A-level results day is officially here and the number of people achieving top grades has gone up again.
Whether you’re celebrating (ideally with some free food) or commiserating, the number of people receiving A and A* grades has reached a record high outside of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 28.3% of UK entries achieved a top grade, up by 0.5% on last year and an increase of 2.9% on 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
The overall pass rate has gone up, to 97.5%, and the number of 18-year-olds accepted onto degree courses has reached a record high, up 4.7% to 255,130 people.
Even though the total number of top grades has gone up across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the achievement gap between London and north east England is at its widest since records began in 2010.
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The north east was also one of only two regions to see a year-on-year drop in entries receiving A and A* grades – the other being the West Midlands – demonstrating a clear disparity when it comes to education.
Some things haven’t changed though, including the most popular A-level subject choices. Maths, psychology and biology (in that order) remained the top three most popular subjects this year.
How your area performed on A-level results day 2025
London had the highest proportion of top grades this year, with 32.1% of entries in the capital receiving an A or A*, up from 31.3% the year before.
In comparison, the north east of England had the lowest regional percentage at 22.9%, down from 23.9% last year.
The gap between these two regions now stands at 9.2%, up from 7.4% last year and the largest since the present system of grading began in 2010.
In contrast, all regions saw a year-on-year increase in the number of entries awarded an A* to C grade.
Some 9.3% of all entries received an A* which, if discounting the pandemic-affected years, is the highest proportion since the grade was first introduced in 2010.
The number of A-level entries awarded C or above, by nation and region
- North east England: 74.9%
- North west England: 78.2%
- Yorkshire & the Humber: 76.8%
- West Midlands: 74.2%
- East Midlands: 73.6%
- Eastern England: 77.8%
- South west England: 77.3%
- South east England: 79.45%
- London: 79.54%
- England: 77.7%
- Wales: 77.2%
- Northern Ireland: 85.8%
- Total: 77.9%
When it comes to gender, boys have taken the lead over girls for the first time since 2018.
The proportion of boys’ entries awarded A or A* reached 28.4%, 0.2% higher than girls at 28.2%.
Some 27.6% of boys’ entries received A or A* ins 2024, compared to 28% for girls.
In total there were 882,509 A-levels awarded this year, down 0.5% on last year.
Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, England’s exams regulator, said a ‘smaller, smarter cohort’ of pupils sat their exams this year compared to previous years.
He explained: ‘So it is a smaller cohort and, judged in terms of GCSE attainment, it’s a higher-achieving cohort than has been the case for the past few years.
‘Students this year have got the grades they deserve, and their grade will hold its value over time because it represents a stable standard of achievement.’
How to appeal A-level results
If you think there’s been a mistake with your A-level results and want to appeal, there’s a different process depending on where you are in the UK.
You will need to contact your school or college and ask for them to contact the exam board.
The school can then request that the exam board reviews your entry, checking for any mistakes in the marking.
If your mark changes, your overall grade could also change – but it could potentially go down as well as up.
If you still think there’s a mistake, you can ask your school or college to appeal the result, and the exam board will look at your work again.
There is also the option to request a review from Ofqual, if you don’t think the exam board handled your appeal properly.
The deadline to request a review may vary depending on the exam board.
Visit the government website for more details.
What are the A-level grade boundaries in 2025?
Different exam boards put grade boundaries in place each year to determine how many marks a student needs to earn in order to achieve a grade.
These boundaries often fluctuate from year to year and vary depending on the overall performance of pupils across the country.
The grade boundaries are now published by exam boards on the morning of A-level results day.
Here are the grade boundaries for A-levels sat in 2025:
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