Thousands of students across Greater Manchester received their GCSE results on Thursday (August 20), with nervous faces turning to smiles, tears and celebrations as they opened their envelopes. The day came a week after a successful A Level Results Day, when students across the region celebrated a string of momentous successes.
Trafford Leads, Rochdale Lags Behind
Trafford became the only area ranked in England's top 20 that is outside the south, with 39.7% of grades received by pupils in the borough at 7 or above. In contrast, Rochdale was one of the worst performing councils, with 13.2% at grade 7 or above. Elsewhere across Greater Manchester, Salford achieved 18.1%, Stockport 24.8%, Oldham 16.7%, Bolton 20.1% and Manchester 22.5%.
In north-west England as a whole, 18.9% of entries received grade 7 or above, up slightly from 18.8% in 2025, nearly 10% lower compared to results in London.
Record-Breaking Results at Local Schools
Wright Robinson College in Gorton achieved its best results yet in its 60-year history. Dean Trust Rose Bridge in Ince, Wigan, celebrated the highest ever number of pupils achieving a strong pass (grade 5) and a grade 7 in both English and maths, with English results also the highest in the school's history.
At Co-op Academy Belle Vue, music blasted out as friends hugged and cheered. The school significantly outperformed national averages in a number of areas, taking place among the strongest-performing schools in the region. Among the success stories was Luna Fachfach, who relocated from Sweden in Year 9 and had to learn a new language. She achieved straight 9s across all her subjects. “I feel so proud. All the hard work has finally paid off, and I’m so happy I can celebrate with my family and friends. I’m especially proud of getting a 9 in English Literature,” said Luna. She is off to Loreto College in September to do A-levels in Chemistry, Biology and Maths, hoping to study Medicine in future.
Roman Tetlow jumped for joy after opening his results, achieving a 4 in Maths and 5 in Science. Scott Fletcher, Headteacher at Co-op Academy Belle Vue, said: "Our students have delivered a truly record-breaking performance. Not only are our results considerably above the national average, but we are leading Manchester by a long way. For a cohort of 118 students to bring home 58 Grade 9s is exceptional."
Individual Success Stories Across the Region
At Co-op Academy Failsworth, Excellent Odemwingie, who was born and raised in Spain and only moved to the school three years ago, achieved three 9s, three 8s and a 7. He speaks English, Spanish and Catalan. Across the year group, the proportion of students achieving Grade 4 or above rose by 5.5%, while those achieving a strong Grade 5 or above surged by 14% in just one year.
Rebecca Shaw, Headteacher at Co-op Academy Failsworth, said: "We are incredibly proud of our students and the progress they have made. These results reflect the hard work of our young people, the dedication and commitment of our staff, and the support of our families."
At Irlam and Cadishead Academy, Polly-Anne Latchford noted that "everyone got closer together friends-wise" during GCSE season. Ethan Steedman said: "Everyone let go of all their beef, and everyone was just friends. It was definitely unforgettable, I'll always miss this school." George Lanario was "really proud" of his efforts, saying: "I was nervous about maths because I'd never passed it before. Absolutely buzzing." He credited his maths teacher, Mr Johnson, for his success.
At Lowry Academy, Kezia Paxi said: "I got an 8 in physics! I’ve never gone above a 7!" She is off to Xaverian College with her friend Angel Esezobor, with the duo planning to study medicine. Angel said: "I was most nervous about chemistry, but I got a 9 in chemistry so I’m happy."
National Picture: Top Grades Rise Slightly
Nationally, the proportion of GCSE entries awarded top grades has risen from last year, but the rate scoring a decent pass has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Overall entries for GCSEs have risen slightly, up 0.6% on 2025. The overall rate for grades 1/G or above is 97.9%, the same as 2025 but down on 98.3% in 2019.
More than a fifth (22.0%) of UK entries were awarded at least a 7 or an A grade this year, up by 0.1 percentage points on last year, when 21.9% achieved the top grades. Boys have continued to close the gender gap: nearly a quarter (24.4%) of girls’ GCSE entries were awarded at least a grade 7/A compared with almost a fifth of boys’ entries (19.6%), a 4.8 percentage point gap, down from a difference of 5.1 last year.
