Around 32,000 pupils across Northern Ireland collected their GCSE and vocational qualification results on Thursday, 20 August 2026, with schools remaining the only route to grades since no online results service is available locally. The outcome mirrors 2025, when roughly a third of GCSE entries achieved the top A* and A grades, and comes as CCEA also released a batch of BTEC results on the same day.
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) administers almost 97% of GCSEs taken in Northern Ireland, with the remaining entries sat through exam boards based in England and Wales. As a result, some Northern Ireland pupils will see their results expressed in both letters and numbers, since GCSEs in England use a 9-to-1 numerical scale while Northern Ireland has retained the traditional A* to G grading structure.
How are Northern Ireland results different from England's?
Unlike pupils in England, who can now check their marks digitally, Northern Ireland students must attend their school in person to receive results, as they cannot access them online. According to a national broadcaster's report, England has introduced a new app this year that lets pupils view their GCSE grades on their phones, refreshing with results from 11:00 BST on 20 August 2026, but CCEA confirmed in January 2026 that it had no plans to launch an equivalent service for Northern Ireland. A separate report on rolling coverage of results day noted that results across the UK began being released from 08:00 BST on the day. Official guidance from the exams regulator confirms that GCSE and Level 2 vocational results were formally scheduled for release on or before 20 August 2026. For more detail on how the two grading systems compare, see our earlier explainer on how England's 9-1 grading scale works.
This pattern is not new. A report published on 14 August 2026 by a national broadcaster noted that pupils in both Wales and Northern Ireland typically receive results through their schools and colleges rather than via online portals, a practice that continued this year even as digital access expanded elsewhere.
What other changes are happening to qualifications?
Education Minister Paul Givan has confirmed that Northern Ireland will keep its A* to G grading structure for GCSEs rather than adopt the numerical system used in England. Further reforms are still ahead, however: most GCSEs will move to a linear format, with a pupil's final grade determined by exams sat at the end of the course rather than through ongoing assessment, and coursework will be reduced across several subjects, with some courses also narrowing the range of topics pupils must study in future years.
CCEA has separately confirmed it will stop offering a number of GCSE subjects by the end of the decade, including German and Economics. As reported in our earlier coverage of CCEA's plans to axe several GCSE and A-level subjects by 2030-31, the changes form part of a broader overhaul of qualifications that will also see AS levels scrapped from 2029. This year's results follow closely on the heels of the record A-level results announced on 13 August 2026, when more than 26,000 Northern Ireland students received A-level and AS-level grades, with provisional figures showing 44% achieving A*-A grades, the highest proportion on record.
The most widely sat GCSE subjects in Northern Ireland in 2025 were English Language and Maths, both compulsory for all pupils. Other subjects attracting large numbers of entries included Further Maths, Art and Design, Business Studies, English Literature, Double Award Science, Religious Studies, Geography and History. Pupils rely on these results, alongside qualifications such as BTECs, to move on to A-levels, further education courses, apprenticeships or employment.
Where can pupils get help?
CCEA is running a results helpline until 26 August 2026, reachable on 028 9026 1260 or by email at helpline@ccea.org.uk, for students who need advice or want their grades checked. The Department for the Economy's careers service is also offering support and guidance through its own helpline on 0300 200 7820 or online, according to a separate broadcaster's results-day report.
What happens next?
Northern Ireland pupils who have not yet collected their results can still do so through their schools, with support services remaining active in the days that follow. The CCEA helpline stays open until 26 August 2026 for any student wishing to query or appeal a grade, while pupils in England with access to the new results app will continue to be able to check their marks digitally from 11:00 BST onward on results day.
Key Facts
- About 32,000 pupils in Northern Ireland received GCSE and vocational results on 20 August 2026.
- Roughly 97% of Northern Ireland GCSEs are awarded through CCEA, with the rest issued by English and Welsh exam boards.
- Northern Ireland has retained A* to G grading, while England uses a 9-to-1 numerical scale.
- CCEA will discontinue several GCSE subjects, including German and Economics, by the end of the decade.
- The CCEA results helpline (028 9026 1260) remains open until 26 August 2026.
