What Wellington College's own 2026 GCSE, A-Level and IB results say, checked against national and global data.
Book a Free ConsultationWellington College is a co-educational independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, that publishes its GCSE, A-Level and International Baccalaureate results as separate results-day news posts rather than one statistics page. For 2026, the school reports that over 45% of GCSE grades were graded 9, that 72 A-Level students achieved straight A grades or better, and that its IB cohort achieved a current average score of 39.1 points.
Every figure below is Wellington's own claim about its own students, published on the school's news pages rather than audited by an external body — so this page attributes each one to the school throughout ("Wellington reports", "the school states") rather than repeating it in our own voice. Wellington describes its 2026 GCSE outcome as a "best ever" result; that is the school's word, in quotation marks, not our assessment. Its IB figure is explicitly marked "current" by the school itself, meaning provisional ahead of the autumn remarks period, and we have kept that caveat wherever the figure appears. Where an independent national or global comparison exists — from Ofqual or the International Baccalaureate — it is given separately below, with its own population named in the same sentence as the number.
Most UK sixth forms offer a single route to university entry: A-Level. Wellington offers both A-Level and the International Baccalaureate Diploma side by side, and describes itself in its 2026 A-Level results coverage as "one of the few schools that offer both 16+ routes in parallel." A student joining Wellington at 16+ chooses between the two rather than finding one option pre-selected for them, and the school's own results calendar reflects that split: IB results are issued in early July (6 July 2026), while A-Level and GCSE results follow the national English timetable in mid-to-late August (13 and 20 August 2026 respectively).
That six-week gap between IB and A-Level results days is not just a curiosity. A family coordinating a results-day response from overseas — arranging travel, briefing a guardian, or timing a university clearing call — needs to know which calendar applies to their child's qualification, since the two routes are examined by entirely different boards on entirely different schedules. This is the kind of detail that only becomes visible once a school is genuinely running both routes rather than one.
Wellington's own IB results coverage gives a strong hint of an international cohort: the school reports leavers heading to universities "as far afield as Italy, Spain, the US, Canada, South Africa. Oxbridge and so many other UK institutions too." A separate feature on named 2026 leavers adds specific offers at Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, King's College London and Leeds. Wellington has not published a full demographic breakdown of its 2026 cohort, but its most recent published figure — for the 2025 IB Diploma cohort of 123 students — records 87% as British and 13% as International. That is a year-old snapshot, not a confirmed 2026 statistic, and should be read as an indication of Wellington's typical cohort composition rather than an exact figure for the current year.
For a family choosing a UK boarding school from outside the UK, the choice between A-Level and IB carries different weight depending on where a graduate is likely to apply next. The IB Diploma is set and marked by the International Baccalaureate, a Geneva-based organisation examining students in 159 countries, and its scores are read on the same 45-point scale by admissions offices worldwide — which is why the IB's own worldwide average, published for the same May 2026 session as Wellington's cohort, is a more useful comparison point for an international family than a UK national average would be. That worldwide average was 30.88 points, drawn from 209,607 students. Wellington's own reported "current" average of 39.1 sits well above that global figure, though — as covered in the IB section below — the word "current" matters and the comparison should not be read as final.
A-Level, by contrast, is a UK qualification set by English exam boards and read primarily by UK universities and by international universities with established UK-conversion tables (common in Commonwealth systems and parts of Europe), rather than on a single global scale. A family whose child is likely to apply to universities outside the UK and outside those conversion-table systems may find the IB's globally legible scoring more directly useful when comparing offers; a family targeting UK universities specifically may find A-Level's familiarity to UK admissions tutors the more practical route. Wellington running both routes side by side means that choice can be made on the basis of where a particular child is likely to apply, rather than being fixed by which school they attend. This page covers what the school's 2026 results say for each route; for the mechanics of applying to Wellington at 16+, including the assessment process and the route for overseas and UKiset applicants, see our Wellington College 16+ entry guide, which this page does not repeat.
