Today, thousands of learners across Wales have received their A level and vocational qualifications results with more learners gaining the highest A* grade compared to last year.
2025 is the second year in which outcomes are intended to be back in line with pre-pandemic results. In the absence of exams, alternative arrangements were put in place to award qualifications in 2020 and 2021. Upon the reintroduction of exams, in 2022 and 2023 learners were protected from severe drops in results by a gradual return to pre-pandemic outcomes by 2024. Our article on last year's A level results explains more about what happened in the transition years.
As expected, the overall results this year are more in line with those achieved in 2019, being lower than the exceptional years 2020 and 2021, and transition years 2022 and 2023. They are slightly higher across the grades than in 2019 except for grades A*-E cumulatively.
What are the results for Summer 2025?
The data in the table below shows results for 2025 based on data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ is a membership organisation comprising the eight largest providers of qualifications in the UK). This is provisional data and represents the position at the time that results are issued. The data is subject to checking before final data at national, local authority and school level is published. It refers to the number of entries into qualifications and includes learners of all ages. The JCQ’s data is broken down for each UK nation.
Qualifications Wales, the independent regulator of qualifications below degree level, also publishes detailed information on the results in Wales.
Source: Joint Council for Qualifications, A Level Results Summer 2025
To summarise the results
- Results at grade A* are 10.5%, 1.6 percentage points higher than in 2019 and 0.4 percentage points higher than in 2024;
- Grades A* or A are 29.5%, 3.0 percentage points higher than in 2019 and 0.4 percentage points lower than in 2024;
- Grades A*-C are 77.2% which is 0.9 percentage points higher than in 2019 and 7 percentage points higher than in 2024; and
- Grades A* to E are 97.5% 0.1 percentage points lower than in 2019 and 0.1 percentage points higher than in 2024.
What’s next for learners?
Whether heading to university, training, or employment, support and guidance is available including from:
- Careers Wales;
- UCAS; and
- Working Wales
The Welsh Government has also published some information on apprenticeships and the Young Person’s Guarantee.
The WJEC offers a post-results service for those learners whose school or college think that there may have been an error in the WJEC’s assessment of the exam. The school or college can apply for a review.
We’ve published funding guides that set out information on the financial support available to students.
GCSE results will be out next Thursday and we’ll be publishing an article on those next week.
Article by Sian Hughes, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament.
