Teenagers across London received their GCSE results on Thursday, August 20, 2026, with the capital achieving the best pass rate in England at 71.7 per cent, according to data analysed by David Dubas-Fisher and Véronique Hawksworth. The City of London led all boroughs with 72.1 per cent of grades at seven or above, equivalent to an A or A* in traditional grading, while Havering ranked lowest at 19.0 per cent.
City of London Tops National Rankings
The City of London's results were far and away the best, with nearly three quarters of all grades a seven or above, almost 30 per cent more than the next best performing area. However, the City of London has a much smaller school-age population than the vast majority of London boroughs, and the majority of its schools are independent.
Richmond upon Thames achieved the second-best results with 43.4 per cent of grades at seven or higher, followed by Sutton at 43.0 per cent and Kingston upon Thames at 42.5 per cent. Barnet followed at 37.4 per cent, with Hammersmith and Fulham at 35.2 per cent, Wandsworth at 33.4 per cent, Southwark at 33.3 per cent, Merton at 31.8 per cent, and Hackney at 31.2 per cent.
Wide Disparity Across London Boroughs
While London fared the best in the country overall, a much more varied picture emerged when broken down by borough. Kensington and Chelsea recorded 30.5 per cent, Ealing 30.2 per cent, Redbridge 30.1 per cent, Westminster 29.5 per cent, Bexley 29.0 per cent, Camden 28.8 per cent, Bromley 28.3 per cent, Brent 27.8 per cent, Harrow 27.1 per cent, Haringey 26.9 per cent, and Newham 26.8 per cent.
Hillingdon, Hounslow, and Islington each recorded 24.6 per cent, followed by Greenwich at 24.2 per cent, Waltham Forest at 23.8 per cent, Enfield at 23.3 per cent, Lewisham at 23.1 per cent, Tower Hamlets at 22.5 per cent, Lambeth at 21.0 per cent, Croydon at 20.9 per cent, and Barking and Dagenham at 20.4 per cent. Havering sat as the worst-performing borough in London with just 19.0 per cent of all grades a seven or higher.
Regional Divide Widens Across England
The North East had the worst GCSE results of any region in England, with just 17.7 per cent of grades at seven or higher, compared to London's 28.5 per cent average. The gap of 10.8 percentage points has risen from 10.3 points last year, according to the data. In the South East, 24.6 per cent of grades were seven or higher, while in the East of England it was 22.0 per cent and in the South West it was 21.0 per cent.
Results dropped to 19.0 per cent in Yorkshire and The Humber, 18.9 per cent in the North West, 18.3 per cent in the West Midlands, and 18.2 per cent in the East Midlands. The West Midlands once again had the worst pass rate in the country at 62.4 per cent, with the gap widening compared to previous years. The regional divide within England is clearly growing with time, according to the analysis.
