The 2026 A level results and my thoughts about them. Part 1.

PART 1.

The 2026 UK A level RESULTS.

‘The 2026 UK A level results show that the proportion of top grades has risen slightly for the third consecutive year with 28.5% of entries achieving A or A% - up from 28.3% last year’

Quoted from the BBC.

That means 71.5% did not achieve A or A*.

I think what we really need to do is fixate on this number. 71.5%.

We have a growing population of 18 year olds and this year 320,505 students sat their A levels in England. Quoted from Gov.UK.

268,820 secured places at Universities across the UK. Quoted from Which School Advisor.

If these figures are accurate, this means that approx. 51,685 did not secure a University spot.

Private schools saw nearly 50% of A level results at A and above. Quoted from Ofqual.

Grammar schools saw nearly 44% of A level results at A and above. Quoted from Ofqual.

State Schools saw 23% of A level results at A and above. Quoted from Ofqual.

What a huge disparity between State V Grammar/Private.

In my eyes, all of these percentages are far too low. If our children are studying for 13-14 years, why aren’t more children securing A and A*?

Is an A or an A* really so important?

Well, ultimately yes it is.

As parents, we all want the best for our children. If you’re going to send your child to school for 8 hours a day/ 5 days a week/ 38 weeks of the year, we want to see them securing the best results.

That’s my opinion on the matter anyway.

What’s yours?