A level results show regional gaps persist

England and the nations see top A level results rise beyond the Covid years, with growing STEM interest and widening regional gaps.

A level top grades hit record high outside pandemic years

Across England and in Wales and Northern Ireland the share of entries awarded A or A* rose outside the pandemic years. The 2025 results show 28.3 percent of entries were A or A*, up from 27.8 percent in 2024, with 9.4 percent achieving A* alone. The overall pass rate reached 97.5 percent. Maths remains the most popular subject for the 12th consecutive year, with 112,138 entries, and economics and business studies joined the top ten while humanities slip. Boys posted the edge on top grades for the first time since 2018, with 28.4 percent of boys' entries earning A or A* compared with 28.2 percent for girls; A* for boys stood at 9.9 percent versus 9.1 percent for girls. A total of 882,509 A level entries were awarded this year.

The headline numbers reveal strength but also uneven outcomes. High results are clustered in certain regions and among particular groups, highlighting persistent inequality despite an overall improvement. The widening gap between London and the North indicates that regional resources and opportunities still do not flow evenly through the system. At the same time the shift toward STEM and business topics suggests students are adapting to labour market signals, even as interest in languages and humanities remains fragile. These tensions raise questions about how to translate strong grades into broad, lasting opportunities for all students.

Highlights

The results day marks a moment of achievement and a test of whether policy can ensure equal opportunity as the system rebalances after the pandemic.