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Across 206 exam entries from students studying online across CGA’s Greenwich and Aoraki campuses, 37% of graded entries reached grade 8 or above, against a global average of 33%. 52% reached grade 7 or above, against 49% globally. The standard pass rate, grade 4 or above, landed at 86%, just ahead of the 85% global figure.
The strongest results came from English Language A, Mathematics, English Literature, History and Photography, where CGA’s online, specialist-taught students moved well past the international benchmark.
It follows a solid Summer 2026 for CGA overall. CGA's A Level results, released earlier in the results season, showed a similar shape at the top grades, so this iGCSE cohort is continuing a trend rather than setting one.
The Headline Numbers
| Grade Band | CGA | Pearson Global Average |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 15% | 17% |
| 9-8 | 37% | 33% |
| 9-7 | 52% | 49% |
| 9-6 | 63% | 64% |
| 9-5 | 78% | 76% |
| 9-4 (pass) | 86% | 85% |
A note on how to read these figures: "9-8" means the share of entries awarded grade 8 or above, cumulative. "9-4" is the standard pass rate, grade 4 or above. All comparisons above are against Pearson's official Global (International Only) average, published on results day, 20 August 2026, which is the fairer like-for-like benchmark for an international online school.
CGA runs ahead at 9-8 and 9-7, the two bands universities and sixth forms actually screen for. The school is essentially level with the global average further down the scale, including on the standard pass rate.
None of this happened by accident. Students who study online still have live, subject-specialist teachers, timed assessments and the same exam board rigour as any campus-based school. A global cohort of ambitious students, taught by teachers who specialise in one subject rather than covering several, sat the same Pearson papers as everyone else, and beat the average that matters most.
Humanities and Creative Subjects Lead the Way
English Language A was the strongest large-cohort story of the results. 34 CGA students sat the paper, and 21% came away with a grade 9, nearly 75% higher than the global rate of 12%. 97% passed.
English Literature, History and Photography all closed out at 100%. English Literature and History hit a full pass rate at grade 4 or above. Photography went one step further, with all three entries, across both campuses, awarded a grade 9.
These are small cohorts. Five entries in History, eight in English Literature, three in Photography. So treat these as strong signals rather than firm trends. But a clean pass rate across two subjects, plus a 100% top-grade record in Photography, a subject that lives or dies on live feedback and one-to-one critique, says something about how well creative and academic subjects alike translate to CGA's teaching model.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 9-8 (CGA) | Grade 9-8 (Global) | Pass Rate 9-4 (CGA) | Pass Rate 9-4 (Global) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photography | 3 | 100% | 15% | 100% | 79% |
| English Literature | 8 | 38% | 35% | 100% | 96% |
| History | 5 | 40% | 40% | 100% | 87% |
| English Language A | 34 | 47% | 24% | 97% | 90% |
Mathematics and Science: A Strong Foundation
Mathematics is CGA's largest single entry subject, with 47 students sitting the paper school-wide. Against the matched global comparison group, CGA's Maths students reached grade 8 or above 43% of the time, against a 40% global average, and passed at 93%, against 89% globally, a strong showing for the subject carrying the most students. Biology and Chemistry rounded out a dependable set of science results, with pass rates of 91% and 73%.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 9-8 (CGA) | Grade 9-8 (Global) | Pass Rate 9-4 (CGA) | Pass Rate 9-4 (Global) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 42 | 43% | 40% | 93% | 89% |
What Greenwich’s New Principal Makes of These Results
Siobhan Casey took over as Principal of the Greenwich campus after this year's exams were sat, inheriting a cohort's worth of hard work from her predecessor. Here's how she reads the results:
These outstanding IGCSE results are the result of the hard work, resilience and talent of our students, and to the dedication of the staff who guided them, under the wise leadership of my predecessor, to whom I owe my thanks for laying such strong foundations. Although I was not at CGA when these students sat their exams, I could not be prouder to now lead a school with this calibre of achievement.
This year, 15% of grades were the top 9, over a third (37%) achieved a 9-8, and more than half (52%) reached 9-7. This is a real reflection of the depth of success across our cohort, not just a select few.
Qualifications like these are more than results on a page; they are keys that unlock doors to future opportunity, whatever path our students choose to take next, be that further study or new adventures. I look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.
Why Online Learning Delivers These Results
Subject Specialists, Not Generalists
A physical campus school hires teachers to cover a timetable. CGA hires them to teach one subject at depth to students anywhere in the world who need that specific expertise. That's a genuinely different hiring pool, and it shows up in results like English Language A's near-double grade-9 rate or Photography's clean sweep, subjects where a teacher who lives and breathes the syllabus makes a measurable difference.
Built for Students Who Already Know How to Work Independently
iGCSE students studying online are managing their own schedules, sitting live lessons across time zones, and pacing their own revision well before they ever apply to university. Those are the same habits - time management, self-direction, comfort with digital tools - that university admissions tutors are explicitly looking for. Strong exam results are the visible outcome. The study habits behind them are the part that carries forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pearson's International GCSE (iGCSE)? The International GCSE is Pearson Edexcel's globally recognised equivalent to the UK GCSE, sat by students outside the UK and by international schools. It's graded on the same 9-1 scale and benchmarked separately against a global cohort of international candidates, which is the fairer comparison for a school like CGA.
How did CGA students perform in the Summer 2026 iGCSE exams compared to the global average? Across 206 exam entries, CGA students reached grade 8 or above 37% of the time against a 33% global average, and grade 7 or above 52% of the time against 49% globally. The standard pass rate was 86%, against 85% globally.
Which subjects had the strongest results? English Language A, Mathematics, English Literature, History and Photography all matched or beat the global average on top grades, pass rate, or both. English Language A's grade-9 rate was nearly 75% higher than the global figure.
How many students sat exams, and at which campuses? 206 exam entries were recorded across CGA's two virtual campuses, Greenwich and Aoraki, in Summer 2026.
How does CGA's online teaching model support results like these? Students are taught by subject-specialist teachers in live online lessons, sit the same Pearson exam papers as any other school, and build independent study habits from an early age. That combination is reflected in results that consistently reach or beat the international benchmark at the top of the grade scale.