Trafford in Greater Manchester has been named the fifth best area in England for GCSE results, with 39.7% of grades achieving a 7 or above, according to data released on Thursday, 20 August.
The City of London recorded the best results in the country, with 72.1% of grades at 7 or above. Richmond upon Thames followed with 43.4%, then Sutton at 43.0% and Kingston upon Thames at 42.5%.
Regional divide widens
Trafford's score is the highest outside the south of England by a significant margin. The next highest council outside the south is Rutland, in 51st place, with 28.3%. York follows with 27.0%.
The North East had the worst GCSE results of any region, with just 17.7% of grades at 7 or higher. London achieved 28.5%, a gap of 10.8 percentage points, up from 10.3 points last year.
Results by region
In the South East, 24.6% of grades were 7 or above. The East of England recorded 22.0%, and the South West 21.0%. Yorkshire and The Humber had 19.0%, the North West 18.9%, the West Midlands 18.3%, and the East Midlands 18.2%.
Knowsley had the worst results of any unitary authority, with just 8.3% of grades at 7 or above. Blackpool followed with 10.4%, Halton and North East Lincolnshire both with 11.1%, and Cumberland with 11.5%.
National trends
Overall, 21.8% of grades across England were 7 or above, up marginally from 21.7% in 2025. The highest on record was in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when 28.5% of grades reached that level.
