GCSE Results 2025: Maths Pass Rate Falls to 58.2% and English Dips — What the Data Shows

The headline numbers

Ofqual described 2025 as "a picture of stability". Across all entries in England, 67.1% of grades awarded were grade 4 or above — down just 0.3 percentage points from 67.4% in 2024. Grade 7 and above held at 21.8%, up marginally from 21.6% in 2024. Looking at 16-year-olds specifically, the grade 4+ rate was 70.5%, and gender differences remained: 70.5% of girls versus 64.3% of boys achieved grade 4 or above.

Maths: the subject with the sharpest drop

Maths was the most discussed subject on results day. The grade 4+ rate fell to 58.2% from 59.6% in 2024 — a 1.4 percentage point decline. However, context matters: a significant portion of this decline reflects increased post-16 resit entries rather than a drop in Year 11 performance. Resit candidates — who are retaking because they did not pass first time — pull the combined percentage down. For Year 11 students sitting for the first time, outcomes were more stable.

2025 AQA Maths grade boundaries (Higher tier, out of 240)

• Grade 9: 212 marks
• Grade 7: 158 marks
• Grade 4: 63 marks

English Language: a small but notable dip

English Language grade 4+ fell from 71.2% to 70.6% — a 0.6 percentage point drop. Grade 5 and above (the threshold many schools and colleges use as a meaningful benchmark) fell from 55.4% to 54.2%. The gap between grade 4 and grade 5 is where significant numbers of students are clustered. AQA English Language grade boundaries for June 2025 were: grade 9 at 119/160, grade 7 at 100/160, grade 5 at 82/160, grade 4 at 73/160.

English Literature and Combined Science

English Literature and Combined Science had among the lowest proportions of high grades nationally, though both remained above their 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Combined Science Higher tier boundaries in 2025: grade 7 at 263/420, grade 4 at 206/420. Literature grade 4 boundary was 62/160.

What this means for 2026 candidates

Grade boundaries in 2025 and 2024 were nearly identical — this reflects Ofqual's comparable outcomes model, which adjusts boundaries each year to maintain consistent standards regardless of paper difficulty. Students sitting in June 2026 should not expect dramatically different boundaries. The strongest predictor of your grade is not the boundary — it is consistent performance on past papers at or above your target boundary score.