In pictures: GCSE joy as island students discover their results

Thousands of students across the Isle of Man picked up their GCSE results on Thursday, marking the culmination of years of hard work and opening the door to their next steps in education.

There was an excited atmosphere at Ballakermeen High School and Castle Rushen High School as students gathered to open their results and discover the grades that will help shape their futures.

Provisional results for Level 1 and 2 qualifications in the Isle of Man show an overall pass rate of 96%, covering grades A* to G or equivalent in IGCSE and GCSE qualifications.

At Level 2, covering grades A* to C or equivalent, the provisional pass rate stands at 73%. Meanwhile, 20% of students achieved the highest grades, equivalent to A* to A.

Among those celebrating was Castle Rushen High School student Ethan Hurst, who was pleased with his results after achieving the grades needed to begin studying engineering at UCM in September.

Fellow student Emily Stocks said she was pleasantly surprised by her results and plans to take four A-levels in September.

Meanwhile, Nathan Ward said he did ‘quite well’ and only failed English Literature, adding: ‘Who cares about English Lit?’

At Ballakermeen, friends Lexi Wilbrow and Annalia Raby were all smiles as they celebrated the results they had worked hard to achieve.

Both students plan to return to Ballakermeen High School for Sixth Form, with Lexi choosing Biology, Chemistry and Media.

Annalia will also study Biology, alongside Geography and English Literature.

Compared with 2025, the overall Level 1 and 2 pass rate fell by two percentage points, from 98% to 96%. However, the Level 2 pass rate rose from 71% to 73%, while the highest-grade pass rate remained unchanged at 20%.

Students wishing to progress to A-level study generally choose three subjects, or qualifications equivalent to the required criteria. For example, some BTEC courses can be equivalent to two A-levels.