Top grades since 2017
Share of english literature entries awarded A*–A, and A* alone, across the UK. The shaded years are 2020 and 2021, when grades were awarded without exams.
Male and female entries
A*–A rate by sex. In 2026 there were 7,504 male entries and 28,692 female entries; at A* the rates were 10.1% and 9.1% respectively.
Entries
Entries have fallen 8.3% over the last five years.
Every year in numbers
| Year | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36,196 | 9.3% | 24.9% | 99.3% | |
| 2025 | 37,931 | 9.2% | 24.6% | 99.3% | |
| 2024 | 39,673 | 9.7% | 25.2% | 99.2% | |
| 2023 | 36,743 | 10% | 25.9% | 99.2% | |
| 2022 | 35,791 | 16.1% | 36.7% | 99.3% | |
| 2021 | 39,492 | 19.6% | 44% | 99.8% | teacher-assessed grades |
| 2020 | 41,380 | 14.9% | 37.7% | 100% | centre-assessed grades |
| 2019 | 40,824 | 8.6% | 24.1% | 99.3% | |
| 2018 | 44,290 | 8.6% | 23.8% | 99.2% | |
| 2017 | 46,411 | 8.8% | 24.3% | 99.2% |
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About the data
Source: JCQ joint results tables, © JCQCIC. Provisional June-series results for the UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), all ages, as published at 9:30am each results day. Percentages are cumulative, so "A*–A" means the share of entries graded A* or A. Free to reuse our charts and computed figures with credit to Tutorperch and JCQ.