GCSE attainment by postcode in 2026: England's local authority gap

In England's provisional 2025/26 Key Stage 4 figures, the share of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in both GCSE English and maths varied by 43.6 percentage points between the highest- and lowest-performing local authorities. Kingston upon Thames recorded 68.1%, compared with 24.5% in Knowsley. Across regions, the corresponding gap was 12.6 percentage points: 55.2% in Outer London versus 42.6% in the West Midlands.

These are pupil-level attainment statistics for pupils at the end of KS4 in state-funded schools in England, not the proportion of all GCSE entries awarded a pass. The Department for Education (DfE) published the provisional release on 15 October 2026.

Citation-ready: The DfE's provisional 2025/26 KS4 results show a 43.6-percentage-point difference between Kingston upon Thames (68.1%) and Knowsley (24.5%) in the proportion of pupils achieving grade 5+ in both English and maths.

GCSE attainment gaps by area: the key figures

| DfE measure | Highest area | Lowest area | Difference | |---|---|---|---:| | Grade 5+ in both English and maths, by region | Outer London: 55.2% | West Midlands: 42.6% | 12.6 percentage points | | Grade 5+ in both English and maths, by local authority | Kingston upon Thames: 68.1% | Knowsley: 24.5% | 43.6 percentage points | | Average Attainment 8, by region | Outer London: 51.2 | North East: 44.1 | 7.1 score points | | Average Attainment 8, by local authority | Kingston upon Thames: 59.5 | Knowsley: 34.3 | 25.2 score points |

Source: Department for Education, Key stage 4 performance, academic year 2025/26, section Attainment by region and local authority. These are the highest and lowest areas for each separate measure, not a ranking of every local authority.

What does grade 5+ in both English and maths mean?

The DfE measure counts pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in both GCSE maths and English. For English, a grade 5 or above in either English language or English literature can count; pupils do not have to take both to satisfy this part of the measure.

It is different from the share of GCSE exam results awarded grade 4 or above. It is also different from Attainment 8, which measures achievement across up to eight qualifications. Keeping those denominators separate is essential when quoting a regional comparison.

Why is the local authority gap larger than the regional gap?

The largest local-authority difference, 43.6 percentage points, is more than three times the regional range of 12.6 percentage points (approximately 3.46 times). This is a comparison of ranges, not of individual pupils' probabilities of success.

Regions aggregate many local authorities. Aggregation can conceal large differences between smaller areas. The DfE notes that higher-attainment local authorities tend to be concentrated in London and the South, while many lower-attainment areas are in Northern and Midland regions. These are patterns in the data, not proof of their causes.

Does where you live determine your GCSE results?

No conclusion like that follows from these figures. Geography correlates with many differences in pupils' circumstances and schools' intakes. Prior attainment, disadvantage, special educational needs, cohort composition and other factors can affect comparisons. This release describes attainment; it does not establish that a postcode itself caused a particular outcome.

For parents, the appropriate use of the data is as context. Regional and local-authority averages cannot predict an individual child's grades.

How is this different from Lightbulb's GCSE results by region guide?

Our separate GCSE results by region 2026 guide examines Ofqual's exam-entry-level grade distribution, including the share of GCSE results awarded grade 7 or above in London and the North East.

This article answers a different question: what proportion of pupils at the end of KS4 achieved grade 5+ in both English and maths, and how that varies by region and local authority. The two datasets cover different populations and metrics and should not be combined into a single league table.

For the national examination picture, see GCSE results 2026 statistics.

Are the 2026 figures final?

No. The DfE release is provisional. It covers grades announced in August 2026 and includes the vast majority of pupils' results, but later amendments may affect the revised statistics. The next release is scheduled for February 2027.

The figures apply to England's state-funded schools and must not be presented as UK-wide results.

Sources, calculations and limitations

Primary source: DfE, Key stage 4 performance 2025/26, published 15 October 2026, Attainment by region and local authority and Which KS4 headline measures are being reported on?

Reproducible comparisons: 68.1 − 24.5 = 43.6 percentage points; 55.2 − 42.6 = 12.6 percentage points; 51.2 − 44.1 = 7.1 Attainment 8 points; 59.5 − 34.3 = 25.2 Attainment 8 points. The ratio of local-authority to regional percentage-point ranges is 43.6 ÷ 12.6 ≈ 3.46.

Interpretation: The percentages measure pupils achieving grade 5+ in both English and maths, not exam-entry pass rates. The figures are provisional and descriptive, and no causal effect of location is claimed. Calculations and table definitions were checked against the DfE release on 21 October 2026.