A-Level Pass Rates by Subject 2026

A-Level pass rates by subject 2026, from JCQ's summer 2026 UK results across 25 subjects, show A*–E pass rates uniformly high at 95.7–99.8%, making overall pass rate a poor measure of difficulty. Drama and Theatre has the highest A*–E rate at 99.8%, while Physics has the lowest at 95.7%, reflecting its demanding problem-solving content. The more informative figure is the A*–A rate, which varies far more: Further Maths leads at 58.9% against a cross-subject average of 27.8%, followed by German at 45.9% and Maths at 42.5%. English Language has the lowest A*–A rate at 12.3%. Maths is the largest entry at 115,380, and Psychology is the most-entered A-Level after Maths, with 79,201 entries and a lower top-grade rate of 20.1% reflecting its broad-ability cohort. Because A-Level students have already self-selected by passing GCSE and choosing to continue a subject, the A*–A rate is the more useful comparison than the near-universal A*–E pass rate for judging genuine subject difficulty.

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Summer 2026 headline (Ofqual, Qualification results in England: summer 2026, published 20 August 2026): 28.3% of A-Level results in England were grade A or above and 78.1% were grade C or above. The subject table below uses JCQ's UK-wide summer 2026 figures (Table 1, published 13 August 2026), where 28.5% of all A-Level entries achieved grade A or above and 97.5% achieved grade A*–E; the England-only Ofqual figures are marginally lower because they exclude Welsh, Northern Irish and other UK entries.

Based on JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) summer 2026 UK results. 25 subjects covered.

Free to cite with attribution to TutorLab analysis of JCQ A-Level results 2026.

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Key findings

Overall A*–E pass rates are uniformly high (95.7–99.8%) across all A-Level subjects, reflecting the cohort effect of post-16 self-selection.
Further Maths has the highest A*–A rate at 58.9%, more than double the cross-subject average.
Psychology is the most-entered A-Level after Maths, with a lower top-grade rate (20.1%) due to its broad ability cohort.
Physics has the lowest overall pass rate (95.7%), with Computer Science close behind (95.9%): both carry a demanding problem-solving or programming component.
Drama and Theatre has a 99.8% pass rate but only a 23.5% A*–A rate. Almost everyone passes, but top marks are hard to achieve.

A-Level pass rates table 2026, sorted by A*–A rate

Subject	Entries	A*–E pass%	A*–A rate%
Further Maths	21,032	98.3%	58.9%
German	2,294	99.4%	45.9%
Maths	115,380	96.4%	42.5%
French	6,888	98.8%	39%
Art and Design	42,620	99.5%	35.1%
Spanish	8,434	99.1%	34.9%
Physics	45,800	95.7%	32.5%
Chemistry	65,541	96%	32.3%
Economics	47,157	98.2%	30.2%
Biology	73,925	96.2%	27.8%
Politics	24,824	97.9%	27.4%
Computer Science	20,009	95.9%	25.5%
Religious Studies	16,042	98.6%	25.4%
Music	5,106	98.5%	25.2%
English Literature	36,196	99.3%	24.9%
History	46,960	99%	24.7%
Geography	34,128	98.5%	24.7%
Drama and Theatre	7,397	99.8%	23.5%
Psychology	79,201	97.1%	20.1%
Sociology	43,562	98%	19%
Law	16,526	96.2%	17%
Business Studies	46,977	97.9%	16.2%
Film Studies	7,761	99.4%	16%
Media Studies	15,009	99.3%	14%
English Language	13,192	99.3%	12.3%

Source: JCQ summer 2026 A-Level results (UK). Figures are provisional and shown to one decimal place.

Why A*–E pass rates are misleading

A*–E pass rates are almost meaningless for comparing A-Level difficulty because they are consistently 96–99% across all subjects. This reflects the cohort effect: students who choose a subject at A-Level have already self-selected by passing it at GCSE and choosing to continue.

The more informative metric is the A*–A rate, which measures what proportion of students achieve the top grades. This varies far more meaningfully: from 12.3% in English Language to 58.9% in Further Maths.

Even A*–A rates can be misleading without understanding cohort composition. Further Maths and Modern Languages attract students who are specifically strong in those subjects, which inflates top-grade rates compared to mass-entry subjects like Psychology or Sociology.

What this means for A-Level tutoring

For subjects with high A*–A rates (Further Maths, Economics, languages), a tutor's job is typically to push a capable student from B/C to A/A* rather than to rescue a struggling one. The tutoring challenge is refinement: essay technique, mark scheme precision, exam strategy.

For subjects with lower A*–A rates (Psychology, Sociology, Media Studies), tutors often work with a wider ability range. The priority is frequently closing understanding gaps and building structured essay technique in subjects where high-quality answers require a genuine analytical framework.

Computer Science stands out: a relatively low overall pass rate combined with a moderate A*–A rate suggests the subject genuinely differentiates ability levels. A tutor who can support both the practical programming component and the theoretical written papers adds significant value.

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Frequently asked questions

Which A-Level subject has the highest pass rate?

Drama and Theatre has the highest A*–E pass rate at 99.8%, followed by Art and Design (99.5%) and German (99.4%, tied with Film Studies). However, the near-universal pass rates across all A-Level subjects (95.7–99.8%) make overall pass rate a poor indicator of difficulty.

Which A-Level has the highest A*–A grade rate?

Further Maths has the highest A*–A rate at 58.9%, reflecting its highly self-selecting cohort. German (45.9%), Maths (42.5%) and French (39.0%) are also high. The subject with the lowest A*–A rate in this dataset is English Language at 12.3%.

Is Computer Science a hard A-Level?

Computer Science has one of the lowest overall pass rates (95.9%, second only to Physics at 95.7%) among academic A-Levels: the demanding programming component and technical theoretical content create a genuine floor. It is widely considered one of the more challenging A-Levels.

How do A-Level pass rates compare to GCSE pass rates?

A-Level overall pass rates are much higher than GCSE grade 4+ rates, typically 95.7–99.8% vs 57.2–93.6% at GCSE. This is because A-Level students are a self-selected academic cohort who have already demonstrated ability at GCSE and chosen to continue the subject.

Why do Modern Language A-Levels have high A*–A rates?

French, Spanish and German A-Levels have A*–A rates of 35–46%, partly due to cohort self-selection (strong linguists opt in) and partly because native or near-native speakers are included in the cohort. With declining entries, the remaining cohort is increasingly self-selected.