/04/2026 - 09:47
The government is proposing that schools appoint a lead governor with designated responsibility for school food, as part of its reforms to school food standards.
