GCSE results: hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland await grades – latest updates

The proportion of GCSE students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieving at least a grade 4 (equivalent to a C) has fallen slightly this year, to 67.3% from 67.4% in 2025. This is the same as the proportion recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.

While it is a minor decrease, it still means nearly a third of teenagers are not achieving basic English and maths skills when finishing school. In England , students who fail to reach a grade 4 or equivalent in English or maths GCSEs have to retake them.

More students aged 17 and above took English and maths this year, likely due to the resits policy in England. But results show the pass rate has worsened for this cohort, falling by 1.4 percentage points for English and 1.7 for maths compared with last year.