Easiest GCSE Subjects To Study In 2026

When making your GCSE choices, it is worth considering the difficulty of the subjects on your shortlist. This in-depth analysis of the easiest GCSE subjects should help you make informed decisions.

Your results will impact your options at sixth form and beyond school, so picking subjects where you have the best chance of doing well is sensible. While we would never recommend choosing a GCSE simply because you believe it is easy, we hope this guide is useful.

To identify the easiest GCSEs, we’ve used several metrics, including official results data, teacher and student feedback, and even a statistical analysis from an academic specialising in examinations. We also share the easiest GCSE subjects to get a 9 in.

Before we get started, a quick note: difficulty is, of course, subjective, and the subject one student struggles with will be a breeze for another. As you’ll see, our different data sources give different indications of which subjects are hard and easy. Nonetheless, the subjects on our list are generally considered easier for most students.

Highest Rates of Grades 4, 7, and 9

In this section, we will analyse the official 2025 GCSE results data from Ofqual. As many students wonder which GCSEs are the easiest to pass or to get a grade 9 in, we will explore which subjects have the highest rates of the following:

• Grade 4 (passing grade)
• Grade 7 (A grade under the old system)
• Grade 9 (top grade)

Easiest to Pass

Since the reform of GCSE grades, when they moved from a letter to a number grading system, a 4 has been the pass grade.

The following table shows the GCSEs where the highest percentage of students achieved a grade 4 pass or better. We’ve also included the average for all subjects for comparison.

Subject	Pass rate (4 and above)
Other modern languages*	92.90%
Chemistry	91.50%
Physics	90.80%
Biology	89.40%
Classical subjects	87.70%
Economics	82.20%
Other sciences**	81.40%
German	79.60%
Drama	77.60%
Art and design subjects	76.90%
All subjects	67.10%

*Excluding French, Spanish, and German
**Excluding Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Combined Science

Top of the list is ‘Other modern languages’, which includes subjects like Italian, Russian, Arabic, Mandarin, and Urdu, with a pass rate of 92.9%. While they have the highest pass rate, they may not necessarily be the easiest GCSE subjects: as quite niche languages, many students taking them might have prior fluency. This would make the pass rate high but might not mean they are easy subjects for those who don’t already speak the language to some extent. We saw the same result in our guide to the easiest A Levels.

The remainder of the list is made up of a mix of subject areas. The three sciences (Chemistry, Physics, and Biology) are in second, third, and fourth, around 90% pass rates, with ‘Other sciences’ in seventh. The fact that the individual sciences are all near the top might be due to the fact that stronger science students tend to take individual sciences, whereas students who find science harder are more likely to take Combined Science. Indeed, Combined Science has a pass rate below the overall GCSE average despite explicitly being more straightforward than taking the three individual sciences. Chemistry and Physics actually appear on our ranking of the hardest GCSE subjects.

Creative subjects like Drama and Art and design subjects are in ninth and tenth place.

Easiest to Get a 7

A 7 is equivalent to an A in the pre-reformed GCSE grading system. Only just over 20% of students get a grade 7 on average, so this can be regarded as a strong performance.

This table shows the GCSE subjects where the highest percentage of students got a grade 7 or above. Once again, we’ve included the average for all subjects for comparison.

Subject	7 and above rate
Other modern languages*	72.40%
Classical subjects	59.20%
Other sciences**	49.30%
Chemistry	46.10%
Physics	45.10%
Biology	43.40%
German	34%
Economics	33.30%
Music	33.30%
Religious studies	31.70%
All subjects	21.80%

*Excluding French, Spanish, and German
**Excluding Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Combined Science

Other modern languages tops this table, too, though the same caveats apply as mentioned above.

Interestingly, Classical subjects (Latin, Greek, and Classical Civilisation) jumps from fifth place on the ‘easiest GCSE to pass’ table to second place here. A huge 59.2% of students achieve a 7 or above, almost three times the average for all subjects. We might imagine that these subjects place so high because most students taking them are at independent schools or grammar schools, where the percentage of students getting a grade 7 is much higher than at non-selective state schools. However, the underlying Ofqual data shows that the grade 7 and above rate is comparatively high for Classical subjects at non-selective state schools too, suggesting that these are among the easiest GCSE subjects.

The sciences once again feature prominently, taking third to sixth place with rates of 7 or better more than twice as high as the average. (As with Other modern languages, the same caveats as above apply.)

Religious Studies also enters the top ten here. Anecdotally, a number of students say that RS is one of the easiest GCSE subjects, with many claiming to have secured high grades with little revision (though these claims are unverifiable and worth taking with a pinch of salt).

Easiest to Get a 9

A 9 is the highest grade available in GCSEs, equivalent to a high A* under the old system. Only 5.1% of students get a 9 on average.

This table shows the easiest GCSE subjects to get a 9, based on the proportion of students achieving that top grade in 2025. Once again, we’ve included the average for all subjects for comparison.

Subject	9 and above rate
Other modern languages*	40.60%
Classical subjects	25.70%
Other sciences**	19%
Chemistry	14.80%
Physics	13.80%
Biology	13.10%
German	10.90%
Music	10.10%
Computing	9.20%
French	8.70%
All subjects	5.10%

*Excluding French, Spanish, and German
**Excluding Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Combined Science

The GCSEs where the most 9s are given are Other modern languages, Classical subjects, and the sciences.

40.6% of Other modern languages students receive a 9, a rate eight times higher than the average, while Classical subjects students are five times as likely to get a 9.

The same caveat as above applies to Other modern languages, however, namely that these languages (subjects including Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Arabic, and Urdu) may be taken by many students with prior fluency in the language. The high 9 rate may simply reflect the pre-existing ability of the students; a student without this prior fluency could still find the subject difficult.

