Congratulations to everyone on today’s results – we hope they were what you wanted.

Only you know how hard you have worked these last few years and often in very difficult and unprecedented times. Getting to this stage has not been easy, so give yourself a pat on the back. Regardless of what today's outcome is, focus on the good things and know that after this hurdle you are better equipped to face the next set of challenges as you move on to your next stage of life.

If history is one of your choices moving forward either as a qualification or just for interest we have lots of great resources to help you.

Teachers, parents and guardians – getting your young people to this stage has seemed impossible at times, but you did it. Well done to you. And good luck with supporting them as they make their next steps – if it's history you are supporting them with, we can help.

Overall, results in all subjects were higher than in 2019, but lower than in 2021, and history results follow this trend. Performance was highest in state selective schools, followed by independent schools. Academies and free schools performed slightly better than comprehensives. The number of entries is down by 0.6% across all subjects from 2021. In history this trend is broadly followed although slightly higher with entries 1% down on 2021 across the UK. In geography, entries are up by 2.7%. Girls perfomed better than boys in 2022, continuing the existing gender gap in results. 

Headline analysis of this year's history results indicates: 

• In England, entries are marginally down on 2021 but 6% up on 2019. Other UK nations follow a similar pattern, with entries in Wales being marginally down on 2019. 

• The pass rate was highest in Wales with 18.5% of students securing an A* (9) grade and 77.7% securing a C grade (4) in history.

• In Northern Ireland with the smallest cohort, 14.9% secured an A*(9) and 79.9% secured at least a grade C (4)

• England as usual represents by far the largest cohort with 7.6% of students securing a grade 9 and 70.7% securing a grade 4. Simple comparison of results indicates that those who chose to take history in Wales and Northern Ireland performed better overall, but this does not take into account largely differing cohort sizes, levels of uptake and differing grading systems in each jurisdiction. 

• Across the UK as a whole, the pass rate for history is up on 2019 with 5% more students (30%) achieving the top A*/9 grades and 71.3% achieving at least a C/4, just over 7% up on 2019.