GCSE and A-level statistics: How many people take the exams each year?

In 2024, there were over 5.8 million entries into GCSE exams in England. We unpacked the statistics to find out how they got on.

You might think fondly of your time as a student, even if you didn’t have much in your student bank account, but we’re sure you haven’t forgotten about the stress before big exams. We unpacked the statistics to get the lowdown on GCSE and A-level exams and results.

GCSE and A-level statistics: Highlights

  • The total GCSE entries in 2024 were 5,811,790, up 4.8% from 2023.
  • 21.7% of GCSE results in 2024 were at grade 7 or above.
  • The UK GCSE pass rate was 77% in 2024.
  • History was the most popular non-core GCSE subject in 2024, with 312,415 entries.
  • There were 825,390 A-level entries in 2024, up 2.4% from 2023.
  • The most popular subject studied at A-level in 2024 was mathematics (101,230 students).

How many people take GCSEs each year?

The total entries for GCSEs in 2024 were at 5,811,790, this is an increase of 4.8% compared to 2023 (5,543,840 entries). This number has been steadily increasing for the past 5 years.

Made with Flourish
Year Number of GCSE entries
2020 5,281,745
2021 5,301,075
2022 5,349,250
2023 5,543,840
2024 5,811,790

GCSE results in 2024

More than a fifth of GCSE results (21.7%) in England were grade 7 or higher in 2024 (which is the equivalent of a grade A in the old system). Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of GCSE results (67.4%) were grade 4 or higher, which is known as a standard pass and equivalent to a grade C in the old system.

In Wales, 61.7% of GCSE results were grade 4 or above (a standard pass), while in Northern Ireland, 82% of GCSE results were grade 4 or above.

Made with Flourish
Year Percentage at grade 4 or above Percentage below grade 4
2017 66.1% 43.9%
2018 66.6% 43.4%
2019 67.1% 42.9%
2020 75.9% 24.1%
2021 76.9% 23.1%
2022 73% 27%
2023 67.8% 32.2%

How many people take A-levels each year?

There were 825,390 total A-level entries in 2024, up 2.4% from 806,410 in 2023. This number has been increasing year-on-year since 2020.

The most popular subject studied at A-level in 2024 was mathematics, studied by 101,230 students. This was followed by psychology with 76,130 students and biology with 69,045 students. The least popular subjects were German, with just 2,280 entries, and music, with 5,005 entries.

Made with Flourish
Year GCSE pass rate C/4 grade and above (%)
2001 57.10%
2002 57.90%
2003 58.10%
2004 59.20%
2005 61.20%
2006 62.40%
2007 63.30%
2008 65.70%
2009 67.10%
2010 69.10%
2011 69.80%
2012 69.40%
2013 68.10%
2014 68.80%
2015 69%
2016 66.90%
2017 66.40%
2018 66.90%
2019 67.30%
2020 76.30%
2021 77.10%

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