Top A-level grades fall in Bolton despite national rise

Figures show that of all A-level entries in the borough Bolton 20.6 per cent received an A or A* compared to 23.8 per cent last year.

Bolton is ranked 194th out of 291 authorities listed.

Bolton performed better than neighbouring Bury where Bury 20.4 per cent of entries got the top result, in line with the year before.

In Salford those figures were 13.6% and 15.4%.

Nationally the proportion of A-level entries awarded top grades rose for the third year in a row, likely driven by the popularity of maths and students scoring highly in it.

Despite the overall picture, many schools and colleges celebrated exceptional individual results.

Guildford in Surrey has topped the list for the local area of England with the largest percentage of A-level entries receiving the highest grades.

Some 50.0 per cent of exam entries within the local authority this year were awarded A or A*, up from 48.8 per cent in 2025, according to data published by Ofqual.

In second place was Richmond upon Thames in London, where 48.7 per cent of entries received A or above, followed by Cheltenham in Gloucestershire (47.7%), Tonbridge & Malling in Kent (46.4%) and Hertsmere in Hertfordshire (46.2%).

Only one of the top 10 areas is outside southern England – Trafford in Greater Manchester, which is joint seventh on the list with 45.1 per cent.

The area with the lowest proportion of A-level entries getting an A or above this year is Harlow in Essex, on 7.0%, followed by Test Valley in Hampshire (9.9%), Hartlepool (10.5%) and Castle Point in Essex (11.8%).

Maths remained the most popular subject at A-level this year – the 13th year in a row it has topped the table.

More than one in eight of all A-level entries (12.7%) were for the subject, the latest figures showed.

Speaking about England only, the head of exams regulator Ofqual, Sir Ian Bauckham, told the Press Association the rise in top grades is “largely driven” by the “growing popularity of maths and the high achievements that we’re seeing in maths”.

There is a clear gender divide, with more boys choosing the subject than girls.

There were 72,619 boys’ entries for A-level maths this year across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, making up 63% of entries, compared with 42,761 for girls’ (37%).

Overall, boys outperformed girls in terms of top grades again, after doing so for the first time in seven years last year.

Here is a full list by local area of the proportion of A-level entries awarded A or A*.

The list is ordered by percentage, starting with the highest, and reads from left to right: name of local authority; proportion of entries receiving A or A* in 2026; proportion (in brackets) receiving A or A* in 2025.

Guildford 50.0% (48.8%)

Richmond upon Thames 48.7% (49.5%)

Cheltenham 47.7% (49.2%)

Tonbridge & Malling 46.4% (46.7%)

Hertsmere 46.2% (46.3%)

Kingston upon Thames 45.3% (46.4%)

Mole Valley 45.1% (41.3%)

Trafford 45.1% (43.9%)

Sutton 44.5% (44.4%)

Epsom & Ewell 44.4% (42.0%)

Southwark 43.8% (44.4%)

Newham 43.2% (40.8%)

Haringey 43.1% (39.8%)

Hammersmith & Fulham 43.0% (41.0%)

East Hampshire 42.8% (38.4%)

Westminster 42.7% (39.9%)

Reading 41.9% (37.8%)

Cambridge 41.5% (41.0%)

Vale of White Horse 41.1% (39.7%)

Oxford 40.8% (44.7%)

Merton 40.7% (37.1%)

Rutland 39.8% (41.2%)

Brighton & Hove 39.6% (39.5%)

Three Rivers 39.6% (34.0%)

Buckinghamshire 39.3% (40.0%)

Barnet 38.6% (37.3%)

Tandridge 38.4% (36.4%)

Winchester 37.5% (35.2%)

Cheshire West & Chester 37.2% (36.9%)

St Albans 37.0% (36.8%)

Chelmsford 36.8% (38.1)%

East Devon 36.5% (32.1%)

Gloucester 36.2% (34.4%)

Waverley 36.2% (37.6%)

Harrow 36.0% (34.5%)

Stratford-on-Avon 35.1% (36.5%)

Windsor & Maidenhead 34.8% (34.7%)

Tunbridge Wells 34.4% (34.2%)

Lancaster 34.3% (33.2%)

Kensington & Chelsea 34.0% (31.9%)

Bath & North East Somerset 33.9% (31.9%)

Reigate & Banstead 33.9% (32.0%)

Preston 33.8% (32.1%)

Watford 33.8% (34.9%)

Stockport 33.7% (29.7%)

Mid Sussex 33.6% (32.1%)

Rugby 33.6% (36.0%)

Wokingham 33.5% (33.9%)

Elmbridge 33.3% (33.0%)

Rushmoor 33.2% (37.2%)

Wandsworth 33.1% (32.6%)

Harborough 32.9% (29.3%)

Brent 32.4% (32.9%)

Exeter 32.4% (31.1%)

Norwich 32.0% (31.4%)

South Kesteven 31.9% (31.6%)

Warwick 31.9% (32.7%)

East Cambridgeshire 31.7% (35.6%)

Slough 31.7% (30.6%)

Stroud 31.6% (30.0%)

