Qualifications
More than 5.7 million GCSE results have been issued to students in England today, along with more than 374,000 results for level 1 and 2 vocational and technical qualifications. This year’s GCSE results are stable overall in comparison with those in 2025. Small variations are normal from year to year and from subject to subject.
The 2026 National Reference Test results are out. They show a long-term trend of slightly improved attainment in GCSE maths, but not in English language. To ensure standards are maintained, we told exam boards to take the NRT results into account when setting some GCSE maths grade boundaries. Here we explain what that means.
When we think about qualifications it’s tempting to focus on what they contain: the subjects, the assessments, the grades. But before that, do we really understand what the qualification is for? New research from Ofqual examines this question and sets out a detailed framework for what we call 'purpose analysis'.
We have issued the first Chief Regulator's Rebuke – a new enforcement tool introduced last October as part of a significant update to Ofqual's Supporting Compliance and Taking Regulatory Action policy. The rebuke has been issued to WJEC, following serious failings involving 4 of its Eduqas GCSE, AS and A level qualifications between 2019 and 2025.
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