GCSE results day 2025: everything you need to know

Students in England have received their GCSE results after the 2025 summer series of exams, with the data revealing another small fall in the proportion of students passing English and maths.

Schools will be supporting their students as they collect their results and prepare to take their next steps towards A levels, further education, an apprenticeship or employment.

Overall, the GCSE results in England in 2025 are very similar to last year’s, with similar proportions of top grades (7 or above) and students achieving a grade 4 or above.

This year, 67.1 per cent of entries achieved a grade 4 or above across all subjects, rising to 70.5 per cent when only 16-year-olds are included.

In 2025, 59.7 per cent of all students achieved at least a grade 4 in English language. In maths the figure is 58.2 per cent.

For the key insights from the 2025 GCSE results, click here.

Below, you can find the key information for schools about results day - including the key dates and a breakdown of the GCSE resits and appeals process.

When is GCSE results day 2025?

GCSE results day 2025 is on Thursday 21 August. Results were released to schools on Wednesday 20 August.

GCSE results 2025: Small drop again in English and maths pass rates

What should students do if they don’t get the grades they need?

On GCSE results day, many students will discover they have not obtained the grades they need to go on to study at their planned education provider.

Schools may assist these students by advising them to contact the school or college, and first establish if they will still be accepted with their current grades.

The school or college may accept them anyway, or they may require the student to resit a GCSE. It may be suitable for the current school to update the intended education provider with extenuating circumstances to explain the lower grade.

In a situation where a student has their offer withdrawn owing to failure to secure the entry grades required, the school may assist the student in contacting other providers to see if they have spaces.

The Department for Education also recommends that students who miss out on their required grades consider pursuing an apprenticeship, whereby they would be a paid employee training and developing their skills while working.

What if a student needs to resit an exam?

Students may opt to resit any exam if they wish. However, it is a requirement for any student who receives a grade lower than a 4 in English or maths to retake the exam.

Find out more about GCSE resits

How can students appeal a GCSE grade?

If a school or student believes a mistake has been made with the marking of an exam or with the administration process, it is possible to appeal to see the exam paper and have it checked by another examiner.

There are two key dates for GCSE grade appeals: the deadline to request a priority copy of the marked paper, and the deadline to request a review of marking.

Check these deadlines with the relevant exam board: this year, for example, AQA’s review deadlines are Thursday 5 September and Thursday 26 September respectively.

Find out more about how to appeal a GCSE grade

Will students receive their GCSE certificates on results day?

Students will not receive their GCSE certificates on results day. Instead, they will receive a Candidate Statement of Provisional Results.

Once re-marks and appeals have been processed, certificates are awarded in the autumn. Schools often hold presentation evenings to hand out certificates, or students can collect them from the school.

What are Candidate Statements of Provisional Results?

These slips of paper contain the GCSE grades that have been awarded, and the individual mark per paper.

Each exam board that a student has taken an exam with will provide a statement of provisional results.

This is an example from AQA:

When will GCSE grade boundaries be revealed?

Every year, grade boundaries are set by individual exam boards in a process called “awarding”. The placing of the grade boundaries cannot be done until exams have been marked.

For more information on how grade boundaries are set, you can read our article on the process behind setting grade boundaries.

Exam boards share grade boundaries on results day - follow the links below for more information:

• AQA
• Pearson
• WJEC
• OCR

Exams regulator Ofqual released a guide to GCSE grading for teachers and heads in 2025 to help them answer questions from students and parents.

How do GCSE grades 1-9 compare with previous grades?

The 9-1 grades were initially brought in in 2017 across English language, English literature and maths. By 2020 all subjects were graded using numbers. While this new grading has been in place for some time, the numbers still cause some confusion.

The numbered grades are roughly equivalent to the following A-G grades:

• Grades 9, 8 and 7 are roughly equivalent to the old A and A*
• Grades 6, 5 and 4 are roughly equivalent to the old B and C
• Grades 3, 2 and 1 are roughly equivalent to the old D,E F and G

A grade 4 is considered a “standard pass”, while a grade 5 is considered a “strong pass”.

How can teachers support students on GCSE results day?

Whether students are celebrating their results or having to remake their plans, they will likely benefit from seeing familiar faces to share the experience with them. There are plenty of ways teachers can help out, as detailed in the following articles:

• For classroom teachers: The role of the teacher on GCSE results day
• For middle leaders: A head of department’s guide to results day
• For pastoral leaders: How to support students who miss their grade

When are exam results released in Scotland?

Scottish exam results were released on Tuesday 5 August 2025. Students finishing secondary school in Scotland sit National Qualifications, with the National 5 (N5) being the equivalent to GCSE.

Learn more about SQA results day.