GCSE results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are released to students on Thursday 21 August 2025. Schools receive a restricted feed on Wednesday, but they must hold back results and grade boundary information until 08:00 BST on Thursday morning, and public national tables publish at 09:30 BST. Timings must be strictly adhered to by schools and failure to do so is considered malpractice by JCQ, so unfortunately, schools are unable to share results early.
Cambridge IGCSE results are an exception and results were made available from 06:00 BST on Tuesday 19 August and could be made available to students immediately. Some senior schools provided results the same day, others took the decision to hold them back to release on Results Day.
Context Setting
England grades GCSEs 9–1 (9 highest; 4 = ‘standard pass’, 5 = ‘strong pass’). Wales continues to use A–G, and Northern Ireland uses A–G with an extra C* to align to England’s grade 5 (some NI centres may also use 9–1). Universities understand all three scales and treat IGCSE and GCSE as equivalent.
For those more familiar with the system before 2017, there is not an exact translation, but a 4 is considered a standard pass and roughly aligns with the former C, 5 is a strong pass, 7 roughly aligns with the former A, and a 9 is reserved for approximately the top 5%. More information is available here.
Most students take between seven and ten GCSE subjects and more than 600,000 students are awaiting results. In 2024 approximately 667,000 students sat GCSE exams and only 1,270 received straight 9s across their exams. In general, only approximately 5% of exam results are 9s. National outcomes were 21.7% at grade 7+ and 67.4% at 4+. To put it another way, a transcript with a mix of 6s and 7s and a few higher spikes in strength subjects is a strong platform.
What matters most is whether a student passed. If a student did not pass one or more of their exams, families should be in touch with their schools directly and immediately about next steps, particularly for Mathematics or English Language. In most cases schools would have informed families where they had a concern that a student may not pass,
Assuming a student passed all of their exams, the next question is whether a student achieved the grades needed for planned next steps. This will depend on each student’s individual pathway. Some students will have received conditional offers for sixth form and admission will depend on achievement of some specific pattern of results, while others have a guaranteed place for next year, but are focused on university programme admissions.
What to Expect on Results Day
Centres receive results on Wednesday 20 August; students receive them on Thursday 21 August from 08:00 BST. Families should check their schools for collection times and procedures, but most schools now will make results available online. Grade boundaries will be published Thursday morning, OCR will be available from 08:00 and other boards tend to follow similar timing. JCQ publishes national results from 09:30.
Results day can be a surprisingly emotional day. Many schools will have prepared students for this moment in various ways and some will have been in contact in the days leading up to results with information and specific offers of support. Inevitably, some students will do better than expected, and others will be disappointed. Some students will see new possibilities open before them and others will imagine doors slamming. In reality, although GCSEs are an important, and in many cases essential, milestone towards next steps, these scores are far from the final word. Universities, sixth forms, and employers view these scores in context, in some cases, papers can be remarked and scores adjusted, and it is also possible to resit these exams.
Selective Sixth Form Entry: What Schools Actually Require
Independent schools set minimum GCSE profiles and subject-specific minima — then select via tests/interviews. In many cases, selective sixth form schools will make conditional offers and will specify what students must achieve. The most selective schools typically require 8/9 in subjects students plan to pursue at A-level, plus some number of 7s or above, but a few require some set number of 8/9s even beyond A-level pursuits. Many other schools simply require students to pass Mathematics and English Language and to achieve a 6 or 7 on subjects they intend to study at A-level.
For calibration purposes, even the most selective sixth forms do not require perfection. Westminster offers are conditional on eight 7s including four 8/9s in A-level subjects and Eton cites six 7s as the minimum qualifying standard. St Paul’s requires a minimum of eight 7s and at least six 8/9s including A-level subjects, and Wycombe Abbey expects at least six passes at 7+ and top grades in intended A-level subjects.
Even the most selective schools are willing to consider context and many explicitly encourage candidates who do not achieve their targets to discuss their outcomes. In many cases, where a sixth form school believes a student can be successful, they will work with them even where a student narrowly misses by one grade. If an independent sixth form has already made a conditional offer, they made that offer with every intention of offering that student a place because they believe that student will succeed there, so as long as GCSE results do not significantly undermine that possibility, expect some flexibility and understanding.
University Reality Check
Universities make offers before A-level/IB results, using predicted A-level/IB grades, personal statements, references, any tests/interviews, and a student’s GCSE profile. GCSE results either meet the minimum requirements for a university course or not, and then admissions teams consider many other factors, sometimes including an interview, and extend offers. Offers are then usually conditional on the actual A-level/IB results, which makes these grades the final determiner that either confirms that offer or not.
