Hundreds of thousands of students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland collected their A-level, T-level and BTec results on Thursday, 13 August 2026, with a further record share expected to have secured places at their first-choice universities. Results were made available from 08:00 BST, according to BBC News coverage of results day, and the day comes amid continued debate over the cost of higher education and growing government emphasis on technical training as an alternative route.
According to Ofqual's 2026 guidance for schools and colleges, AS, A level and T Level results were formally released to students on 13 August 2026, with schools and colleges receiving the outcomes a day earlier. Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications used for progression to higher education were also issued on or before that date. Pearson's own timetable confirms that BTEC Nationals were aligned with A levels and T Levels on 13 August, with lower-level BTEC qualifications following later in the month.
How many students received grades, and what did the figures show?
Roughly 40% of 18-year-olds in England sit A-levels each summer, and around 250,000 to 300,000 grades for vocational and technical qualifications - including BTec National, Cambridge Technical, Cambridge Advanced National and T-level results - were also released to students in England. AS-levels, which will count towards final A-level outcomes next summer in Wales and Northern Ireland, were released alongside them.
Top A-level grades rose for a third year running across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with 28.5% of all grades marked at A* or A, up from 28.3% last year. Broken down by nation, England recorded 28.3% of grades at A* or A, up from 28.2% in 2025, while Northern Ireland reached 30.7%, up from 30.3% the previous year. A national broadcaster separately reported that Wales stood at 29.6% and Northern Ireland at 30.7%, making it the highest-performing of the three nations this year. This sits alongside our earlier report that provisional Northern Ireland data suggested a record 44% of entries achieved A*-A grades; the two figures differ and both are reported here as published by their respective sources.
T-levels, now in their fifth year as a qualification in England, saw a marked rise in uptake, though reported figures for the scale of that rise vary between outlets. A national broadcaster's results-day report found that 11,909 students received T-level grades in 2026, up from 7,435 the previous year. A separate results-day analysis instead put the figures at more than 19,600 students receiving grades across 21 subjects this year, up from 11,900 students across 18 subjects last year, and reported that the pass rate rose from 91.4% to 92.6%, with the proportion achieving a merit grade or above increasing from 65.3% to 68.9%. That same analysis noted that around 77% of students who began their T-level in 2024, and were therefore expected to finish this year, had received results, reflecting a persistently high dropout rate.
Around 41% of UK 18-year-olds had applied to university by the end of June 2026 - a similar proportion to the year before, despite heightened scrutiny of long-term university costs and a renewed push towards technical education.
How did university admissions compare this year?
A record number of 18-year-olds in the UK have been accepted into university, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), with more than ever getting into their first choice in absolute numbers. The steepest growth came at what Ucas terms "higher tariff" universities - the most selective institutions, including those in the Russell Group - which took on 5.5% more UK 18-year-olds than last year, with many still advertising courses through Clearing.
Nick Hillman, chief executive of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said a fall in the number of postgraduate international students had freed up resources for universities to teach more UK undergraduates, while the Russell Group said its members would "only admit students who show evidence of being able to succeed". Engineering and technology subjects saw the biggest growth in university acceptances, up 16% on the previous year, suggesting interest in technical fields is rising even within traditional degree routes.
Despite the record number of acceptances, the actual percentage of 18-year-old offer-holders in England, Wales and Northern Ireland getting into their first choice fell from 82% to 79%, as the overall pool of 18-year-olds has grown. Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, said the volume of courses listed in Clearing meant teenagers could "absolutely still go to university in the autumn if that's what they would like to do", adding that many students were using Clearing to find courses closer to home amid cost concerns. Students weighing their options, including appeals and resits, can consult our guide to grades, appeals, resits and Ucas clearing for 2026.
Why is the cost of university under such scrutiny?
Pressure has been mounting on the government to reform student loan repayments, particularly around Plan 2 loans, which were formerly issued in England and remain in place in Wales. The debate has intensified alongside Prime Minister Andy Burnham's renewed focus on technical education, including his announcement that pupils in England will be able to study technical subjects alongside core academic learning from Year 10. His predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, had previously announced that new V-level qualifications would become an additional vocational option for students from 2027.
Separately, average student debt in England fell to £47,730 in 2026 as new, lower-interest Plan 5 loans began entering repayment, even as tuition fees and living costs continued to climb - a shift that has renewed questions about whether a degree remains financially worthwhile.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents more than 140 vice-chancellors, said she was concerned that negative commentary about higher education could discourage prospective students from less-advantaged backgrounds from applying.
Don't let politicians make your decision for you.
Jo Saxton voiced similar frustration on Tuesday over the current tone of debate around higher education.
It's right that the prime minister and secretary of state [in England] are committed to parity [between academic and technical education] but I still think that there are lots and lots and lots of young people the best place for whom would be in a university.
