Education & Skills 
Today across England and Wales, students received their BTEC, T-Level, and A-Level results, a day many of us still remember well into adulthood. This year’s cohort has applied for, and been offered, places in record numbers, even as universities themselves face growing financial pressure.
So, what can this year’s results tell us? What’s changing in the subjects students choose, how are grades and the gaps between different groups shifting, and what does a tougher financial picture mean for how students are approaching their next steps?
Subject choices: quant subjects still rising, but Social Sciences and Law close the gap
Engineering and Technology saw the biggest application growth, up 38,260 on last year, and Mathematical Sciences applications rose from 68,150 to 75,650.[1] As students hear more about changing job markets, employability appears to become a bigger factor in subject choice. Our Numeracy, AI, and Social Mobility report with KPMG UK and the National Numeracy Leadership Council highlighted the importance of numeracy to artificial intelligence (AI) preparedness, with greater engagement in numeracy supporting the kind of critical thinking AI literacy increasingly demands.
There were other notable shifts too. Social Sciences applications rose from 317,690 to 348,660, and Law from 176,730 to 192,070, while Economics climbed from 10th to 5th most popular subject, with over 47,000 entries. Entries fell in Classical subjects and Drama, though the falls were modest in absolute terms given how few students take these subjects already, around 605 and 700 students respectively. English Literature’s percentage fall looked smaller by comparison, but because it’s a much larger subject, this still meant around 2,030 fewer entries.
Grades and grade inflation
Top grades have risen for a third year running: 28.5% of A-level entries were graded A* or A, up from 28.3% last year. By nation, England reached 28.3%, Wales 29.6% and Northern Ireland 30.7%, each a modest rise on last year.[2] These figures sit well below the 2020/21 pandemic assessment years, but above the 2019 pre-pandemic baseline of 25.4%, having returned to pre-pandemic grading standards in England in 2023 and in Wales and Northern Ireland in 2024. The continued rise has increasingly been linked to the growing popularity of quantitative subjects like maths and economics, which have tended to see a higher proportion of top grades.
Gender gap
Boys outperformed girls at the top grades for a second year running, with 28.9% of boys’ entries graded A* or A against 28.0% of girls’ entries.[3] This has in part been linked to subject choice, with 72,619 boys’ entries in maths against 42,761 for girls, and a concentration of male entries in high-yielding subjects like maths and economics, combined with fewer lower-achieving boys sitting exams at all.
Regional gaps and social mobility
Regional disparities widened too, reaching a new high: 32.7% of grades in London were A* or A, against 23.1% in the North East and East Midlands, now jointly the lowest-performing regions.[4] Skills and post-16 education are becoming an increasingly devolved responsibility for mayors, following the devolution agenda set out under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 and Burnham’s latest announcements. In past reports we’ve advocated for skills devolution as a means to improve social mobility. Questions remain, however, about how weaker local economies and councils already stretched by debt and funding gaps are equipped to keep pace, so that devolution doesn’t end up widening the very gap it’s meant to close.
The question of higher education’s role in social mobility is especially topical, with the Social Mobility Commission publishing new rankings just days before results day.[5] The report argues that nearly a third of English universities underrepresent disadvantaged students even when they meet the entry requirements. Whilst 71% of universities have an intake more disadvantaged than the population meeting their requirements; the 29% that don’t are dominated by Russell Group institutions, with London universities including Middlesex, Brunel, and Roehampton ranking highest for access, and Oxbridge, Exeter, Durham, and Oxford Brookes ranking lowest. This is something our Higher Education Commission will explore further in its upcoming inquiry into university regional connections, looking at how universities work with employers, other providers and public services to support regional and national social mobility.
University access and a changing decision-making landscape
This year’s results follow record demand for places: 695,740 students applied by the June deadline, up from 665,070 in 2025, and universities made 2.07 million offers by January, despite mounting financial pressure on the sector from the prospective international student levy and tighter immigration rules.[6] HEPI’s Nick Hillman has suggested some universities, including in the Russell Group, may accept lower grades than advertised this year to offset falling international numbers.