GCSEs matter most in determining baseline eligibility. Many university courses will require English Language to be grade 6 or above and Mathematics to be grade 4-6 or above. Highly selective courses, including medicine, will have more extensive baseline requirements, often seven grade 7 GCSEs or better with set minimums in English, Maths, and the Sciences. Oxbridge admission does not require any set GCSE performance, but both Oxford and Cambridge use GCSEs for shortlisting, context-setting, and to determine overall preparation.
For context, LSE History requires Maths and English to be 6+ at GCSE, UCL History and English requires a 6 in English and 4 in Maths. Several KCL humanities programmes require a 6 in English and Maths. Warwick states a university wide minimum of GCSE English Language and Mathematics 4+ although individual courses may require more. Manchester medicine requires seven GCSEs at 7+ with specific subject minima in English, Maths and Science.
GCSEs are important to determine baseline eligibility and for the exceptions noted above (note that medicine is a true outlier here), but the extent to which they matter beyond that is up for discussion. Unfortunately, most university programmes do not publish GCSE profiles of admitted students, Offer decisions tend to lean heavily on predicted A-levels or IB and the overall application beyond meeting baseline requirements, so while strong GCSE results may help to confirm preparation and readiness, university offers largely depend on other factors.
Families who treat GCSEs as the foundation that sets the option range and understand that universities make offers on the whole application with predicted grades and then confirm places when A-level/IB results arrive, will be better able to put these scores into perspective now. Strong GCSE scores help; GCSE scores are never the whole story.
Marking Review Requests
Lower-than expected GCSE scores, even when appropriately contextualised, are worth scrutiny. The best independent schools will be careful to appropriately set expectations, but grade boundaries can be unpredictable, any student can have a bad test day, and sometimes marking mistakes are made.
In summer 2024, across GCSE/AS/A level, 5.2% of grades were challenged and 1.2% were changed after review (outcomes varied significantly between subjects. Most reviewed component marks did not change and it’s worth noting that reviews can move marks up or down. The process also introduces additional stress and uncertainty, so families should carefully consider this option.
Before Requesting a Review:
Check the boundary. How many raw marks is the score off of the grade boundary? If close, proceed. If miles off, it’s unlikely to be worth the time or the effort.
Review the script. Ask your school to download the marked exam paper, review the examiner’s annotation and question-by-question marks.
Discuss. If you have a trusted advisor at school, ask their advice. Although reviews are relatively rare and the process is fairly straightforward, it can help to speak with someone who has been through the process.
Strategise and Prioritise. Prioritise a review if a single uplift unlocks a sixth-form subject minimum or offer condition. Otherwise, focus on enrolment, subject fit, and (if needed) the clean resit plan.
Decide. Review deadlines approach quickly and are largely inflexible.
*Families in Wales/NI: the WJEC/CCEA post-results menus mirror the above; your exams officer routes requests.
What to Do Now
Where GCSE results meet sixth form admissions requirements and university minima, the best thing to do now is to celebrate. Sixth form and the next set of challenges are just around the corner, so for families who have the option, taking time to reflect on this milestone, what worked well, and progress made, is appropriate and just.
GCSE results are about securing the grades that unlock next steps and making two or three calm, thoughtful, and evidence-led decisions. If GCSE results fell short of what a sixth form or university programme requires, consider whether a review, resit, or revision to the plan is best. That decision must be made soon, but it does not have to be made on results day.
Whether results day is a whole or partial success or feels like an unmitigated disaster, remember that this is one of many milestones. At 16, that can be difficult to see or understand, and this is a moment when a longer perspective can be especially valuable.
We put together a quick Q&A with some of the most frequent questions we’ve received from families and will be online to answer questions and to provide support.
Q: Do universities expect a string of 9s?
A: No. Competitive courses value strong GCSE English/Maths and a coherent subject story; after that, A-level/IB performance carries the decision. (LSE and UCL publish minimum GCSE floors of 6 in English Language and 6/4 in Maths across many humanities courses.)
Q: My child has 8s/9s but a 5 in English Language. Is that fatal?
A: It can block selective sixth-form entry and certain university minima. Prioritise review if the raw mark is near the boundary; otherwise plan a resit while securing a sixth-form place that allows it.
Q: We’re one mark off a 6 in Maths—review or resit?
A: Get the script first, then ask the teacher if mark scheme application looks contestable. If not, a November resit is usually cleaner than a speculative review.
Q: Do GCSEs ‘decide’ Oxbridge?
A: They don’t decide; they differentiate. Strong GCSEs help at the shortlisting stage, but admissions tests, written work and interviews determine outcomes. Focus on the A-level/IB subjects that align with the course.
Q: Does a remark risk a grade going down?
A: Yes, though downward changes are extremely uncommon. Only submit when there’s a plausible marking issue and a clear benefit if the grade moves, and after carefully reviewing the script.
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