A future pro-cyclist, a physicist and a Rolls Royce career: A-level grades rise

A-level results in Northern Ireland have improved again in 2026.

About 30.7% of A-level entries in Northern Ireland have been awarded A* or A grades in 2026 compared to 30.3% in 2025.

About one in every 12 (8.8%) A-level entries in Northern Ireland has been awarded at the top A* grade. More than 26,000 students received their A-level, AS-level and BTEC results on Thursday.

Pupils who BBC News NI spoke to had a variety of post-secondary school plans, with a Rolls Royce apprenticeship, a medical degree and hopes to be a pro-cyclist all on the cards.

Aliyah Rafferty, from St Patrick's Academy, in Dungannon in County Tyrone, said she was thankful her hard work paid off.

"I did Maths, Biology and PE, and I got an A in Maths and an A* in Biology and PE. I'm really happy, I worked hard for it."

While she applied for Physiotherapy she plans to defer and take a year out.

"The plan is Australia for the winter, and I want to become a professional cyclist. Fingers crossed."

The vast majority of qualifications at A and AS-level are taken through the Northern Ireland exams board CCEA.

Maths was again the most popular A-level subject in Northern Ireland in 2026.

Overall, more than a third of A-levels taken in Northern Ireland in 2026 were in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects.

At AS-level, trends were similar to A-Level, with 27.6% of entries awarded an A-grade in 2025.

Pupils awaiting GCSE results will receive them on Thursday 20 August.

St Patrick's Academy student, Jack Brannigan got three As in Physics, Maths and Technology and Design and said he was "pretty buzzing".

"I'm away to England in Derby to do a degree apprenticeship for Rolls Royce, hopefully I'll work for them after the apprenticeship, but we'll have to see."

While many results could be picked up online from 08:00 GMT, many pupils still went to school to get their results from teachers.

That included students at Ashfield Girls' High School in Belfast.

Rebecca McVeigh received three Bs in History, Geography and Environmental Technology, which has enabled her to take up a place on a foundation year degree course at Cambridge University.

She told BBC News NI that her mum had been "her rock" as she waited for her results.

Anna McCausland, also a pupil at Ashfield Girls' School got A, B and C grades in Media Studies, Moving Image Arts and Professional Business Services.

She said she had felt calm at the thought of results day until last night when a "wave of sickness" came over her and she "hasn't slept since".

Anna knew she had secured a place at Stirling University this morning via UCAS although she felt it was important to come into school to receive her grades.

"Usually I never want to, I realised it's part of the whole day, the atmosphere and seeing my friends, so it's an experience to have together that I'll remember for years."

Mia Bell, a student at St Patrick's Academy got three Bs in Maths, Physics and Technology, which is what she needs for her course.

"So I'm happy enough. 'm going on to do a mechanical engineering degree apprenticeship.

"Long term the dream would be hopefully F1 engineering someday, but we'll see."

The school principal Colin Holmes said he was "happy and proud today".

"It's nice to meet the pupils in the way in and see how they have got on."

At Friends' School in Lisburn, Anthony Fletcher, who has autism, said when it came to academia, his autism was a strength.

With "Maths and Physics, and this is a bit egotistical, I've been exceptional at it. Judging by my results I think I'm fine to say that," he told BBC News NI.

He got three A*s in Maths, Physics and Further Maths and intends to go to the University of Manchester where he will do a four-year integrated masters degree in Maths and Physics.

After graduating he hopes to do theoretical physics research.

Katie Mulholland did Maths, Chemistry and Biology achieving an A* and two As.

She said she hasn't "really had a time to think about results" since her exams ended but when yesterday came around she gave it some thought.

On Thursday morning Katie said she put her phone on silent "because I didn't want to see the UCAS notification before my results. I actually managed to get logged on at 07:59, so I felt quite special and when it started loading I actually thought I was going to be sick".

Queen's University Belfast is Katie's next location where she will start studying Medicine in September.

The vast majority of A-level and AS-level qualifications are taken through the Northern Ireland exams board CCEA, though some students will also receive grades from English and Welsh exam boards.

Students will use their AS, A-level and BTEC results to apply to university or Further Education (FE) colleges, begin an apprenticeship or seek work.

Gerry Campbell, chief executive of CCEA, said results day was a "significant milestone" in pupils' "personal and education journey".

There are big changes on the way for qualifications in Northern Ireland, though they will not affect students currently taking AS or A-level courses.

From 2029, there will be a new two-year modular A-level with three separate topics or exams.

Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme, director of marketing and student recruitment at Ulster University, Roisin McCart, recommended that students who were happy with their grades accepted their university places as soon as possible.

She said students shouldn't panic if they missed the grades they hoped for and advised them to check the UCAS hub to see if universities had made a decision yet.

She added that students could research where else to study as there were "a lot of options" in Northern Ireland.

Speaking on the Nolan Show, Education Minister, Paul Givan congratulated pupils for their "incredible hard work".

"Today is an important day but this is not a life defining moment, there often many steps in the process before you get to where you want to get in life."

Givan said that while boys in Northern Ireland have outperformed girls at the A star grade level, overall, there is still a gap where girls outperform boys at the A star to C grade.

Once the new A-level is introduced in 2029, CCEA will no longer offer a separate AS-level qualification.

The changes are part of wider reform of education, called TransformED, introduced by Givan.

According to the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), there has been a slight fall in the proportion of young people in Northern Ireland who have applied to go to university in recent years.

In 2022, for instance, 52.8% of 18-year-olds applied to go to university but that had fallen to 49.1% in 2026.

Universities operate a system called clearing, which enables students who have not been able to get into their first choice to find another university place or course.

Higher Level Apprenticeships (HLA), which combine paid work with learning, have become a more popular option in recent years.

According to the Department of Economy, more than 2,100 students were enrolled on an HLA course in an FE College in Northern Ireland in 2024/25.

CCEA will operate a results helpline from Thursday 13 August until Wednesday 26 August on 028 9026 1260.

The Department for the Economy's careers service is also operating an online advice service or by telephoning 0300 200 7820.

GCSE results will be released on Thursday 20 August.