NSEAD wishes to congratulate every teacher of all level 2 awards, your students and their support networks too. Below we have set out the changes in art and design GCSE. We note that this is one way of creating a health check on our subject and equally, these results, neither defines you as a teacher or your learners.The analysis however is essential and shows divides and gaps across the UK, the sector and by the gender too – many of which have grown.
Art and design GCSE examination entries
The total number of UK GCSE level art and design completions rose by 2.3% (from 206,598 in 2025) to 211,369 in 2026.
The increase must be seen in context as this represents 3.4% of the total number of GCSEs taken which compares to the 3.4% in 2025. Suggesting some stability in the proportion of entries..
Since 2019, Art and Design GCSE entries have increased across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There has been a 7.9% increase in entries, from 195,928 in 2019 to 211,369 in 2026. However, this growth is below the 11.7% increase in GCSE entries overall over the same period. The growth in Art and Design entries has therefore not kept pace with the overall GCSE cohort. This should also be considered in the context of demographic change: over the same period, the 16-year-old population increased by approximately 14.8% (FFT data)
| Year | Total number of entries | Percentage of all GCSE entries |
| 2026 | 211,369 | 3.4% |
| 2025 | 206,598 | 3.4% |
| 2024 | 208,934 | 3.4% |
| 2023 | 198,302 | 3.4% |
| 2022 | 205,657 | 3.6% |
| 2021 | 210,091 | 3.7% |
| 2020 | 204,855 | 3.6% |
| 2019 | 195,928 | 3.5% |
Attainment
Art and Design GCSE grade 4/C or above:
Art and Design compares favourably with other subjects at grade 4/C or above. Across the UK, there is a 10 percentage-point difference between all subjects and Art and Design: in 2026, 67.3% of entries across all subjects achieved grade 4/C or above, compared with 77.3% in Art and Design.
Art and Design GCSE grade 7/A or above:
At grade 7/A or above, 23.7% of Art and Design entries achieved this level in 2026. This was slightly higher in 2025, at 24.1%, representing a 0.4 percentage-point decrease in the proportion achieving grade 7/A or above.
| Year | Art and design 7/A and above | Art and design 4/C and above |
| 2026 | 23.7 | 77.3 |
| 2025 | 24.1 | 77.1 |
| 2024 | 23.7 | 76.5 |
| 2023 | 24.2 | 76.4 |
| 2022 | 28.4 | 81.6 |
| 2021 | 30.5 | 84.8 |
| 2020 | 29.9 | 86.5 |
| 2019 | 22.9 | 75.3 |
Gender participation and attainment gaps
This year, 70,823 male candidates and 140,546 female candidates completed an Art and Design GCSE. Male candidates accounted for 33.5% of entries and female candidates 66.5%. This means there were almost twice as many female candidates as male candidates.
In 2025, 68,510 male candidates and 138,088 female candidates completed an Art and Design GCSE. Male candidates represented 33.2% of entries and female candidates 66.8%. This represents a small shift towards greater male participation, with the proportion of male candidates increasing by 0.3 percentage points.
Grade 4/C or above
The attainment gap between male and female candidates at grade 4/C or above has remained broadly stable. Both genders saw a 0.2 percentage-point increase in attainment:
- Male: 65.0% in 2025 → 65.2% in 2026
- Female: 83.1% in 2025 → 83.3% in 2026
Overall, therefore, grade 4/C+ attainment increased by 0.2 percentage points for both male and female candidates, but the gender attainment gap remains substantial.
Grade 7/A or above
At grade 7/A or above, attainment fell slightly for both genders:
- Male: 13.2% in 2025 → 12.8% in 2026 (−0.4 percentage points)
- Female: 29.5% in 2025 → 29.2% in 2026 (−0.3 percentage points)
While these changes are small, the gender attainment gap has not closed. In 2026, 29.2% of female candidates achieved grade 7/A+ compared with 12.8% of male candidates — a difference of 16.4 percentage points.
Put another way, for every male candidate achieving grade 7/A+, approximately 2.3 female candidates achieved the same level.
Context: GCSE all subjects
The comparison with all GCSE subjects provides important context. In 2026, 25.5% of female candidates achieved grade 7/A+ across all subjects, compared with 20.7% of male candidates — a gender difference of 4.8 percentage points.
This suggests that the gender attainment gap at the higher grades is considerably wider in Art and Design than across GCSEs as a whole. According to FFT Education Datalab, the gender attainment gap across all GCSE subjects has fallen for the fifth consecutive year. By contrast, the gap in Art and Design has very slightly widened this year. (Source JCQ)
| Year | Subject | Sex | Number sat | 7/A+ % | 4/C+ % |
| 2026 | Art and Design subjects | Male | 70,823 | 12.8 (-0.4) | 65.2 (+0.2) |
| 2025 | Male | 68,510 | 13.2% | 65.0% | |
| 2026 | Art and Design subjects | Female | 140,546 | 29.2 (-0.3) | 83.3 (+0.2) |
| 2025 | Female | 138,088 | 29.5% | 83.1% | |
| 2026 | Art and Design subjects | Male & Female | 211,369 | 23.7 (-0.4) | 77.3 (+0.2) |
| 2025 | Male & Female | 206,598 | 24.1% | 77.1% |
Regional variations
There are significant national and regional disparities. England's top grades decreased this year, while Northern Ireland and Wales recorded increases:
- In England, the proportion of students awarded grades 7/A+ decreased by 0.4 percentage points, from 23.8% in 2025 to 23.4% in 2026.
