Which GCSE subject delivered the most top grades in 2026?

This year’s GCSE results in England have shown reductions in the share of students receiving a grade 4 or better in both English and maths.

Meanwhile, the divide between the region with the highest share of top grades (London) and the lowest (North East) widened this year, and the gender gap in attainment at grade 4 narrowed again.

But which subjects had the largest share of top grades? Among subjects with large entry numbers, all three sciences saw more than 40 per cent of students awarded grade 7 or better; meanwhile it was more than 30 per cent in German, French and religious studies.

Tes examines the 2026 GCSE results among some of the most popular subjects:

GCSE results by subject

Maths

Maths GCSE entries awarded a grade 4 or higher decreased this year, from 58.2 per cent in 2025 to 57.2 per cent.

Across the whole cohort, 16.8 per cent of students attained the top grades (7 or higher), compared with 16.5 per cent in 2025.

Among candidates aged 17 or older (this cohort is often students retaking GCSEs after poor results first time around), some 15.3 per cent were awarded a grade 4 or better (down from 17.1 per cent in 2025).

For 16-year-olds, entries awarded grade 4 or better remained steady at 71.8 per cent compared with 71.9 per cent in 2025; for grade 7 or better it was 22.3 per cent compared with 21.5 per cent last year.

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English language

There was also a marginal fall in the proportion of students achieving a grade 4 or better in English language. Some 59.5 per cent of entries were graded a 4 or higher this year, compared with 59.7 per cent in 2025.

The proportion of 16-year-old students achieving at least a grade 4 increased from 70.6 per cent to 71.4 per cent.

Among students aged 17 or older, 19.8 per cent achieved a grade 4 or better, down from 20.9 per cent last year.

In 2025,15.5 per cent of entries for English language were awarded the top grades across the whole cohort, falling to 15.2 per cent this year.

English literature

English literature saw a slight fall in the proportion of entries awarded a grade 4 or better (73.4 per cent) compared with 2025 (74 per cent).

The share of English literature students in receipt of a grade 7 or better decreased from 20.2 per cent to 19.7 per cent this year.

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Double science

In double science, 58.1 per cent of entries got a grade 4 or better this year, up slightly from 57.6 per cent last summer.

Meanwhile, 9.2 per cent were awarded grade 7 or better, compared with 9.1 per cent in 2025.

Biology

Last year, 89.4 per cent of biology entries were awarded a grade 4 or above, and 43.4 per cent got grade 7 or above. This year the proportions were 89.6 per cent and 43.5 per cent, respectively.

Chemistry

Some 92.1 per cent of students were graded 4 or above in chemistry, and 47 per cent received the top grades of 7 and above, compared with a pass rate of 91.5 per cent and 46.1 per cent in receipt of grade 7 or better last year.

Physics

In physics, the share of students receiving grade 7 or better increased from 45.1 per cent to 45.9 per cent. Some 91.6 per cent received a grade 4 or better, up from 90.8 per cent last summer.

Entries into each discipline of science remained very similar this year compared with 2025.

Spanish, French and German

Among students who entered GCSE Spanish, 28.9 per cent were awarded grade 7 or better, while the share was 27.1 per cent last year.

Some 71.9 per cent received a grade 4 or better in Spanish, compared with 70.6 per cent in 2025.

The pass rate in French grew from 72.9 per cent last year to 73.6 per cent this year, and the top grades were awarded to 30.2 per cent of students, up from 29.7 per cent last summer.

The top grades in German were awarded to 34.8 per cent of students, and 80.2 per cent received a grade 4 or better (up from 34 per cent and 79.6 per cent in 2025, respectively).

Entries into Spanish and German saw marginal decreases this year, but French entries saw a more significant drop: 120,020 students entered in 2026, down 5.5 per cent from 126,980 in 2025.

History

Among history students, 64.1 per cent were awarded a grade 4 or better and 26.1 per cent received grade 7 or better. Last year the proportions were 64.2 per cent and 26.2 per cent, respectively.

Geography

The share of students receiving a pass grade 4 or above in geography this year is 65.6 per cent, up marginally from 65.1 per cent in 2025. The proportion of students in receipt of a grade 7 or better increased from 24.8 per cent in 2025 to 25.1 per cent in 2026.

Religious studies

In religious studies, 32.3 per cent of entries received a grade 7 or better (up from 31.7 per cent in 2025) and 73.7 per cent received at least a grade 4 (up from 73.2 per cent last year).

Art and design subjects

Top grades of 7 or better were awarded to 23.4 per cent of entries in art and design, compared with 23.8 per cent last summer, while the pass rate increased slightly from 76.9 per cent to 77 per cent.

Music

In music, 33.8 per cent of entries were awarded a grade 7 or better, and 76.4 per cent received a grade 4 or higher. Last year, 33.3 per cent of entries received at least a grade 7 and 75.9 per cent got a grade 4 or above.

Design and technology

Design and technology saw a slight reduction in the share of entries awarded a grade 4 or higher (66.5 per cent) compared with 2025 (66.7 per cent).

The proportion of students in receipt of a grade 7 or better remained the same at 23 per cent.

Drama

In drama, there was a slight fall in the pass rate to 77.5 per cent this year from 77.6 per cent last year. However, top grades of 7 or better were awarded to 27.8 per cent of entries this summer compared with 27.2 per cent in 2025.

Computing

Among computing students, 29.9 per cent were awarded the top grades, and the pass rate was 70.6 per cent. Both represent rises on 2025, from 29.6 per cent and 69.2 per cent, respectively.

PE

There was a marginal rise in the proportion of PE students in receipt of a grade 7 or better, from 23.5 per cent last year to 23.7 per cent in 2026.

While the share of students receiving a grade 4 or better fell from 72.7 per cent last year to 72.5 per cent this summer.