Top A* grades at A level in Wales have risen again, with more than one in 10 results achieving the top grade. Overall pass rates at A*-E are also slightly up, according to results published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).
Results at a glance
This year, 97.7% of students achieved A* to E grades, up 0.2 percentage points from 2025, while 10.7% achieved the top A* grade, also a 0.2 percentage point increase. A total of 29.6% of grades were A*-A, broadly equivalent to last year.
More pupils sat A levels this summer in Wales compared with last year. Grades were awarded to 13,930 students, compared with 13,585 last summer, with 32,683 grades awarded, up 2.6% on 2025.
Subject entries and trends
Maths remained the most popular A level, with 3,993 students sitting the exam, up more than 200 on 2025. Further maths entries also rose from 652 to 715. The largest increases in entries were in mathematics (+202), chemistry (+131) and English literature (+125). Entries fell for biology, sociology and psychology, although those subjects remain in the top 10.
Results for 18-year-olds only were broadly similar to the all-ages data, with 10.5% achieving A* and 29.7% achieving A*-A.
Gender differences and other qualifications
Boys continued to outperform girls at the top A* grade, as they have in recent years, but girls continued to outperform boys slightly at A*-A. The overall pass rate for males was 97.0% compared with 98.2% for females. Girls outperformed males by 0.1 percentage points at A*-A and by 4.1 percentage points at A*-C, while males outperformed females by 1.8 percentage points at A*.
Results were also published for the Level 3 Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales, which replaced the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and is equivalent in size and demand to an A level. The number of entries was 12,237, up 12.1% on 2025. Of those, 97.4% of candidates achieved the qualification, with 8% getting A* and 29% getting A*-A.
AS level results showed 42,082 grades awarded, up 5.4% compared with 2025, with 22.5% of results at grade A and 90.7% at grades A to E.
Historical context and response
The 2026 results continue a trend of improvement since exams returned to pre-pandemic conditions. In 2019, the last year of sat exams before the pandemic, A*-A grades stood at 26.5%, rising to 48.3% in 2021 when teacher assessed grades were used, and settling at 29.9% in 2024, the first year exams returned to pre-Covid conditions.
Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Cefin Campbell, met students at Pembrokeshire College in Haverfordwest and said: "Llongyfarchiadau, congratulations, to everyone receiving their results today. You should be incredibly proud of what you've achieved. Whether you're heading to university, an apprenticeship, employment or exploring your next steps, plenty of exciting opportunities lie ahead. I also want to recognise the unwavering support from teachers and education staff whose efforts have played a vital role in these learners' achievements."
He added: "If your results aren't quite what you hoped for, remember they don't define your future and it’s not the end of the road. There are lots of options open to you and support is available through Working Wales part of Careers Wales, your school or college, to help you find the path that's right for you."