Deciding between the A-Level and IB route at Wellington, or preparing for either one? Our A-Level tuition and IB tuition teams work with families weighing exactly this choice, subject by subject, against a child's current GCSE trajectory.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppWellington's GCSE results were released on 20 August 2026, and the school's own article opens by calling the outcome a "best ever" result — the school's word, not ours. Wellington reports that over 45% of all GCSE qualifications awarded to its cohort were graded 9, and states that this compares to "the national figure of 5.2%" — a national comparator the school cites in its own article, though one we have not been able to independently verify from Ofqual's published regional tables, which report the share of results at grade 7-and-above rather than grade 9 in isolation. Beyond the headline grade-9 figure, Wellington reports that almost 10% of the cohort secured a full run of straight 9s, that 70% of grades were graded 9 or 8 (the school notes 9/8 as "equivalent to an A* under the previous alphabetical grading system"), and that 30% of pupils achieved a clean sweep of those two top grades. Wellington's Master, James Dahl, is quoted as saying the most common grade across the cohort was a 9, and that the average grade secured per pupil per qualification was an 8.
For a fair national comparison, Ofqual's official 2026 statistics for England show that 47.1% of GCSE results at independent schools were graded 7 or above, against 21.8% across all English schools and colleges combined — two different populations, both worth stating: independent schools are a highly selective cohort by fee and, often, by entrance assessment, so comparing Wellington only to the all-schools figure overstates the gap; comparing it only to the independent-sector figure is the fairer test of how Wellington performs against its true peer group. Wellington's own 45%-plus grade-9 rate sits above even the independent-sector's 47.1%-at-grade-7-or-above figure once the different grade thresholds (7-and-above versus 9-only) are accounted for, though a grade-9-only national breakdown was not available in the summary tables Ofqual publishes for England.
Wellington's A-Level results were released on 13 August 2026. The school reports that 72 A-Level students secured straight A grades or better, and that 24 candidates recorded at least three A* grades. Those are counts, not percentages — and that distinction matters here specifically. Wellington's article does not give a 2026 percentage-of-grades figure for A-Level on its own; the only grade-percentage statistic in the same article — "nearly a third of all grades currently sit at the highest A*/7 level and over two-thirds at A*/A or 7/6", and "125 graduating Wellingtonians have secured a clean sweep of A*/A grades in their A-levels or 7/6 at the IB equivalent Higher Level" — is explicitly a combined Sixth Form leaver figure covering A-Level and IB candidates together, not A-Level in isolation.
That matters because Ofqual's official 2026 A-Level data for England gives two national comparators: 48.6% of A-Level results at independent schools graded A or above, against 28.3% across all English schools and colleges. Both are genuine, sourced, A-Level-only figures — but there is no genuine A-Level-only Wellington 2026 figure to set beside them, because the school has not published one. Reporting the 72 and 24 counts alongside Ofqual's percentages without saying so would invite a reader to do a comparison the data does not support. The honest position is to give Ofqual's national context in full, and say plainly that Wellington's 2026 A-Level results cannot be compared to it on a like-for-like percentage basis this year.
Wellington's IB results were released on 6 July 2026, ahead of both A-Level and GCSE. The school states its cohort achieved a "current" average score of 39.1 points, with almost half the cohort scoring over 40 points and four students achieving a perfect 45 — described by the school as "the holy grail of a perfect 45." Wellington's own article adds that "the College looks set to better last year's average student score" once outstanding remarks are resolved, which is precisely why the word "current" is there: 39.1 is a provisional figure, not Wellington's final 2026 average.
That provisional status is the reason we have not treated the IB result as an improvement on 2025. Wellington's own results hub records the final, confirmed 2025 IB average as 39.14 points, from a cohort of 123 students. Set against 2026's provisional 39.1, the two are essentially flat — marginally down, not up — and because a provisional score can still move once remarks land, no year-on-year verdict is possible from the numbers Wellington has published so far. That stands in contrast to GCSE, where Wellington's 2025 and 2026 figures are both stated plainly enough to compare directly, and where the school's "best ever" claim does hold up on its own numbers (see the comparison below). The IB is the one qualification, of the three, where Wellington's "best ever" framing does not yet have the evidence behind it.
