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The regional divide in students getting the top A-level grades in England has widened again, annual results data shows.

The gap between the highest- and lowest-performing regions in achieving As and A*s has grown from 9.2 percentage points last year to 9.6 in 2026.

A-level results released today also show a small rise in overall top grades and pass rates.

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• A* and A grades in England

• Results by region

• State and private school results

• Results by gender

• What students can do if they missed their grades

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1. A* and A grades up

In England, 9.6 per cent of entries received an A*, compared with 9.4 per cent in 2025 and 9.3 per cent in 2024.

Some 28.3 per cent of entries received an A or an A*, up from 28.1 per cent last year and 27.7 per cent the previous year.

The proportion of entries receiving grades A* to C increased to 78.1 per cent from 77.6 per cent in 2025. Before the pandemic, in 2019, some 75.4 per cent of students received these grades.

The overall pass rate (A*-E) was 97.5 per cent, up from 97.4 per cent in 2025 and 97.1 per cent in 2024.

2. The regional divide

The regional divide for achieving top grades marginally increased again this year.

The North East and East Midlands jointly received the lowest proportion of top grades, at 23.1 per cent. In contrast, London achieved the highest proportion of A/A* entries at 32.7 per cent (32.1 per cent in 2025).

• Which A-level subjects recorded the highest grades in 2026?
• Five key insights from today’s A-level results data

The gap between London and the East Midlands and the North East therefore sits at 9.6 percentage points; in 2025 the gap between London and the North East was 9.2 percentage points.

This year’s gap between London and the North East, and between London and the East Midlands, is the largest between these pairs of regions since the present system of grading began in 2010, according to Press Association analysis of today’s results data.

While overall A*/A grades rose nationally this year, there were only two regions - London and the South East - above the national average.

Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said it was “disappointing” that attainment gaps between all three northern regions and London had widened since 2025, adding that more must be done to ensure that students in the North get the same opportunities.

Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust social mobility charity, also bemoaned the “stark regional divide”, saying that “a young person’s chances shouldn’t depend so heavily on where they go to school”.

3. Results in state and private schools

The attainment gap between state and private schools in achieving the top grades remained the same this year.

Across all state-funded institutions, 25.4 per cent of entries were awarded the top grades (A* or A), and 76.8 per cent achieved a C or above.

Some 89.4 per cent of entries were awarded a C or higher in independent schools and the proportion receiving the top grades was 48.6 per cent.

The gap in achieving the top grades was 23.2 percentage points. In 2024, the gap was slightly higher, at 23.8 percentage points.

When breaking down the results by state school type, 23.5 per cent of entries in academies received the top grades, a slight rise from 23.3 per cent in 2025.

The proportion was smaller in comprehensive secondaries (23 per cent) and secondary modern schools (22.4 per cent), while in free schools the figure was 27 per cent.

4. Boys received slightly higher grades

For the second year in a row, boys received a higher share of the top grades at A level. Boys received higher grades for the first time in six years in 2025.

In 2026, 28.9 per cent of entries from boys were awarded an A or A*, compared with 27.9 per cent of girls’ entries. In 2025, 28 per cent of entries from girls got the top grades, compared with 28.4 per cent of entries from boys.

Boys also received a larger share of A* grades (10.1 per cent) than girls (9.1 per cent). The rates were the same last year.

However, girls remained more likely to be awarded a C or above (79.4 per cent) than boys (76.6 per cent). In 2025, 79.3 per cent of entries from girls were graded C or above, as were 75.8 per cent of those from boys.

5. What students can do if they missed their grades

This year’s A-level cohort was the second to take GCSEs with no post-pandemic protections, but their time at secondary school was nevertheless disrupted by Covid: a student who took their A levels in Year 13 this summer would likely have been in Year 7 at the time of the first lockdown, towards the end of their first year of secondary education.

For those students who did not get the grades they sought, there are multiple options. Find out more information here:

• How to appeal if you think your A-level results are wrong
• How the university clearing process works
• Find answers to more A-level results day questions

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