In a press release published on 20 August 2026, the Department for Education reported that hundreds of thousands of pupils received their GCSE and level 1 and 2 vocational and technical qualification results that day. It said GCSE outcomes improved overall, up 0.2 percentage points at grade 4+ for 16-year-olds, and that over 6,000 more 16-year-olds achieved grade 7 and above in maths, describing this as the largest ever uptick in maths standards.

The release said there were 7,965 more technical award level 2 passes than a year earlier, with the North West recording 55,230 certifications and Yorkshire and the Humber 52,480; Yorkshire and the Humber had the biggest increase, at 2,120 more. It also reported that attainment among 17 to 19-year-olds was down in English, to 18.8%, and maths, to 13.6%, and that the gender gap narrowed by 0.2 percentage points at both grade 4+ and grade 7+.

According to the release, the government planned to introduce V levels from the following year alongside expanded T levels and fully funded apprenticeships for under-25s, with new pathways for 14-year-olds the year after. It also cited plans for new preparatory level 1 qualifications and revised performance measures.