(Image: Dylan Connell)
York students are joining celebrations as the proportion of A-Level entries awarded top grades has risen nationally for the third year in a row.
The rise is likely driven by the popularity of maths and students scoring highly in it.
Hundreds of thousands of teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday (August 13), with many finding out if they would progress to university, an apprenticeship or work.
The total number of A-Level entries has topped 900,000 for the first time, with the population of 18-year-olds increasing this year.
More than a quarter (28.5 per cent) of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.2 per cent percentage points on last year, when 28.3 per cent achieved the top grades.
The proportion of UK entries awarded the top A* grade this year has also risen, by 0.2 percentage points to 9.6 per cent, compared to 9.4 per cent in 2025, and it is higher than when it stood at 7.7 per cent in 2019.
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Maths remained the most popular subject at A-Level this year – the 13th year in a row it has topped the table.
More than one in eight of all UK A-Level entries (12.7 per cent) were for the subject, the latest figures showed.
Speaking about England only, the head of exams regulator Ofqual said the “sheer size” of maths impacts the overall data.
On top grades rising, Sir Ian Bauckham said: “It’s largely driven by those changes in maths, growing popularity at maths and the high achievements that we’re seeing in maths.
“It’s a successful subject, maths A-Level is a significant driver of economic growth, and we know that it correlates to higher earning potential for those people who hold A-Level maths in their future lives.
“It does, because of its sheer size, have that impact on the overall cohort figures.”
There is a clear gender divide, with more boys choosing the subject than girls.
There were 72,619 boys’ entries for A-Level maths this year, making up 63 per cent of entries, compared to 42,761 for girls’ (37 per cent).
Boys have outperformed girls in terms of top grades again, after doing so for the first time in seven years last year.
Overall, 28.9 per cent of boys’ A-Level entries scored an A* or A this summer, compared to 28.0 per cent of their female classmates’ entries – a gap of 0.9 percentage points.
Economics has seen a leap in popularity this year.
It is now the fifth most popular subject for students, climbing up from 10th in 2025. In total, there were more than 47,000 UK entries for economics.
The proportion of entries achieving either A or Awas higher than in 2019, the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic, when 25.4 per cent of entries were awarded A or A grades.
It is the highest proportion of entries scoring top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22, according to the figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has remained at 97.5 per cent, which is lower and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (97.6 per cent).
Students who are receiving their A-Level, T-level and Level 3 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) results were in Year 7 when schools closed because of the pandemic.