A-level Results: Essential Statistics and Patterns Emerging
A-Level Results Show Modest Improvement and Regional, Gender, and Subject Trends
The 2023 A-Level results have been released, revealing a slight increase in top grades and overall pass rates compared to previous years. This year, a total of 77.9% of entries received a grade of C or above, up from 76.4% in 2024 and above the pre-pandemic figure of 75.9% in 2019.
The distribution of A-Level grades showed some notable differences across regions, genders, and subjects. In England, the proportion of A-Level grades at A or above rose from 26.5% in 2023 to 28.2% in 2025, a 2% increase since 2024 and about 3 percentage points higher than in 2019.
Regional disparities persisted and even widened, with London tending to have higher results while regions like the North East saw declines or lower rates. For example, only 24.9% of 18-year-olds in the North East secured a university place in 2025 compared to 43.4% in London, marking a significant 18.5 percentage point gap.
Results rose notably in London and fell in the North East between 2023 and 2025. The gap between the highest (London) and lowest (north-east England) regions is 9.2 percentage points, the largest since the present system of grading began in 2010.
Gender-wise, in 2023, girls typically outperformed boys on A-Levels, but by 2025 boys outscored girls for the first time since the pandemic, suggesting a shift in gender performance trends around and possibly just after 2023.
The proportion of boys' entries awarded A or A* this year is 28.4%, higher than the equivalent figure for girls' entries (28.2%). Interestingly, the proportion of boys' entries awarded A* is 9.9%, higher than the proportion for girls (9.1%).
Subject-wise, the top A-Level subjects by number of results in 2025 were mathematics (112,138 results), psychology (75,943), and biology (65,355). Business studies has entered the top five most popular subjects for the first time, ranking in fifth place.
Positive trends in students taking three A-Levels remained consistent, with the majority (~66.3%) taking three A-Levels in England. Over 814,000 A-Level results were issued in 2025.
The overall pass rate (A* to E) for A-Levels is 97.5%, up from 97.2% in 2024 but below the 2019 figure of 97.6%. The proportion of A* grades awarded is 9.4%, up from 9.3% in 2024 and higher than the 2019 figure of 7.7%. Excluding the pandemic-affected years, the 9.4% of A* grades is the highest since the A* grade was first awarded in 2010.
The 2023 cohort was described as “stronger” based on prior attainment, likely influenced by the return to normal GCSE grading in 2023, which allowed better-informed A-Level subject choices. Improvements in top grades and pass rates from 2023 align with ongoing recoveries and adjustments from pandemic disruptions, but overall changes since 2023 were small compared to the exceptional fluctuations seen during 2020-2022.
Education-and-self-development: The 2023 A-Level results have been released, showcasing a subtle improvement in grades and pass rates compared to previous years, indicating a positive trend in education and self-development among students.
General-news: The distribution of A-Level grades showed some notable differences across regions, genders, and subjects, offering insights into general news stories about the educational landscape in the UK and potential disparities among learners.
