GCSE and A level statistics

Overall GCSE results were higher at grade 7 (equivalent to an A) at 28.5% in 2021 than 2020 (25.9%) and at grade 4 (equivalent to a C) at 76.9% in 2021 compared to 2020 (75.9%).

In Wales: Grade A or 7 and above was 28.7% in 2021 compared with 25.5% in 2020 and at grade C or 4 and above was 73.6% in 2021 compared with 73.8% in 2020.

In Northern Ireland: Grade A or 7 and above was 39.9% in 2021 compared with 36.3% in 2020 and at grade C or 4 and above was 89.6% in 2021 compared with 89.8%.

GCSE pass rate

GCSE students in the UK had a GCSE pass rate of 77.1%, last summer in 2021, this is the highest pass rate in the past 20 years.

Grades A/7s and above rose to 28.9% from 26.2% in 2020, while grades C/4s and above rose to 77.1% up from 76.3%.

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• Table

A levels

Which A level subject is the most popular?

The most popular subject studied at A level in 2022 was mathematics, studied by 89,605 students. This was closely followed by psychology with 76,265 students and biology with 66,220 students. The least popular subjects were classical subjects (4,875 students) and German (2,675 students).

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• Previous research: GCSE and A level statistics 2021

  Quick overview

  • 4.8 million GCSE exam entries were made by 16-year-olds in the UK in 2021 and 5.2 million tests were made in total in 2020.
  • In 2020, there are 4,188 secondary schools in the UK, down from 4,190 in 2019.
  • 50% of government education spending was on secondary schools in 2020/2021.
  • The government will spend a minimum of £3,750 per pupil for primary schools and £5,000 per pupil for secondary schools.
  • The most popular modern language was French, with 124,043 pupils taking the GCSE in French. Spanish came in second with 103,992 tests made.
  • 77% of students passed their GCSEs (grade 4/C or above) in 2021, compared to 67% in 2019.
  • 28.5% of students achieved a grade 7/A or above in 2021 up from 25.9% in 2020.

  Number of schools in the UK

  In 2020, there are over 32,770 schools in the UK, 4,188 of which are secondary schools. There are significantly more primary schools in the UK, with 20,832 open in 2020, which is close to five times the number of secondary schools.

  Since last year, 674 new nurseries have opened in the UK. It’s the only kind of school that has increased this year. In total, there are 8 less primary schools, 2 less secondary schools and 33 less “other” types of schools (independent schools, special schools and pupil referral units).

  Explore the graphic and table below to see the total number of schools by type in both 2019 and 2020.

  • Number of schools
  • Table

  Type of school	Number of schools 2019	Number of schools 2020
  Nurseries	3,040	3,714
  Primary	20,840	20,832
  Secondary	4,190	4,188
  Other	4,050	4,017

  Expenditure on schools in the UK

  Over the past 20 years (2000/2001-2019/2020), the amount of public sector spending on education has almost doubled (1.9x). And since 2015/2016, expidenture on the UK school system has risen by almost 9%.

  The total spending in 2019/2020 was £92.4 million, with 50% of this being spent on secondary education. That is 47% more than the budget for pre-primary and primary education, and 10 times more than the spend on tertiary education.

  • Expidenture on schools 2019/2020
  • Table

  Type of school	2015/2016	2016/2017	2017/2018	2018/2019	2019/2020
  Pre-primary and primary education	£31,203,000	£31,045,000	£30,634,000	£30,566,000	£31,670,000
  Secondary education	£38,972,000	£38,928,000	£40,971,000	£43,089,000	£46,555,000
  Post-secondary non-tertiary education	£508,000	£594,000	£581,000	£485,000	£586,000
  Tertiary education	£6,164,000	£6,066,000	£5,419,000	£4,621,000	£4,373,000
  Education not definable by level	£632,000	£808,000	£908,000	£803,000	£950,000
  Subsidiary services to education	£3,504,000	£3,393,000	£3,385,000	£3,646,000	£3,870,000
  R&D education	£1,573,000	£1,703,000	£1,815,000	£2,259,000	£2,324,000
  Education n.e.c.	£2,358,000	£2,369,000	£2,344,000	£2,582,000	£2,068,000
  Total	£84,914,000	£84,906,000	£86,057,000	£88,051,000	£92,396,000

  GCSE results

  In 2020, over 5.2 million tests were made by 16-year-olds who took their GCSE exams in England. The most popular modern languages were French (124,043 tests), Spanish (103,992 tests) and German (40,688 tests). Out of these, the best results were seen by the pupils that chose German; 19.8% got a grade 8 or above. Of those studying Spanish, 19.2% got a grade 8 or above, and of those studying French, 17.4% got this grade.

  The best performance overall was in the classical subjects, where 58.8% of pupils got a grade 8 or higher. The second best results were in other modern languages (excluding French, German and Spanish), where 52.1% got a grade 8 or higher. Also in the top 10 list, we can also find artistic subjects such as performing/expressive arts and drama, where 22.2% and 21.5% of the students respectively scored a grade 8 or higher.