- In Northern Ireland, the proportion of students awarded grades 7/A+ increased by 2.0 percentage points, from 28.7% in 2025 to 30.7% in 2026.
- In Wales, the proportion of students achieving grades 7/A+ increased by 0.2 percentage points, from 24.8% in 2025 to 25.0% in 2026.
Across England, there are also marked regional differences in the proportion of candidates taking Art and Design GCSEs.
The North East has the highest proportion of GCSE Art and Design candidate completions, at 21.6% of all students, closely followed by the South West at 21.4%. London has the lowest proportion at 13.6%, followed by the West Midlands at 16.4%.
Attainment also varies between regions. While the national figure for grades 7/A+ is 23.4%, London has the highest proportion of Art and Design candidates achieving these grades, at 27.8%, followed by the South East at 25.7%. In contrast, 20.8% of candidates in the North East achieved grades 7/A+, compared with 21.2% in the West Midlands.
Source: Ofqual
All Art and Design subjects
There continues to be year-on-year growth in 3D Design, Textiles and Photography.
Between 2019 and 2026, completions in 3D Design increased by an exceptional 209.5%, making it the fastest-growing Art and Design endorsement by a considerable margin. By comparison, Graphics declined by 4.7% and Fine Art by 0.6%. Photography increased by 35.8%, while Textiles grew by 32.9%.
NSEAD will continue to campaign for the recognition of design within Art and Design qualifications, and for a clear distinction between Art and Design and Design & Technology (D&T). This year's figures show growth in key design-related endorsements. Between 2025 and 2026, the number of candidates completing 3D Design increased by 1,440, while Textiles increased by 3,230 candidates. However, it should also be noted that Design & Technology entries fell by 1,900 candidates between 2025 and 2026.
Table showing art and design subjects changes 2019-2026 (England only)
| Art and design endorsement | 2019 | 2025 | Increase or decrease % from 2019-25 | No. increase or decrease 2019-25 | 2026
| Increase or decrease from 2019-26 | No. increase or decrease 2019-26 |
| 3D | 4,070 | 11,155 | +174.1% | +7,085 | 12,595 | +209.5% | +8,525 |
| Fine art | 67,345 | 66,830 | -0.8% | -515 | 66,950 | -0.6% | +395 |
| Graphics | 8,970 | 8,850 | −1.3% | -120 | 8,550 | -4.7% | -420 |
| Photography | 31,750 | 40,315 | +27.0% | +8565 | 43,105 | +35.8% | +11,355 |
| Textiles | 9,815 | 13,200 | +35.5% | 3,385 | 13,045 | +32.9% | +3,230 |
Source: Ofqual
Sector variation
In England, students in the independent sector continued to be more likely to achieve top grades than those in the state sector. In 2026, 21.3% of candidates in the independent sector achieved grades 7/A+, compared with 14.8% in the state sector (Ofqual). This represents a gap of 6.5 percentage points.
In 2025, 21.6% of candidates in the independent sector achieved grades 7/A+, compared with 15.7% in the state sector (Ofqual), a difference of 5.9 percentage points.
While these figures should be treated as indicative, they suggest that the attainment gap between state and independent schools is widening, increasing from 5.9 percentage points in 2025 to 6.5 percentage points in 2026.
Source: Ofqual
Michele Gregson, CEO and general secretary of NSEAD, says:
Whatever grades your learners or children achieved this year, every art and design award carries the hours of dedication and expertise that went into it – from both learners and from their expert teachers too.
Whatever pathway comes next for your students, everyone who sits a level 2 qualification in art, craft and design has learned knowledge, skills and ways of seeing and ways of understanding the world, that no certificate can measure.
As your subject’s union and professional body, we will continue to urge policy makers to address the UK’s growing divides in art and design education, be that across nations or regions; independent sector and state schools; or the divide in gender and attainment too. These divisions reflect year-on-year the under valuing and underfunding of the arts in education.
If we were to take candidate numbers alone as a benchmark, it could be said that this year’s subject health check is fair. But is it? With the growth of 3D design, a 214% increase, and textiles (a 32.9% increase) since 2019, we will keep asking: what do these figures reveal? Our response to the government's Curriculum and Assessment Review indicates what may be happening and what’s at stake: Students are not selecting 3D Design or textiles over fine art (see table showing art and design by subject). No, instead the upturn correlates to the downturn in entries for GCSE D&T. There should be no either or – both art and design and D&T complement the skills-sets needed for a 21-century workforce of the future. Removing one option and replacing it with another is reducing choice and opportunity to develop engineering, technical as well as creative and design skills.
This year’s GCSE trends, changes and gaps, however, must not distract from the hard work and resilience needed to achieve every grade and every award in art, craft and design. Indeed, we will be reporting on other art and design qualifications, as well as results from Scotland, in the weeks to come.
For now, we want to celebrate every teacher’s dedication and every candidate’s success. Whatever number or grade has been achieved this academic year, completing a Level 2 award has helped to develop the aptitudes and empathy, as well as the knowledge and skills needed for future careers or simply to build better more creative and fulfilling lives.