Today’s GCSE results for England show that the proportions of grades have remained relatively stable compared with last year, though there has been a fall in the pass rate for English and maths.
Results had been expected to be similar to 2024. There has been a slight narrowing in the gender gap and the regional divide - but both changes are small.
Ofqual said this morning that the results show “only minimal variation from previous years that fall within the boundaries of natural year-on-year fluctuations”.
Below are today’s GCSE results broken down by subject.
GCSE results by subject
Maths
Across the whole cohort, maths saw a slight drop in the proportion of entries getting a grade 4 or higher. This year in England, 16.5 per cent of students got the top grades (7 or higher), and 58.2 per cent achieved a grade 4 or better.
This is down from last year, when 16.7 per cent of entries were awarded the top grades in maths, and 59.6 per cent got a passing grade 4 or above.
For exam candidates aged 17 or older, just 17.1 per cent of entries were awarded a grade 4 or above. In 2024, 17.4 per cent of entries from students aged 17 or older achieved a grade 4 in maths or higher, but this was slightly up on 16.4 per cent in 2023.
For just 16-year-olds, the pass rate is very similar to last year at 71.9 per cent (it was 72 per cent in 2024). In this age group, a similar proportion to last year got the top grades: 21.5 per cent compared with 21.2 per cent in 2024.
Last summer around a third of students were expected to need to resit maths or English in November due to not receiving the grade 4 they needed.
In November resit data released in January, there was a slight rise in the pass rate for GCSE maths year-on-year from 22.2 per cent in November 2023 to 23.6 per cent.
Last year’s National Reference Test (NRT) found a statistically significant upward trend in performance at grade 7 in maths since 2017 - a trend that has continued in 2025. NRT outcomes this year were very similar to 2024, and, as a result, Ofqual decided not to make adjustments to grade standards.
English language and literature
The 2025 results in England brought a slight fall in those achieving at least a grade 4 in English language - which experts said this morning was due to an increase in resit entries.
The proportion of those achieving a grade 4 or higher fell to 59.7 per cent. However, performance levels were actually relatively stable in different age groups this year.
There was a small fall in the proportion of 16-year-olds achieving the grade 4, from 71.2 per cent to 70.6 per cent. The performance of those aged 17 or older remained stable, with just a fifth (20.9 per cent) getting the grade 4 they needed.
Last year there was a fall in the proportion of English language entries graded 4 or above, from 64.2 per cent in 2023 to 61.6 per cent. However, this was mostly driven by students aged 17 or older, with the proportion of those achieving grade 4 or higher dropping from 25.9 per cent in 2023 to 20.9 per cent.
In 2024,15.6 per cent of entries for English language were awarded the top grades across all students. This remained very stable at 15.5 per cent this year.
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In English literature, there was a very slight increase in entries getting grade 4 or better, from the 73.7 per cent last year to 74 per cent.
And 20.2 per cent got the top grades in 2025, making performance very stable compared with 2024 (when 20.1 per cent got a grade 7 or higher).
The NRT last year found a downward trend in English performance since 2017 at the grade 4 level. This trend has continued at grade 4 in 2025.
Double science, biology, chemistry and physics
Some 57.6 per cent of entries for double science this year achieved the passing grade 4, up slightly from 57.1 per cent last year. Meanwhile, 9.1 per cent got the top grades - an increase from 8.8 per cent in 2024.
The pass rate for the three sciences continues to be high.
In biology this year, 89.4 per cent got a grade 4 or above, and 43.4 per cent got the top grades. Last year, 89.2 per cent and 42 per cent achieved these standards, respectively.
In chemistry, the pass rate was 91.5 per cent in 2025, compared with 90.5 per cent last year. And 46.1 per cent got the top grades, up from 44.7 per cent in 2024.
And in physics, the top grades went to 45.1 per cent of students - an increase from 44 per cent last year. Some 90.8 per cent got a grade 4 or above, compared with 90.2 per cent in 2024.
All three of the single sciences had a significant year-on-year decrease in entries in 2025, while double science experienced a small 0.8 per cent increase.
Spanish, French and German
Of those who took Spanish GCSE this year, 27.1 per cent were awarded the top grades, compared with 26.7 per cent last year. And 70.6 per cent got a grade 4 or above, up slightly from 69.8 per cent in 2024.
Last year Ofqual required exam boards to award more generously at grades 9, 7, and 4 for GCSE German, as they had also been asked to do in 2023. Exam boards were asked to make the same grading adjustments for GCSE French in 2023, but only at grade 7 and 4 in 2024.
Those adjustments meant top grades and pass rates increased for both subjects from 2023 to 2024.
This year that trend has continued, with 29.7 per cent achieving the top grades in French and 34 per cent in German - increases from 28 per cent and 32.1 per cent respectively.
In 2025, the pass rate was 72.9 per cent in French and 79.6 per cent in German, compared with 71.2 per cent and 77.5 per cent in 2024.
Both French and German saw a decrease in entries this year. The 6.9 per cent fall in the number of students taking German was the biggest drop of any English Baccalaureate subject.
History, geography and religious studies
In GCSE history this year, 64.2 per cent of entries were awarded a grade 4 or above, and 26.2 per cent got the top grades.
This is up from 63.9 per cent and 25.8 per cent in 2024.
In geography, the pass rate for 2025 was 65.1 per cent - very similar to 65 per cent last year. The proportion getting the top grades was 24.8 per cent, which was a small increase on 24.5 per cent last year.
And 73.2 per cent of entries for religious studies were awarded a grade 4 or higher this year, compared with 72.5 per cent last year. Top grades went to 31.7 per cent of entries, up from the 31.1 per cent.
Art, music, drama, and design and technology
In art and design, there was a tiny rise in the proportion of top grades awarded, from 23.6 per cent last year to 23.8 per cent. There was also a small rise in the pass rate from 76.3 per cent to 76.9 per cent.
In music this year, 33.3 per cent got a grade 7 or above, and 75.9 per cent got a grade 4 or higher. Last year 32.9 per cent received the top grades and 75.9 per cent a grade 4 or above.
In design and technology, there was an increase in the pass rate to 66.7 per cent from 65.6 per cent last year. Furthermore, there was a small increase in top grades to 23 per cent from 22.4 per cent last year.
Of those taking drama, 27.2 per cent were awarded the top grades and the pass rate was 77.6 per cent. In 2024, the comparable figures were 26.9 per cent and 76.7 per cent.
Computing
This year in computing, 29.6 per cent of entries were awarded the top grades and 69.2 per cent achieved a grade 4 or above, meaning results were slightly better than last year.
Last year Ofqual asked exam boards to award more generously at grades, 9, 7 and 4 after looking into grading standards over time.
Consequently, computing saw an increase in the proportion of top grades awarded from 2023 to 2024, up to 28.3 per cent, and an increase in the pass rate to 68.3 per cent. Both of these were increases of nearly four percentage points.
PE
This year in PE, 72.7 per cent of entries were graded at 4 or above, compared with 72.1 per cent last year.
Additionally, 23.5 per cent were awarded the top grades, up slightly from 23 per cent in 2024.
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