The English Association congratulates every student who has received their results for an A Level in English.
Results released today confirm that English remains a very popular A Level choice. Around 58,000 A Level in English were awarded in 2025.
English is the fifth most popular A Level subject. This is not always well-known because entries are split across the three qualifications – English Literature, English Language, English Language & Literature.
English is by far the largest Humanities subject at A Level. Overall, more students took one of the three English A Level than any other humanities A Level ; around 30% more than took the next most popular subject (History)
Although overall entries to the three qualifications declined by 4.6% between 2025 and 2024, this is in the context of significant increases in the previous year. Overall entries for English remain higher than in 2023.
The proportion of students receiving results of A* or A has decreased slightly for English Literature (from 25.2% in 2024) but risen for the other two qualifications (from 11.6% for English Language and 14.5% for English Language & Literature).
We warmly encourage any student of English at A Level to consider applying for an English degree programme at University. Outcomes for students graduating with English degrees are not significantly different in the longer term than for those graduating with STEM degrees.
Studying English provides training in skills and knowledge which will hold their value in years to come.
Further sources of information
The English Association maintains a page with key statistical information for English at School and University: English Studies in numbers
The British Academy provides an interactive dashboard for analysis and comparison of data on SHAPE subjects in UK schools as part of their Shape Observatory: School Indicators dashboard
Official data on A Level and AS levels is provided by the Joint Council for Qualifications: A level and Level 3 results – summer 2025