Financial pressures are increasingly shaping how, and where, students choose to study. Tuition fees in England have risen to nearly £10,000 a year, the highest on record, adding to pressure on government over rising graduate debt. UCAS research now ranks cost of living support as the third most important factor for applicants, yet only 29% feel informed about how much they’ll need.[7] This is showing up in Clearing too. Over a third of last year’s entrants used Decline My Place, typically to move closer to or enable home living, and Clearing is predicted to be larger this year, driven mainly by UK 18-year-old acceptances via this route.[8]
Our Trained for Tomorrow report found the prospect of significant debt was itself a deterrent for many prospective healthcare students, and the Skills Commission’s Earning or Learning report makes a similar point more broadly, that fear of debt shapes decisions long before students have weighed a degree against alternative routes. A forthcoming Treasury Select Committee inquiry into student loan repayment terms is expected to examine some of these pressures further.
Technical qualifications: T-Levels, BTECs, and the road to V-Levels
T-Level completions are expected to rise this year with three new pathways added, though, unlike A-levels, provisional entry data isn’t published for T-Levels, so today’s figures are a partial picture. National Audit Office analysis found 2024/25 T-Level start numbers came in at just a fifth of the Department for Education’s original forecast.[9] Applied general and tech level entries, including BTECs, fell slightly in the most recent data, a trend likely to accelerate as defunding timelines shift and V-Levels arrive. As our Skills Commission’s Earning or Learning report set out, genuine parity of esteem between academic and technical routes will be central to how well this transition succeeds, a question we’ll be exploring further in our upcoming Skills Commission inquiry into apprenticeships.
Conclusion
This year’s results tell a story of record demand and rising top grades, sitting alongside persistent regional and gender gaps, and new evidence that access challenges don’t end once a student has the grades in hand. As the devolution agenda continues to reshape who delivers skills and post-16 education, and as the Skills Commission’s apprenticeships inquiry and the Higher Education Commission’s inquiry into university regional connections get underway, these are exactly the questions we’ll be exploring in the months ahead.
For more information on our upcoming events and research contact Rhiannon Tuckett-Jones (rhiannon.tuckett-jones@policyconnect.org.uk).
References
[1] UCAS. “2026 Cycle Applicant Figures – 30 June Deadline.” UCAS. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-for-2026-cycle/2026-cycle-applicant-figures-30-june-deadline; & Ofqual. “Provisional Entries for GCSE, AS and A Level: Summer 2026 Exam Series.” GOV.UK. Published June 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/provisional-entries-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2026-exam-series/provisional-entries-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2026-exam-series.
[2] Joint Council for Qualifications. “Exam Results Data.” JCQ. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://www.jcq.org.uk/exam-results-data/; Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026 (official statistics, England-specific figures). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualification-results-in-england-summer-2026
[3] Joint Council for Qualifications. “Exam Results Data.” JCQ. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://www.jcq.org.uk/exam-results-data/.
[4] Ofqual. “Map of A Level Grade Outcomes by Administrative Areas in England.” Ofqual Analytics. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/Alevel/County/.
[5] Social Mobility Commission. “Disadvantaged Students Miss Out on Top Universities – Despite Getting the Grades.” August 10, 2026. – https://socialmobility.independent-commission.uk/disadvantaged-students-miss-out-on-top-universities-despite-getting-the-grades/
[6] UCAS. “2026 Cycle Applicant Figures – 30 June Deadline.” UCAS. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-for-2026-cycle/2026-cycle-applicant-figures-30-june-deadline; UCAS. “2026 Cycle Applicant Figures – 14 January Deadline.” UCAS. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-for-2026-cycle/2026-cycle-applicant-figures-14-january-deadline.
[7] UCAS. “Students Can Calculate Real Cost of Living at University with Launch of UCAS Budgeting Tool.” July 22, 2026. https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/students-can-calculate-real-cost-of-living-at-university-with-launch-of-ucas-budgeting-tool
[8] UCAS. Clearing Forecast 2026. Presentation by Dave Penney, Jo Richards, and Ed McClaran. UCAS, 2026. https://www.ucas.com/media/225071/download.
[9] National Audit Office. Investigation into Introducing T Levels. Published March 28, 2025. https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/investigation-into-introducing-t-levels/.
Cross-party forum
