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In Summer 2025, GCSE students in the United Kingdom had a pass rate (achieving a grade of C/4 or higher) of 67.4 percent, compared with 67.6 percent in the previous year. The COVID-19 pandemic, and closure of schools in the UK led to exams throughout the country being cancelled, with grades in 2020 and 2021 based on assessment by teachers and schools. During this provided time period, the highest pass rate was reported in 2021, when 77.1 percent of GCSE entries achieved a pass grade, while it was lowest in 1988, when just 41.9 percent of entries were awarded a pass grade.

Gender attainment gap

Among female students, the proportion of GCSE entries that received a pass rate in 2025 was 70.5 percent, compared with 64.3 percent of male students. This attainment gap between male and female students has been a consistent feature of GCSE exam results in recent years, with female A-Level students also outperforming their male counterparts. Among undergraduates, this gap is less pronounced, with UK degree results for 2023/24 showing female undergraduates attaining only slightly higher grades than males. 

Growing negativity about UK education system

According to a survey conducted in April 2025, approximately 39 percent of British adults thought that education across the country was in a bad shape, compared with 31 percent who thought it was doing well. This is down from 2021 when just under half of adults believed that the national education system was good, and just 27 percent who thought it was bad. Although education currently lies behind several other issues for Britons in terms of importance, such as the economy, immigration, and health, the growing discontent about education will likely be one of the many issues the current Labour government will have to face in the coming months.