The worldwide benchmark for the same session, published by the International Baccalaureate itself, is a global average DP score of 30.88 points across 209,607 students in 159 countries — a figure covering every country where the Diploma Programme is offered, not a UK-only comparison. Wellington's reported 39.1 sits comfortably above that global average, which is the more relevant comparison for an international family than a UK-specific one, since the IB is examined and read on the same scale everywhere it is offered.
Each row below states one qualification, one population and one 2026 figure, so that no two are read as directly comparable unless they genuinely are. Figures are from Ofqual's official England-wide statistics, updated 20 August 2026, and the International Baccalaureate's own May 2026 results release.
| Qualification and measure | Population | 2026 figure |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE, grade 7 or above | England, independent schools | 47.1% |
| GCSE, grade 7 or above | England, all schools and colleges | 21.8% |
| A-Level, grade A or above | England, independent schools | 48.6% |
| A-Level, grade A or above | England, all schools and colleges | 28.3% |
| IB Diploma, average score | Worldwide, all IB World Schools | 30.88 points |
Wellington's own reported figures — the 45%-plus GCSE grade-9 rate, the 72 straight-A-or-better A-Level students, and the 39.1 "current" IB average — are not repeated in this table, because none of them share exactly the same measure as an Ofqual or IBO row above (grade 9 rather than grade 7-and-above; A-Level counts rather than a percentage; a provisional rather than final IB score). Each is stated in full, with its own qualification and year, in the sections above.
Wellington's "best ever" language, used in its 2026 GCSE article, is a claim readers are likely to apply to the whole sixth form rather than to GCSE alone. Testing that claim against Wellington's own most recent full-year data — 2025, the last year the school published a complete percentage breakdown for all three qualifications — gives three different answers, not one.
| Qualification | 2025 (Wellington, final) | 2026 (Wellington) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCSE, grade 9 rate | 42.1% of all grades | Over 45% of all grades | A real rise of roughly 3 percentage points, by our own arithmetic (45 minus 42.1) — "best ever" holds here |
| A-Level, A*/A rate | 26.2% A*, 58.7% A*/A | Not published as a percentage for 2026 | No comparison possible; only 2026 counts (72, 24) exist |
| IB, average score | 39.14 (final) | 39.1 ("current", provisional) | Essentially flat; no year-on-year verdict possible until 2026 is final |
The GCSE comparison is the one place where Wellington's own numbers support its own claim: a grade-9 rate that has risen from 42.1% to over 45% is a genuine, sourced improvement, and "best ever" is a reasonable description of it. The A-Level comparison cannot be made at all, because Wellington has changed what it publishes — a percentage-of-grades figure in 2025, counts only in 2026 — and that gap is worth a family knowing about rather than assuming away. The IB comparison is the most easily misread of the three: a reader skimming "39.1" against "39.14" might reasonably conclude nothing has changed, which is closer to correct than concluding it has improved, but the more precise answer is that no conclusion is available yet, because Wellington's own 2026 figure is not final.
91% of our students achieve their desired grades, a first-party outcome figure we publish and stand behind rather than a projection. We are rated 4.8 out of 5 from 58 reviews on Trustpilot, read 22 August 2026, which families are welcome to verify independently. For a Wellington family weighing the A-Level and IB routes covered above, or working through GCSE subject choices ahead of that 16+ decision, our subject specialists build a preparation plan around the specific qualification a child is taking, not a generic sixth-form course; the full range of subject and level support is on our GCSE tuition and A-Level tuition pages.
