Cardiff has published its city-wide GCSE results, with pupils in the city outperforming the Wales average. More than a quarter of GCSE entries received A or A* grades.
Top Performers and Grade Breakdown
Among the city's top performers was Llanishen High pupil Ananmay Bannerjee, who achieved 14 straight A* grades after getting up at 4am to do his revision.
Provisional WJEC results released on Thursday show that 27.9% of Cardiff GCSE entries achieved A–A* grades, up from 26.4% in 2025. Meanwhile, 97.0% of Cardiff entries achieved A–G grades, compared with 96.8% in 2025.
The proportion of entries awarded A–C grades rose to 69.1%, well above the Wales average of 63.7% and an increase on last year's figure of 68.0%.
Student Reactions
Among teenagers picking up results today in Cardiff was Mary Immaculate pupil Carlotta Melendez. She said she is looking forward to going to St David's College, where she will study English literature, politics and law. "I feel very good about my results. I worked hard and I'm glad it showed," she said.
Llanishen High pupil Alex Thwaite said his big dream is to make it pro in rugby, as he collected his GCSE results. His options for A level are English, PE and psychology after he achieved five As, four Bs, and a D at GCSE. He said: "I feel really good because I got an A in PE and an A in English. Next year I'm going to Whitchurch high because they've got a rugby academy there. It's a privilege to be in a system where the likes of Sam Warburton have played in."
Explaining how he got his place, he said: "You do lots of trainings and if they like what they see they'll invite you to more. (When I found out I'd hit a place there) I was really happy because I've wanted to do it for a long time, to actually chase my rugby dreams, and I'm glad I got to do it at Whitchurch."
Rahoy Garoy, from Mary Immaculate High in Cardiff, received 10 A*/A grades. She said: "I'm really shocked. I was really stressing and then I was just contemplating every answer I wrote. But I am happy to see that all the hard work pays off." Now she is going to study at St David's College, with subjects including history, economics and politics.
Official Response
Cllr Sarah Merry, Cardiff Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, said: "I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to all Cardiff learners receiving their GCSE and other qualification results today. Their achievements are the result of hard work, dedication and resilience, and they should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished.
"It is especially encouraging to see Cardiff's results continue to improve, with more learners achieving the highest grades and A*–C performance remaining significantly above the Welsh average.
"Whether young people are moving on to further education, employment, apprenticeships or training, I wish them every success as they take their next steps.
"I would also like to thank our schools, teachers, support staff and families for the vital role they play in helping learners realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential."
