More than 850,000 A and AS level results have been issued to students in England today, along with just over 250,000 results for vocational and technical performance-table qualifications taken alongside them.
These are results that enable young people to progress along a range of pathways – to university, apprenticeships or employment. They are the reward for the effort and quality of work that those students have displayed, and I would like to offer congratulations to everyone receiving their results today.
Across the range of level 3 qualifications, a total of more than 1.1 million results have been issued this summer. The highest number of those are for A levels, with 814,335 being taken by 313,190 students in 137 different subjects. A further 50,475 AS level results have been issued today as well.
Here are some other key facts about today's level 3 results:
- A total of 6,845 18-year-old students received A* grades in all the A levels they took this summer – 35 of them took 5 or more A levels
- About two-thirds of A level students took 3 A levels
- The subjects taken by the highest number of A level students were maths, psychology and biology
- Applied generals were the vocational and technical performance-table qualifications with most results issued and the most widely taken subject sector areas for applied generals were business, administration and law, social sciences, and science and mathematics
- The number of students expected to complete T Levels this summer increased by more than 60% on last year, to 11,909
- The geographical region with the highest percentage of A level results at A or A* was London
What are the trends behind the results?
This year the number of 18-year-olds is up on 2024, and there are some small but noticeable patterns in the type of qualifications they have chosen. The number of A levels being taken this year has actually fallen slightly since 2024, by about 2,500, and the trends in the choices of subject have continued. STEM subjects such as mathematics, further maths and physics have risen in popularity, even in a slightly smaller cohort, whereas some arts and humanities subjects have declined.
There has been a small increase in pass rates. We can’t say for sure why this is the case, but there are some factors that could be part of the story.
Based on prior attainment, such as these students’ GCSE grades, and relative to the national population of 18-year-olds, this year’s cohort of A level students seems to be stronger than last year’s.
Moreover, this year’s A level students made their post-16 choices in 2023, which was the first year GCSE grading returned to normal after the pandemic. That could mean those students had a more accurate picture of their strengths to guide their choices. We can’t be certain but it may be that some students who might have taken A levels in previous years instead opted for some of the level 3 vocational options, such as applied general qualifications (for example BTECs) or T Levels.
So today’s results may reflect changes in the choices of students 2 years ago, and the types of qualifications they wanted to study to take their next step.
It is important to emphasise that while each year’s cohort of students will be slightly different, the standard of work needed to get a particular grade remains comparable with previous years. This means any change in numbers achieving a grade is entirely due to a change in student performance, not a change in the standard expected. You can find out more about this process here.
Where to find more details
Today, for the first time, we are publishing a statistical report on this year’s results. If you want more in-depth analysis of outcomes for A levels, AS, applied generals, tech levels and technical qualifications within T Levels, this report will be a great place to find it. We have also published interactive visualisations of outcomes by centre type, variability in school and college A level results, A level outcomes in England, A level grade combinations, and an interactive map of England showing A level results in different subjects by grade and county.
As normal, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has published results in England for AS and A level, overall and by subject. These results are also shown in our interactive visualisation.
The annual results period is the culmination of a lot of hard work, not just by the students involved but also their teachers and those who have supported them along the way. Congratulations to you all.
Amanda Swann
Executive Director for General Qualifications, Ofqual