Millions of young minds prepared to progress

• GCSE and vocational results stabilise following disruption during the pandemic with young people progressing on to A levels, T Levels or an apprenticeship
• Over 70% of GCSE entries from 16 years olds achieved a grade 4 or above and almost 370,000 vocational qualifications awarded
• Government pledges to go further and faster to address stubborn attainment gaps through its Plan for Change to tackle inequalities

Millions of pupils across the country are celebrating after receiving GCSE and other vocational and technical qualification (VTQs) results today (Thursday 21 August), as young people prepare to move on to the next stage of their education. 

The proportion of entries achieving top grades (grade 7 or above), and grade 4 are broadly consistent with last year, reflecting a stable picture following the disruption this cohort experienced during the pandemic.  

Students collecting results today will progress on to one of many high-quality education or training options including A levels, T Levels or exciting apprenticeship opportunities. 

There are now 20 high quality T Levels to choose from including Marketing, Health, and Digital giving young people the skills, knowledge and experience they need to progress. 

Despite the stability of results this year there are still wide variations between regions with pupils across the North West and West Midlands continuing to be held back compared to their peers in London, and historically poor outcomes year on year for pupils from white working-class backgrounds.  

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: 

“Behind every grade lies hours of dedication, resilience and determination and both students and teachers should feel an immense sense of pride in what they've achieved today. 

“But while results today are stable, once again we are seeing unacceptable gaps for young people in different parts of the country.  

“Where a young person grows up should not determine what they go on to achieve. Through our Plan for Change - from revitalised family services to higher school standards - I am absolutely determined to make sure every young person, wherever they live, has the opportunities they deserve.”  

The government has made tangible progress to fix the foundations of education through its Plan for Change – attendance is up, with over five million fewer days of absence this year compared to last, and teacher recruitment and retention is also up, with 2,300 more teachers in schools. 

New RISE teams are also shining a light on those areas of the country that are not delivering for pupils. This sits alongside wider work to tackle disadvantage including expanding free school to reach half a million more children and rolling out free breakfast clubs across the country.  Up to 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs will also be rolled out in every local authority by April 2026, revitalising family services and providing wide-ranging help for families, such as parenting and early development.

This builds on the government's drive to support more young people to gain the skills needed to build successful careers including investing £625 million to create up to 60,000 more bricklayers, electricians, and joiners by 2029 and establishing ten specialist Construction Technical Excellence Colleges.

This year results show that: 

• 23.0% of English 16-year-old entries achieved a grade 7 and above this year, a 0.3 percentage points increase on 2024 (22.6%) and an increase on 2019 (21.9%). 
• 70.5% of English 16-year-old entries achieved grade 4 and above, similar to 2024 (70.4%) and 0.6 percentage points higher than in 2019 (69.9%). 
• The proportion of 18- and 19-year-olds achieving a grade 4 or above in English and maths has risen – for both ages by around 2 percentage points for English and 1 percentage points for maths.   
• More students have entered Music this year with entries from 16-year-olds up 6.3% for Music GCSE and at the highest number since the pandemic ended.  
• For all ages, where the gaps between regions grew during the pandemic these have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels across both A levels and GCSEs.  
• This is particularly notable at Grade 4 where 72% of London students of all ages get a Grade 4 and above compared with just 63% in the West Midlands.  

Later this year the government will publish Schools and Skills white papers which will build on the work already underway to tackle entrenched inequalities, setting out the further reforms needed for an education and skills system where every child and young person can achieve and thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances. 

For the first time some young people across Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will be able to view and share their GCSE results with their future post-16 school or college via a new app. The Education Record App is being trialled to explore   how technology can be harnessed to support efficiencies in schools and colleges.  

The app gives students the ability to access, control and share their education information easily, without the hassle of paper certificates, long forms or repetitive questions.  

The government estimates the technology could save schools and colleges up to £30m per year if fully rolled out, enough money to pay the salaries of more than 600 new teachers in further education.