Universities continue to face financial strain following a long-term freeze in domestic tuition fees and a decline in international student numbers. Undergraduate tuition fees in England and Wales are rising for a second consecutive year for students starting in September 2026, reaching £9,790 annually, yet four in ten universities in England are still expected to report a deficit for the 2025-26 financial year. Some selective universities may find that taking on more UK undergraduates this year offers a degree of financial stability, even as other institutions rely more heavily on Clearing to fill places.
How wide is the regional attainment gap in England?
The gap between the highest- and lowest-performing regions in England has widened again this year. In London, 32.7% of A-level grades were marked at A* or A, compared with 23.1% in the North East and the East Midlands - a gap of 9.6 percentage points, up from 9.2 points last year and the largest on record since the A* grade was introduced in 2010.
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the regional gaps were driven by "persistent long-term disadvantage". Chris Zarraga, director of Schools North East, said schools in different parts of England were "not operating on a level playing field", noting that while the share of A* and A grades in the North East had grown, London had "moved significantly further ahead", adding that "there is a structural divide in the circumstances and opportunities surrounding them". Myles McGinley, managing director of Cambridge OCR, said there were also "severe inequalities within the capital itself", pointing to differences between areas such as Richmond and Hounslow, as well as between Durham and Hartlepool in the North East.
Is there a gender gap in top grades this year?
More A* and A grades went to girls than boys this year in absolute terms - 137,000 compared with 120,900 - but because more girls sit A-levels overall, the percentage figures tell a different story. This year, 28.9% of all grades given to boys were A*s or As, compared with 28.0% of grades given to girls, according to a national broadcaster's results-day report and confirmed by a rival television broadcaster's coverage of results day. Boys first overtook girls on this measure last year, the first such reversal since 2018, and that gap has now widened. Girls continue to outperform boys across a broader range of grades, with 79.8% of girls' grades marked A* to C compared with 76.8% of boys' grades.
How does this compare with results elsewhere in the UK?
North of the border, Scottish exam pass rates rose this year, with more than 148,000 learners receiving National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher results on 4 August 2026, alongside record numbers of vocational awards and a narrower attainment gap between pupils from different backgrounds; results had been scheduled for release from 08:00 that day.
In Wales, our earlier reporting found that students received their A-level and vocational results slightly later, on 14 August 2026, a group that included a firefighter juggling exam preparation with wildfire call-outs, amid concerns over falling A-level progression rates and a rise in young people not in education, employment or training. Ucas's own results-day guidance, however, states that A-level, T Level and Welsh Baccalaureate results in Wales were available from 08:00 on 13 August 2026, the same day as England and Northern Ireland; both dates are reported here as published by their respective sources.
Why are this year's cohorts significant?
Most students collecting results this year were in Year 7 and Year 8 during 2020 and 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both of those years saw spikes in GCSE pass rates and top A-level grades after exams were cancelled and results were instead based on teacher assessments, followed by a phased effort to bring grading back in line with pre-pandemic standards. Grading in England returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, prompting a sharp fall in top grades, while Wales and Northern Ireland followed suit in 2024; the proportion of top grades across the three nations combined has been gradually rising since that reset. This summer, England's exams regulator, Ofqual, said it was closely monitoring the marking of an A-level maths paper that some students and parents had described as significantly harder than in previous years.
What happens next for students still awaiting results?
Not every qualification was released this week. According to Pearson's vocational qualifications bulletin, students taking BTec Level 1/2 Firsts, Level 2 Technicals and BTec Tech Awards will receive their results on 20 August 2026. The same date is listed by the National Careers Service as GCSE results day across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, marking the next major milestone in this year's exam season. Ucas's results-day timeline also notes that students are able to check university offers and decisions as soon as results become available from 08:00, meaning many will already know their outlook for the autumn before BTec and GCSE cohorts receive their own results.
Key Facts
- A-level, T-level, BTec and AS-level results were released from 08:00 on Thursday, 13 August 2026, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Top A-level grades (A*/A) rose for a third year running to 28.5% UK-wide, though T-level grade totals were reported differently by different outlets - 11,909 versus more than 19,600 students.
- The regional attainment gap in England widened to 9.6 percentage points between London (32.7% A*/A) and the North East and East Midlands (23.1%), the largest since 2010.
- Boys outperformed girls on the proportion of top grades for a second year, 28.9% to 28.0%, despite girls receiving more A*/A grades in absolute numbers.
- Average student debt in England fell to £47,730 in 2026 as new Plan 5 loans began entering repayment, while tuition fees rise to £9,790 a year from September 2026.
- GCSE and lower-level BTec results are scheduled for release on 20 August 2026.