Rushcliffe 31.4% (31.9%)

Ealing 31.3% (30.2%)

Southend-on-Sea 31.3% (32.6%)

Runnymede 31.2% (31.2%)

Bracknell Forest 31.1% (27.3%)

Mid Devon 30.8% (27.2%)

East Hertfordshire 30.7% (30.3%)

Eastleigh 30.7% (27.3%)

Camden 30.5% (32.1%)

Manchester 30.4% (31.1%)

Adur 30.3% (34.6%)

Horsham 29.9% (30.4%)

Wiltshire 29.8% (29.7%)

Bromley 29.6% (29.8%)

East Lindsey 29.5% (25.1%)

Wakefield 28.9% (26.6%)

West Oxfordshire 28.9% (25.8%)

Dacorum 28.8% (27.0%)

Surrey Heath 28.7% (31.4%)

Oadby & Wigston 28.6% (28.7%)

Ribble Valley 28.6% (33.9%)

Sheffield 28.6% (27.4%)

Durham 28.5% (26.9%)

Newcastle-under-Lyme 28.5% (25.2%)

St. Helens 28.5% (26.5%)

Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 28.4% (28.8%)

Fylde 28.4% (27.5%)

York 28.4% (33.3%)

Malvern Hills 28.3% (24.0%)

Shropshire 28.2% (29.2%)

Bristol 28.0% (29.9%)

Uttlesford 27.9% (25.8%)

North Tyneside 27.7% (24.5%)

Sevenoaks 27.6% (25.3%)

Solihull 27.6% (25.8%)

Wealden 27.6% (30.2%)

West Berkshire 27.6% (29.7%)

West Lindsey 27.6% (28.4%)

Colchester 27.5% (28.0%)

Leeds 27.5% (27.0%)

Herefordshire 27.4% (22.8%)

Hackney 27.3% (26.2%)

South Derbyshire 27.3% (28.0%)

South Hams 27.2% (24.5%)

Arun 27.1% (21.9%)

Lewisham 27.1% (26.3%)

Somerset 27.0% (25.2%)

Newcastle upon Tyne 26.9% (26.6%)

Eastbourne 26.8% (30.6%)

South Norfolk 26.8% (24.6%)

Kirklees 26.7% (26.2%)

North Yorkshire 26.7% (28.8%)

Worcester 26.7% (29.1%)

Ipswich 26.6% (28.0%)

Spelthorne 26.5% (21.0%)

Epping Forest 26.3% (25.6%)

Canterbury 26.2% (26.8%)

North Hertfordshire 26.2% (27.5%)

Telford & Wrekin 26.2% (32.1%)

Croydon 26.1% (26.4%)

West Devon 25.9% (20.3%)

Woking 25.7% (25.4%)

Bradford 25.6% (23.0%)

Birmingham 25.5% (25.6%)

Kingston upon Hull 25.4% (25.4%)

Rochdale 25.4% (27.0%)

Wigan 25.4% (26.9%)

Lambeth 25.3% (25.5%)

Brentwood 25.1% (24.2%)

Bromsgrove 25.1% (25.3%)

North Northamptonshire 25.0% (24.7%)

Hyndburn 24.8% (17.3%)

Blackburn with Darwen 24.4% (22.7%)

Derbyshire Dales 24.4% (26.2%)

Portsmouth 24.3% (27.7%)

Bedford 24.2% (23.5%)

Lichfield 24.2% (18.0%)

Wyre 24.2% (36.4%)

Bexley 24.1% (23.2%)

Maidstone 24.1% (24.9%)

Gateshead 23.9% (23.6%)

Gosport 23.9% (19.7%)

Cornwall 23.8% (24.6%)

Greenwich 23.6% (22.5%)

Doncaster 23.5% (20.9%)

South Oxfordshire 23.5% (21.6%)

Ashford 23.4% (24.1%)

Redbridge 23.4% (23.5%)

Coventry 23.3% (24.2%)

Enfield 23.3% (23.7%)

Charnwood 23.2% (24.8%)

Liverpool 23.2% (24.5%)

South Cambridgeshire 23.1% (26.0%)

Southampton 23.1% (20.7%)

Stockton-on-Tees 23.1% (24.1%)

Welwyn Hatfield 23.1% (27.0%)

Darlington 23.0% (21.9%)

Wirral 23.0% (24.4%)

Nottingham 22.8% (23.7%)

Amber Valley 22.7% (21.1%)

Chesterfield 22.7% (20.7%)

East Riding of Yorkshire 22.7% (20.3%)

Warrington 22.7% (22.8%)

Dorset 22.6% (21.0%)

Erewash 22.6% (20.9%)

Hinckley & Bosworth 22.6% (23.8%)

West Suffolk 22.6% (18.1%)

Thanet 22.5% (23.8%)

Cheshire East 22.4% (23.3%)

Swale 22.4% (18.2%)

Hart 22.3% (32.7%)

Torbay 22.3% (28.7%)

Hillingdon 22.2% (22.5%)

Stevenage 22.2% (22.5%)

East Suffolk 22.1% (22.4%)

North Devon 22.1% (23.2%)

