Last year, the grading system in England was brought back to pre-pandemic levels, and this year, exam regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland have followed suit.
More than 6.5 million GCSEs and Level 1 and Level 2 vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) have been issued, making this the largest batch of results ever issued across the three countries, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).
Get real-time updates on politics: One student receiving results for his GCSEs is Starmer’s son.
The GCSE results are comparable to those from previous year, with 21.8% of entrants receiving the highest grades, or at least a day.
Approximately 67.6% of grades were given at a grade of 4 or C or higher, which is the typical passing mark; this is down from 68.2% in 2023 and 67.3% in 2019.
The percentage of students receiving a grade of 1 or G or higher is now 97.9%, compared to 98% in 2023 and 98.3% in 2019.