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Wellington reports that over 45% of all GCSE qualifications awarded to its 2026 cohort were graded 9, with almost 10% of the cohort achieving a full set of grade 9s and 70% of grades at 9 or 8. The school's own article states the national grade-9 rate as 5.2%, though this is the school's characterisation rather than a figure we independently verified against Ofqual's published tables, which report grade 7-and-above rather than grade 9 in isolation. Wellington calls this its "best ever" GCSE result.
Wellington reports that 72 A-Level students secured straight A grades or better in 2026, and that 24 candidates recorded at least three A* grades. The school has not published a percentage-of-grades figure for A-Level alone in 2026 — its only 2026 grade-percentage statistic blends A-Level with IB into one combined Sixth Form leaver figure — so these two counts cannot be turned into a rate, and no direct comparison with national A-Level percentages is possible this year.
Wellington states its 2026 IB cohort achieved a "current" average score of 39.1 points, with almost half the cohort scoring over 40 and four students achieving a perfect 45. "Current" means provisional: the school's own article says it expects the average to rise once outstanding remarks are resolved. The worldwide average for the same May 2026 session, published by the International Baccalaureate, is 30.88 points across 209,607 students in 159 countries.
Not on the numbers Wellington has published. The school's 2025 IB average, reported as final on its results hub, was 39.14. Its 2026 average, reported as "current" and therefore provisional pending remarks, stands at 39.1 — marginally below 2025, not above it. Because a provisional score and a final score are not directly comparable, and 2026's may still move once remarks are resolved, no year-on-year verdict is possible yet; the honest position is that 2026 is broadly in line with 2025 rather than an improvement on it.
Ofqual's official 2026 data for England shows 48.6% of A-Level results at independent schools graded A or above, against 28.3% across all schools and colleges. Wellington itself has not published a 2026 A-Level percentage-of-grades figure, only counts (72 students with straight As or better, 24 with at least three A*s), so its 2026 A-Level performance cannot be set against either Ofqual figure directly — only its counts can be reported, and the gap in Wellington's own data should be stated plainly rather than papered over.
Yes. Wellington runs both qualifications in parallel rather than choosing one, and describes itself in its own 2026 results coverage as "one of the few schools that offer both 16+ routes in parallel." A student joining at 16+ chooses between the A-Level route (examined by English boards, results issued in mid-August) and the IB Diploma (examined by the Geneva-based International Baccalaureate, results issued in early July), rather than the school offering only one option as most UK sixth forms do.
In the most recent year Wellington has published a full demographic breakdown for, 2025, 13% of its 123 IB Diploma candidates were recorded as International and 87% as British. Wellington has not published an equivalent breakdown for its 2026 IB cohort at the time of writing, so the 13% figure should be read as the school's most recent available snapshot rather than a confirmed 2026 statistic, and should not be assumed to hold exactly for the current cohort.
Wellington's own IB results coverage names destinations "as far afield as Italy, Spain, the US, Canada, South Africa. Oxbridge and so many other UK institutions too." A separate feature on named 2026 leavers adds Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, King's College London and Leeds among specific university offers held by IB students profiled by the school. Wellington does not publish a full destination breakdown by country or institution for the entire 2026 cohort, only these named examples.
This page covers Wellington College's published 2026 GCSE, A-Level and IB results only. For how to apply to Wellington's sixth form at 16+, including the assessment process, key dates and the route for overseas and UKiset applicants, see our Wellington College 16+ entry guide, and browse our other 16+ sixth form entry pages for neighbouring schools. Wellington's own results coverage is published on its GCSE Results 2026, A-level results 2026 and IB Results Day for 2026 pages. National comparisons are from Ofqual's Qualification results in England: summer 2026, and the worldwide IB average is from the International Baccalaureate's own May 2026 results release.
Whichever route your child is taking at Wellington or elsewhere, we build preparation around the specific grades and subjects that route requires. We are rated 4.8 out of 5 from 58 reviews on Trustpilot; see our A-Level tuition and IB tuition pages for full details.
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