Ashfield 22.0% (21.8%)

Halton 22.0% (20.6%)

Huntingdonshire 22.0% (23.0%)

Dover 21.9% (18.6%)

Waltham Forest 21.9% (22.7%)

East Staffordshire 21.8% (21.0%)

Walsall 21.7% (22.7%)

Hounslow 21.5% (20.8%)

Medway 21.5% (21.0%)

North Somerset 21.5% (20.8%)

South Ribble 21.4% (22.6%)

Cherwell 21.3% (20.3%)

Torridge 21.2% (29.0%)

West Northamptonshire 21.2% (22.2%)

Calderdale 20.9% (20.3%)

Plymouth 20.8% (22.4%)

Broxtowe 20.7% (23.0%)

Bolton 20.6% (23.8%)

Gedling 20.6% (20.9%)

North Norfolk 20.5% (22.0%)

Bury 20.4% (20.6%)

Peterborough 20.4% (19.8%)

Rother 20.3% (22.5%)

Melton 20.2% (20.6%)

Rossendale 20.2% (26.1%)

Mid Suffolk 20.1% (17.9%)

Westmorland & Furness 20.1% (20.7%)

Dartford 20.0% (19.7%)

Dudley 20.0% (17.6%)

Isle of Wight 20.0% (17.5%)

West Lancashire 19.9% (14.0%)

Derby 19.8% (22.1%)

Stafford 19.8% (18.6%)

Lincoln 19.7% (15.2%)

Oldham 19.7% (20.1%)

North Kesteven 19.5% (21.7%)

Blackpool 19.4% (18.8%)

Newark & Sherwood 19.4% (21.3%)

Stoke-on-Trent 19.4% (19.4%)

North East Derbyshire 19.3% (19.7%)

Northumberland 19.3% (23.3%)

Barking & Dagenham 19.1% (20.0%)

Islington 19.1% (19.6%)

Basildon 18.9% (17.9%)

Lewes 18.9% (18.1%)

Rotherham 18.8% (18.9%)

Wolverhampton 18.8% (21.0%)

Burnley 18.7% (20.1%)

Broxbourne 18.6% (18.4%)

Leicester 18.6% (20.3%)

Maldon 18.6% (13.5%)

Basingstoke & Deane 18.5% (21.8%)

Cumberland 18.5% (19.5%)

Folkestone & Hythe 18.5% (18.8%)

South Holland 18.5% (21.6%)

Pendle 18.4% (22.2%)

Cotswold 18.3% (19.5%)

Barnsley 18.0% (19.1%)

Chichester 18.0% (17.1%)

Gravesham 17.9% (18.5%)

South Tyneside 17.9% (13.7%)

Milton Keynes 17.8% (15.9%)

Sefton 17.8% (15.5%)

Central Bedfordshire 17.7% (19.2%)

Chorley 17.6% (12.4%)

South Gloucestershire 17.6% (17.0%)

Broadland 17.5% (20.9%)

Great Yarmouth 17.5% (19.8%)

Havering 17.5% (14.9%)

King’s Lynn & West Norfolk 17.5% (15.9%)

Babergh 17.3% (19.0%)

Tower Hamlets 17.1% (17.0%)

Worthing 17.1% (15.6%)

Crawley 17.0% (18.1%)

Tameside 17.0% (17.0%)

Bassetlaw 16.9% (18.2%)

Fenland 16.8% (19.3%)

South Staffordshire 16.8% (20.1%)

Redcar & Cleveland 16.6% (15.7%)

Tamworth 16.5% (20.8%)

Wychavon 16.4% (16.9%)

Braintree 16.3% (11.4%)

High Peak 16.3% (21.1%)

Tewkesbury 16.0% (13.9%)

Middlesbrough 15.9% (15.9%)

Nuneaton & Bedworth 15.8% (14.1%)

New Forest 15.7% (18.3%)

North East Lincolnshire 15.4% (12.5%)

North Lincolnshire 15.4% (14.1%)

Forest of Dean 15.2% (17.9%)

North West Leicestershire 15.0% (19.3%)

Blaby 14.9% (18.6%)

Hastings 14.9% (12.0%)

Staffordshire Moorlands 14.8% (18.4%)

North Warwickshire 14.6% (12.8%)

Cannock Chase 14.4% (16.8%)

Havant 14.3% (16.7%)

Rochford 14.2% (19.5%)

Thurrock 14.1% (13.8%)

Teignbridge 14.0% (14.2%)

Redditch 13.9% (8.7%)

Wyre Forest 13.9% (11.7%)

Breckland 13.8% (20.3%)

Salford 13.6% (15.4%)

Swindon 13.6% (12.9%)

Sunderland 13.2% (15.0%)

Mansfield 13.1% (14.2%)

Sandwell 12.8% (13.1%)

Boston 12.5% (15.0%)

Luton 12.5% (15.3%)

Tendring 12.5% (10.4%)

Castle Point 11.8% (14.9%)

Hartlepool 10.5% (15.0%)

Test Valley 9.9% (14.6%)

Harlow 7.0% (4.4%)