  • Best performing subjects
  • Table

  Subject group	Percentage of students with a grade 8 or higher
  Classical subjects	58.80%
  Other modern languages	52.10%
  Other sciences	42.20%
  Chemistry	33.50%
  Biology	33.30%
  Physics	33.20%
  Music	29.10%
  Economics	28.80%
  Performing/expressive arts	22.20%
  Drama	21.50%

  GCSE pass percentage

  In 2020, the number of students achieving a grade 7/A or above was around one in four (25.9%). This is higher than it was in earlier years; in 2019, 20.6% of students got 7/A or higher.

  Over the last 12 years, fewer than 2% of students failed their GCSE exams, and in 2020, 99.6% of students achieved at least one grade 1/G or above – 1.3% more than the year before.

  • Pass percentage
  • Table

  Year	Grade 1/G and above	Grade 4/C and above	Grade 7/A and above
  2008	98.40%	65.50%	20.60%
  2009	98.60%	66.90%	21.50%
  2010	98.70%	69.00%	22.60%
  2011	98.80%	69.80%	23.30%
  2012	99.00%	69.50%	22.30%
  2013	98.80%	67.90%	21.20%
  2014	98.50%	68.60%	21.10%
  2015	98.60%	68.80%	21.00%
  2016	98.40%	66.60%	20.30%
  2017	98.50%	66.10%	19.80%
  2018	98.40%	66.60%	20.30%
  2019	98.30%	67.00%	20.60%
  2020	99.60%	76.00%	25.90%

  A levels overview

  • 737,000 students took A levels in England in 2019 – 9,000 less than the year before.
  • Mathematics was the most popular subject, with 85,000 exam entries.
  • Further Mathematics had the highest percentage of students who achieved A or A* grades, with 53.1% of students doing so.
  • The most popular apprenticeship in 2017/18 was business, administration and law – which makes up two-thirds of all apprenticeships.
  • 34% of apprenticeships are being done by 19- to 24-year-olds in 2017/18.

  After they finish their GCSEs, many teenagers choose to move onto further education such as A levels or take a more practical route through an apprenticeship. With further education being a massive life decision, we unpacked the latest statistics to see how many students are choosing to continue their education, what they are studying and how they got on in their exams.

  In 2019, 737,000 students in England took A levels, similar to 2018, when 746,000 students took them. The majority of students (68%) took 3 A levels, with a select few individuals (0.1%) taking 5 or more A levels.

  Take a look at the graph below for the breakdown of the number of A levels taken in 2019, or check out the table for a more detailed breakdown of the last four years.

  • A levels
  • Table

  A levels taken	2016	2017	2018	2019
  1	12.1%	11.3%	10.5%	10.6%
  2	16.2%	16.8%	16.8%	17.0%
  3	63.6%	65.4%	66.9%	68.0%
  4	7.6%	6.2%	5.6%	4.3%
  5+	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%

  Which A level subject is the most popular?

  The most popular subject studied at A level in 2019 was mathematics, studied by 85,000 students. This was closely followed by biology with 63,600 students and psychology with 62,000 students.

  The least popular subjects were performing and expressive arts (1,100 students), German (2,900 students) and classical subjects (4,900 students).

  • Subjects
  • Table

  Subject	Number of entries
  Mathematics	85,000
  Biology	63,600
  Psychology	62,000
  Chemistry	54,900
  History	47,100
  Art and design	39,200
  English literature	37,200
  Physics	36,000
  Sociology	35,800
  Geography	31,800
  Business studies	30,500
  Economics	29,800
  Media/film/TV studies	19,800
  Political studies	18,200
  Religious studies	16,200
  Further mathematics	13,700
  English language	13,700
  Law	10,900
  Computing	10,400
  Physical education	9,800
  Drama	9,300
  Design & technology	9,200
  Spanish	7,900
  French	7,600
  English lang. & lit.	7,500
  Music	5,100
  Classical subjects	4,900
  German	2,900
  Performing/expressive arts	1,100

  How many students achieved A or A* grades in the A level exams?

  In 2019, further mathematics was the subject where the most students (53.1%) achieved an A or A* grade. In second place was mathematics, where 40.5% of students achieved an A or A* grade. And despite being only studied by 2,900 people, 40.4% of students who studied German achieved an A or A* grade.

  • A or A*
  • Table

  Subject	Number of entries	Percentage who achieved A/A* (2019)
  Mathematics	85,000	40.5%
  Biology	63,600	23.5%
  Psychology	62,000	16.5%
  Chemistry	54,900	28.4%
  History	47,100	22.5%
  Art and design	39,200	27.7%
  English literature	37,200	24.1%
  Physics	36,000	27.5%
  Sociology	35,800	18.1%
  Geography	31,800	23.3%
  Business studies	30,500	14.1%
  Economics	29,800	28.7%
  Media/film/TV studies	19,800	11%
  Political studies	18,200	26%
  Religious studies	16,200	21.5%
  Further mathematics	13,700	53.1%
  English language	13,700	11.3%
  Law	10,900	16%
  Computing	10,400	17.6%
  Physical education	9,800	14.7%
  Drama	9,300	18%
  Design & technology	9,200	15.9%
  Spanish	7,900	34.9%
  French	7,600	36.4%
  English lang. & lit.	7,500	12.1%
  Music	5,100	19.3%
  Classical subjects	4,900	34.4%
  German	2,900	40.4%
  Performing/expressive arts	1,100	24%

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