Proportion of GCSE entries that achieved a pass grade in the UK 1988-2024

In Summer 2024, GCSE students in the United Kingdom had a pass rate (achieving a grade of C/4 or higher) of 67.6 percent, the lowest since 2019 but still a noticeable increase when compared with years before 2020. 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 2024 was 71 percent, compared with 64.2 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 2021/22 showing female undergraduates attaining only slightly higher grades than males. 

Growing negativity about UK education system

According to a survey conducted in June 2024, approximately 42 percent of British adults thought that education across the country was in a bad shape, compared with 32 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, the growing discontent about education will likely be one of the many issues the new Labour government will have to face in the coming months. As of July 2024, the Labour Party was also seen as the best party at handling education issues, ahead of the Conservative and Liberal Democrats.