Today, the Joint Council for Qualifications have published the 2025 results for A levels and Level 3 Qualifications in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and Community is pleased to send our warmest congratulations to all those who have been involved in the examination process from Teachers, Classroom Assistants and administrative staff, and especially the students themselves. It is right that we make every effort to celebrate the achievements of the students and those who have laboured so hard over the past two years and have achieved so much.
Entries
Over 1 million qualifications were entered – 54% taken by females and 46% by males. As in previous years, the number of students being entered for STEM subjects has continued to rise. Maths remains the single most popular A level (up 4.4%) with over 110,000 students choosing the subject and there has also been growth in the numbers taking economics, physics and chemistry.
Just over 250,000 Level 3 Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQ) results have also been awarded today, with Business Management the most popular subject (44,802 entries). Just under 12,000 students have received T Levels with around 91.4% achieving a pass grade or above.
Conversely, entries for languages fell again with both French (-9.1%) and German (-8.5%) notably down again continuing the steady downward trend observed over the past few years.
The ten most popular A level subjects in terms of entries in 2025 were: mathematics (112,138), psychology (75,943), biology (71,400), chemistry (63,538), business studies (45,235), physics (44.957), history (44,717), sociology (43,875), art & design subjects (43,124) and economics (42,667).
Pressure in the system
Many students and staff feel under increasing pressure to perform in exams. For students this is the culmination of two-years of hard work and the gateway to their adult life but the pressure does have a notable impact on the health and well-being of many students.
The numbers of students taking A Levels has remained remarkably stable throughout and post COVID-19 with the number of entries falling just 0.5% this year despite the number of students increasing by 2.6%. The proportion of results achieving the highest grades is up by 0.1 to 9.4% with 77.9% of all results being C or higher. The average student took 2.6 A Levels which is the same as last year.
Whilst this picture is a positive one, it must be noted that in a system where teachers are only as good as their last set of results there continues to be concern that any perceived decline in standards, no matter how small, can find teachers and headteachers accused of failing to meet targets.
Congratulations Deserved
The stakes for teachers and students have never been higher, therefore, it is a pleasure to note that the evidence from today’s results is that students continue to succeed and respond positively to the enormous pressures.
And it is with great pleasure that Community sends staff and students many congratulations!
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© Community Trade Union 2025
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