GCSE/A-Level September starters: How to hit the ground running for 2025/26
Does September mark the beginning of the GCSE or A-Level year for your child? If so, we can help you both navigate how to hit the ground running.
With 2025 exam results out and the new academic year about to begin, thousands of UK students will now be preparing for the next critical phase of their school career. If this is your child, the autumn term is the perfect time for reflection and strategic planning to ensure a good outcome in 2026. Here's what you need to know.
A-level results 2025
Across the range of A-levels (and all other level 3 qualifications), a total of more than 1.1 million results have been issued this summer. The highest number of those is for A levels, with 814,335 being taken in 137 different subjects.
Key facts about A-level results:
• A total of 6,845 18-year-old students received A* grades in all the A levels they took this summer.
• Two-thirds of A-level students took 3 A levels.
• The subjects taken by the highest number of A-level students were Maths, Psychology and Biology.
• The number of students expected to complete T Levels this summer increased by more than 60% from last year, to 11,909.
• The geographical region with the highest percentage of A-level results at A or A* was London.
GCSE results 2025
Alongside the above, more than 5.6 million GCSE results have been issued to students, along with more than 368,000 results for level 1 and 2 vocational and technical qualifications.
Key facts about GCSE results:
• Overall GCSE results 2025 are similar to 2024.
• Outcomes at grade 7 and above are 21.8% compared with 21.6% in 2024, and outcomes at grade 4 and above are 67.1% compared with 67.4% in 2024.
• Fewer students sat GCSE biology, chemistry and physics, but there was an increase in entries for combined science.
• Overall, 4.1% (14,920) of the 368,065 vocational and technical qualification grades issued are at the top grade available.
• The geographical region with the highest percentage of GCSE grade 7s and above was London, and the north-east had the fewest.
Understanding what's different this academic year
For GCSE Maths, Physics, and Combined Science exams 2026 and 2027, students will still receive formula and equation sheets. This is a significant advantage as it allows students to focus more on understanding concepts and application rather than rote memorisation.
Just like 2024 and 2025, the return to usual standards remains with pre-pandemic assessment expectations. To help:
• Understand exam board requirements (AQA, Edexcel, OCR). For example, GCSE English Language will see changes affecting current Year 10 students taking exams in summer 2026, with Paper 1 Question 1 becoming multiple choice.
• Stay informed about any subject-specific updates from your exam boards.
• Stay informed about UCAS as the personal statement format changes come into effect for students starting their studies in 2026.
Set yourself up for future success
Outside of lessons, homework, revision, mocks, and exams, there are a host of dates that are important to Year 11 and 13 students. Many of these dates are about next steps and have strict deadlines.
Key dates for Years 11 and 13:
For UCAS 2026 entry:
• Applications for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and Oxford/Cambridge courses have an October 15th 2025, deadline.
• The general UCAS deadline for all other courses is January 14th 2026.
• University open days are in September and October, so remember to register.
• You can start applications on September 2nd, 2025, and they will be entered into Clearing if submitted after June 30th, 2026.
• A-level exams in 2026 for most UK exam boards are scheduled to start on Monday, May 11th 2026 and finish on June 23rd.
• Results day 2026 is Thursday, August 13th 2026.
For GCSE students:
• Sixth Form and College open days happen in September and October.
• Applications for Sixth Forms/Colleges often open between September and November, but deadlines vary, with most falling between December 2025 and February 2026.
• GCSEs 2026 start on Monday, May 4th, and finish on June 26th 2026.
• GCSE results day is Thursday, 20th August 2026.
How to hit the ground running in September
In terms of hitting the ground running, early preparation and revision will help students to keep planning realistically, as well as make a huge difference to outcomes, stress levels, and general time management around revision and exams.
Start with:
• Daily review routines for each subject. Spend an hour after school/college going through the topics learnt in the day.
• Using active learning techniques versus passive reading and note-taking.
• Creating subject-specific folders and resources from September.
• Identifying subjects that need extra support early is crucial.
• Start revision early rather than leaving it until a couple of weeks before exams.
• Early revision offers numerous opportunities for practice, knowledge consolidation, and in-depth material review.
• Understand that starting revision from the beginning of the year gives you enough time to go over everything without overloading.
• Focus on developing study and revision skills as a gradual, long-term process that will boost confidence and help you work more effectively.
• Try and test a variety of revision techniques to find the ones that best fit your style of learning. For instance, if you like taking notes, use the best recall method.
• Use past paper questions to revise topics you have covered. Don't try to complete past papers until you have covered the whole subject specification.
Above all, success in GCSEs/A-Levels comes from consistent effort throughout the year. Research shows that students who start revision early feel less stressed during exam periods.
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