The areas where children achieved the highest GCSE results in the UK have been revealed - and Kingston is among the top five.

Thousands of teenagers across the country yesterday (Thursday, 21 August) found out how they did in the exams they took before the summer holidays.

The results they got could make the difference as to the next steps they take, whether it be higher education, A-levels, diplomas or learning on the job with apprenticeships, or a trade.

According to the figures this year there was a huge North/South divide when it came to GCSE results, with the North East having the worst GCSE results of any region in England.

Just 17.7 per cent of grades in the region were seven or higher compared to 28.5 per cent in London, which had the best results this year. The figures represent a divide of 10.8 percentage points up from 10.3 points last year.

The City of London had the best GCSE results in the country this year with nearly three quarters (72.1 per cent) of all grades being seven or above (that's A or A* in traditional grades.)

In second place is nextdoor Richmond Borough with 43.4 per cent of entries awarded grade 7 or above, up from 43.2 per cent in 2025.

Taking third place is nearby Sutton with 43 per cent achieving Grade 7 or above.

And in fourth place is our very own Kingston Borough with 42.5 per cent achieving Grade 7 or above.

Outside of Trafford in Greater Manchester, which had the fifth best results in the country with 39.7 per cent achieving a grade 7 or above, the next best performing local authority in the north was Rutland.

And the next highest in the North was York with 27 per cent.

In the South East, 24.6 per cent of grades were seven or higher. In the East of England it was 22 per cent and in the South West it was 21 per cent.

Grades dropped to 19 per cent in Yorkshire and The Humber, 18.9 per cent in the North West, 18.3 per cent in the West Midlands and 18.2 per cent in the East Midlands.

Knowsley had the worst results of any unitary authority in England with just 8.3% of grades at seven or above this year.

This was followed by Blackpool with 10.4 per cent, Halton with 11.1 per cent, North East Lincolnshire with 11.1 per cent and Cumberland with 11.5 per cent.

Overall, the proportion of As and A* grades increased slightly this year. More than a fifth (21.8 per cent) of grades were seven or above, a marginal increase from 21.7 per cent in 2025.

The highest GCSE grades on record were in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when well over a quarter (28.5 per cent) of grades were seven or above.

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