Having been involved in school governance for almost eight years, I’ve come to realise that the greatest skill a trustee can possess is not a deep understanding of educational data, or curriculum content, or the latest pedagogical thinking, it’s being curious - asking thoughtful, fair, and challenging questions, while keeping the long-term improvement of your schools front and centre.
At FFT Education I spend my working day around assessment data and the people who analyse it. In this blog I combines these experiences: I will share the headlines from this summer’s KS4 and KS5 results (for England) prepared by colleagues at the FFT Education Datalab, along with my own experience in school governance, to suggest how you could use this data to ask meaningful and impactful questions to your own trusts and schools. Let’s start with the headlines themselves;
GCSE and A level results 2026: Headlines from FFT Education Datalab analysis
- GCSE: Little movement. 70.7% of grades were 4 or above (+0.2pp) and 23.1% were 7 or above (+0.1pp). That's a third consecutive year of marginal rises, leaving grades slightly above 2019 levels.
- Gender gap at GCSE: Narrowed again: 25.5% of girls' entries got a 7 or above against 20.7% of boys'. The 4.8pp gap is still sizeable but has shrunk every year since 2021.
- A level: Also stable: 28.3% at A*/A (+0.1pp), 78.1% at C or above (+0.4pp). Regional gaps remain wide and are larger than pre-pandemic: 32.7% A*/A in London against 23.1% in the North East.
- Post-16 successful resits: The weakest area. English resit pass rates (grade 4+) for 17–19 year olds fell from 27.4% in 2019 to 18.8% this year; maths from 17.4% to 13.6%.
- T levels: Results awarded up around 65%, to nearly 20,000.
Questions for trust boards this autumn
The headlines from this analysis are extremely useful when it comes to trust governance, as they help to frame how your trust is doing when set against the national picture and the trends that are happening across the education system. Here are some prompts and questions you may find helpful in your next trustee meeting that use this information but make it relevant to your local context;
- Compared with what? For every headline figure, ask what it is being set against: last year, the national average, similar schools, or the trust's own targets? A number is only good or bad relative to something else. FFT’s free Schools Like Yours service that allows you to compare your schools with others, based upon your choice of the features and parameter that you feel make your schools unique.
- Which pupils don’t fit the average? A steady overall figure can hide a widening gap for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND, or boys, or girls. Ask for the key measures by group, and ask whether the trust's story matches the national one.
- What happens to our pupils who did not get a 4+? Resit outcomes are far below pre-pandemic levels and still falling. If the trust has schools with a post-16 provision, ask what it does differently for resit students and how it supports these pupils to be successful.
- Have we considered the return of Progress 8 measures? Pupils sitting GCSEs next summer are the first since the pandemic with Key Stage 2 results to measure progress from, so schools seem set to once again receive a Progress 8 measure, not just raw attainment. Government is also looking at tweaks to these accountability measures. Ask what the executive team expects Progress 8 to show when it returns, and what the board will see between now and results day to be sure that the trust's schools are on track.
- Are we offering the most relevant options to our pupils? With T level uptake on the rise nationally and the recent announcement of vocational GCSEs coming in from summer 2029, what does this mean for our schools and the curriculum we offer? What does our local and regional employment market look like and are we readying our pupils for it?
- Do we have what we need to ask our questions? CST's guidance Governing a school trust makes it clear that trust boards need to be given information in a form that lets them govern effectively. If the pack you see does not achieve this, then say so – but also be willing to help your executive team understand what sort of information you are looking for.
Challenge is not criticism
Being a school leader or member of a trust executive team is an incredibly challenging and demanding job. The role of a trustee is to challenge and to hold to account – but this should not be mistaken for criticism and finding blame. The most impactful trustees are those who understand very clearly their role within the system, and that the board and staff team have complementary roles in achieving the same goals.
When done thoughtfully, respectfully, and supportively, constructive challenge raises the bar and improves the system over the long term – that is the real key to being an impactful trustee.
To take a deeper look at FFT Education Datalab’s results day post and other analysis by the team click here.
- Pete Collison is sales and marketing director at FFT Education and vice chair of governors of a school federation.
- The national analysis in this blog is drawn from FFT Education Datalab's results posts on GCSE and Level 1/2 results and on A-level, T-level and other Level 3 results (August 2026)
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