Rutland and Surrey Retain Lead in England's 2025 A-Level Exam Grades

As of August 14th, 2025, the latest A-level exam results have been released, revealing that Rutland and Surrey have retained their positions as the top two counties in England for the highest proportion of entries receiving the highest grades.

Rutland has once again claimed the top spot, with 41.2% of its A-level entries being graded A or above this year, up from 40.6% in 2024 and 34% in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Surrey remained in second place, with 36% of entries earning A or A* grades, a slight increase from 35.9% the previous year and 32.4% in 2019.

Buckinghamshire has moved up to third place, with 34.2% of entries receiving the top grades, up from sixth position last year. Meanwhile, East Sussex has slipped from third to fourth, with 33.7% of entries achieving A or above.

At the other end of the spectrum, Bedfordshire has the lowest proportion of A-level entries awarded the highest grades, at just 19.9%. The Isle of Wight had an even lower figure of 17.6%, occupying the bottom spot for the second consecutive year.

Overall, more than half of the 47 counties or equivalent areas included in the data saw a year-on-year increase in the proportion of entries receiving the top grades. Greater Manchester recorded the largest rise, up by 2 percentage points to 28.1%, while Northumberland saw the biggest fall, down by 2.3 percentage points to 23%.