Exam results 2025: highlights for computing
Congratulations to all teachers and your students collecting their GCSE exam results today. Hopefully, all the hard work has paid off, and your students are celebrating their achievements.
As the 2025 GCSE and A level results are now available, there is much to celebrate in the world of computing and computer science.
Attainment has increased
This year, almost 30% of students taking GCSE computer science (29.6%) achieved the highest grades, up from 28.3% last year. Girls continue to outperform boys, with 35.7% achieving top grades compared with 27.8% of boys, although the gap between them has narrowed.
Last year, Ofqual released a standards report acknowledging that GCSE computer science students had previously been awarded lower grades in comparison to other subjects such as Maths and physics. What we can see from the results is that both the number of students achieving top grades and grades 9-4 in the subject have once again increased this year.
Student numbers
This year, GCSE Computer Science entries fell by 4.4%. The decrease was greater for boys, at 5.2%, than for girls, at 1.5%. In real numbers, 3,910 fewer boys and 4,222 fewer girls entered the subject. However, the longer-term trend is very encouraging. In 2019, there were only 80,027 entries. Even with this year’s decline, uptake is still far higher than six years ago, showing that interest in the subject remains strong.
Girls belong in computer science – increase in uptake from female students
It is widely reported that computer science suffers from gender inequality; the subject has traditionally seen a smaller proportion of female students – 2023 it was 21.1%, 2024 it was 21.9% - and this year has seen the same small increase, rising marginally to 22.6%.
With an ever-increasing desire to overcome the gender divide, our evidence informed I Belong programme aims to support you with understanding the barriers to girls' participation in computer science and make a plan to overcome them.
Steve Clarke, Head of CPD & NCCE said:
“The National Centre for Computing Education congratulates all students receiving their GCSE Computer Science results today. These outcomes reflect not only the hard work and determination of young people across the country, but also the dedication and expertise of their teachers. It is hugely encouraging to see continued strong performance in a subject that equips students with critical skills for the future. We remain committed to supporting schools with high-quality resources and professional development to ensure even more learners can thrive in Computer Science in the years ahead.”
How can we support you prepare for the new academic year?
As you prepare to return to school this September, the National Centre for Computing Education is on hand to support you through another exciting year.
Certification: from subject knowledge to pedagogy, our various certificates are here to support you improve your classroom practice.
Isaac Computer Science: the student-friendly platform is the perfect one-stop shop for GCSE and A level students. Covering content from across all English awarding bodies, the platform has a wealth of subject knowledge, multiple-choice questions, career videos and free to access student booster events. Sign up your students here.
Teach Computing Curriculum: you can support your students’ success by making full use of the free Teach Computing Curriculum resources, designed to save you time and provide high-quality, classroom-ready materials. Find them here.