GCSE results by region 2026: England's regional grade gap

England's 2026 GCSE results continued to show a substantial regional gap. On Ofqual's all-results measure, 28.6% of GCSE results in London were grade 7 or above, compared with 17.7% in the North East.

That is a 10.9 percentage-point gap. Put another way, London's grade-7+ share was about 62% higher relative to the North East's rate. The percentage-point comparison is the cleaner statistic and should normally be used in reporting.

Citation-ready: In summer 2026, 28.6% of GCSE results in London were grade 7 or above, compared with 17.7% in the North East, according to Ofqual's all-results regional measure — a gap of 10.9 percentage points.

What exactly is being compared?

Ofqual publishes two regional views: one covering all GCSE results and another restricted to results issued to 16-year-olds. Those measures should not be mixed.

The figures above use the all-results table. They describe the share of results, not the percentage of pupils who personally achieved at least one grade 7.

That distinction matters particularly when comparing regions with different age profiles or post-16 entry patterns.

Why regional GCSE statistics can be misquoted

A regional result can answer several different questions:

• What share of all grades were 7+?
• What share were 4+?
• What happened specifically among 16-year-olds?
• What happened in one subject?
• What happened in a county, unitary authority or local authority district?

A number without its denominator can therefore be technically correct but misleading. Lightbulb labels the population and measure alongside every headline figure.

More granular local data exists

Ofqual's interactive GCSE map provides outcomes and subject uptake from 2019 to 2026 across English regions, counties/unitary authorities and local authority districts. This makes it possible to investigate whether a national regional gap is broad-based or driven by particular local areas and subjects.

Ofqual cautions that figures in the interactive map can differ slightly from the main release because the two products assign centres to regions in slightly different ways.

Does the gap prove schools in one region are better?

No. These are descriptive exam-result statistics. They do not by themselves isolate school quality or explain causation.

Regional outcomes can reflect many factors outside a simple school comparison, including cohort composition, deprivation, prior attainment, subject mix, entry patterns and local demographics. A responsible citation should describe the measured difference without pretending the dataset establishes why it exists.

Search and journalist value

Direct search demand for the exact phrase “gcse results by region” is modest: Lightbulb's October 2026 DataForSEO research estimated 20 UK searches per month, rising to 110 in August. The value of this page is therefore primarily as a precise reference for results-day reporting, regional press and education-policy coverage rather than as a high-volume consumer keyword.

Sources and methodology

Primary source: Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026.

Local drill-down source: Ofqual Analytics, GCSE grade outcomes by administrative areas in England.

The 10.9-point gap is Lightbulb's calculation: 28.6 minus 17.7. The relative comparison is also derived and is not an Ofqual-published headline.

For national figures, see GCSE results 2026: statistics.

For related 2026 data, see how rare a grade 9 is, the most popular GCSE subjects, and GCSE resit statistics.