GCSE results day 2026 - live updates as students find out their grades online, grade boundaries and resit options

Thousands of teenagers up and down the country will collect their GCSE results this morning after sitting exams earlier in the summer. For the first time many will be accessing their results online, though most students are still expected to go to their schools to find out their grades.

The Education Record app has been rolled out following a successful trial in Manchester in 2025, however results will be handed out by schools from 8am before they are updated online at 11am . The Department of Education has encouraged students to go in person to collect their results so that they are able to speak to teachers and staff about what to do next if their results aren't as good as they had hoped.

GCSE grade boundaries will be confirmed today by exam boards including AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, CCEA and WJEC. The grade boundaries - which have followed a numerical 9 to 1 system since 2017 are not fixed from one year to the next as exam boards set these once marking is almost complete.

Maths and English GCSE resit exams take place in November for both AQA and Pearson Edexcel. To resit any other subject students must wait until the the standard annual exam dates in May or June next year.

Many schools, colleges and sixth form centres will allow students to resit their exams for free in the following year from their first attempt, if the grade was below a 4. For those who passed with a Grade 4 or above, or those wanting to take resits independently there is likely to be a charge of between £75 to £500 depending on the subject and where the exam is taken.

In England, GCSEs are graded from 9 to 1. The highest grade of 9 is above the old A* as a 'super grade'. A U means a qualification is 'ungraded' and is the lowest possible result.

Grade 4 is considered a standard pass and the equivalent to a low grade C on the former letter-based system. Grade 5 or above is considered a 'strong pass'.

Students who receive a grade 3 or below in GCSE maths or English language will generally have to continue studying the subject.

The grading system is different elsewhere in the UK. Wales continues to use grades from A to G*, while Northern Ireland also uses letter grades, including the C* grade introduced in 2019.

GCSE grade boundaries are not fixed from one year to the next, with exam boards deciding where they should fall once marking is almost complete.

Official grade boundaries will be published by exam boards including AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, CCEA and WJEC on results day.

GCSE results can be released to students by schools from 8am on Thursday. Results will update online on the Education Record app at 11am.

The wait is finally over for hundreds of thousands of teenagers, with GCSE results day arriving across the country today.

August 20 is the big day for pupils to find out how they performed in their exams, which they sat earlier this summer.