Similarly, the fact that more 9s are given to students of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology than Combined Science is likely to be because students who find science easier tend to take individual science GCSEs, whereas those who find it harder tend to take Combined Science.

Music, Computing, French, and Religious Studies are the remaining subjects in the top ten easiest GCSEs to get a 9.

Does this data tell us which GCSEs are easiest?

So far, we’ve examined Ofqual’s data on the percentage of candidates who achieve a certain grade or better. But does this data really tell us which are the easiest GCSEs?

With the example of Other modern languages, we have already hinted at how a high percentage of good grades might not necessarily equate to a subject being easy. The underlying reason is clear enough: the grade a student achieves is not simply a function of how difficult the subject is; it is also affected by factors including:

• Academic ability of the student
• Motivation of the student
• Type of school where more students take the subject (for instance, independent schools get better GCSE results on average than state schools, so we would expect a subject taken disproportionately by independent school students to have higher average grades)
• Amount of time in the timetable for teaching the subject
• Quality of teaching

And so on.

To illustrate this, consider the fact that the lowest proportion of passes are given for Maths (58.2%) and English Language (59.7%). These are the two compulsory GCSE subjects. Are they objectively the hardest? It seems more likely that their position at the bottom of the table is due to the fact that all students have to take them, regardless of how much they like them, how good they are at them, and how good their teachers are.

Our guides on how to revise for GCSE Maths and GCSE English contain tips to help you perform well in these subjects. Or you can learn our dedicated list of GCSE English analysis terms to get a grade 9, complete with real examples of how to use them.

Other evidence for the easiest subjects

If simple data on pass rates or grade 9 rates doesn’t give us the whole picture about which GCSEs are the easiest, are there any other sources we can look at?

Ofqual surveys of students and teachers

In the recent-ish past, Ofqual has also conducted studies where they have interviewed groups of students and teachers about how they perceive the difficulty of different GCSEs.

According to the 2017 survey, teachers were split between those who said that some subjects were easier than others, and some who said that subject difficulty is purely subjective. “Those in the former group most often categorised STEM subjects and languages as being among the most difficult. Perceptions of subject difficulty and subject choices ‘traditional’ subjects such as drama, media studies, and food technology, tended to be seen as being amongst the easier options by these teachers.”

This is particular noteworthy because the most difficult subjects according to teachers included precisely those ranked as the easiest by the grade data.

Teachers also noted that Biology was generally seen as being the easiest science because it is more practical and less abstract than Physics and Chemistry.

In the 2015 survey, meanwhile,  “Specific subjects […] were perceived to be easier, with examples including GCSEs in religious studies and physical education.”

2008 Robert Coe study

A study from 2008 applied the Rasch model to 2004 GCSE data. In this case, the Rasch model is trying to compare grades across subjects by accounting for a student’s academic ability. The author, Robert Coe, uses a students’ grades in their GCSEs to try to estimate the difficulty of different subjects.

Put simply, suppose that students with broadly similar overall GCSE results were consistently more likely to achieve at least a C in Subject 1 than in Subject 2. The model would estimate that attaining a C in Subject 1 was easier.

Based on this analysis, Coe found that the following subjects were the easiest to get a C (current grade 4):

Position from easier to harder	Subject	Grade-C Rasch measure
1	Home Economics: Child Development	−0.07
2	Vocational Leisure & Tourism	−0.06
3	Vocational Science	−0.05
4	DT Textiles	−0.05
5	DT Resistant Materials	−0.05
6	Drama	−0.05
7	DT Food Technology	−0.04
8	Sport/PE	−0.04
9	Media Studies	−0.03

From the table, we can see that the easiest by this measure are vocational and practical subjects, including Home Economics, Textiles, Drama, Food Tech, PE, and Media Studies.

Note that the study does warn against interpreting these estimates as intrinsic course difficulty, as it does not take into account some of the other factors we mentioned (such as teaching quality, timetabling and student motivation). Coe also noted that the ranking varies by grade (i.e. the hardest subjects to get an A* are different from the hardest subjects to get a C).

In addition, this study is now based on data that is more than 20 years old, and if it were rerun with this year’s results, the outcomes are likely to be different.

Top 10 Easiest GCSE Subjects

1. Classical Civilisation

Grade 4 and above rate: 87.7%

Grade 9 rate: 25.7%

Classical subjects gave out the second highest percentage of grades 7 and 9s, with more than a quarter of students getting a 9 in 2025. While Latin and Greek require substantial language learning and analysis of literary texts in the original language, Classical Civilisation is taught only in English, making it the most straightforward of the three subjects in this group. Overall, it can be considered the easiest GCSE subject in 2026.

Classical Civilisation may suit you if:

• You are interested in the culture and history of ancient Greece and Rome
• You like learning about the way societies that are very different from the modern West thought and functioned
• You have no prior experience with Latin or Greek

2. Physical Education

Grade 4 and above rate: 72.7%

Grade 9 rate: 4.5%

Physical Education has an above-average pass rate, with almost three-quarters of students achieving a grade 4 or better in 2025. Historical research has also placed PE towards the easier end of GCSE subjects, while some teachers surveyed by Ofqual have identified it as one of the easiest subjects.

However, GCSE PE is not simply about being good at sport. It normally combines practical performance with written study of topics such as anatomy, physiology, training methods and sports psychology. Your practical marks may also depend on your performance across several approved sports.

Physical Education may suit you if:

• You regularly participate in one or more sports
• You are interested in how the body responds to exercise
• You are comfortable with both practical and written assessment

3. Media Studies

Grade 4 and above rate: 69.6%

Grade 9 rate: 3.9%

Media Studies had a slightly above-average pass rate in 2025, although its grade 9 rate was below the average for all subjects. Both teachers surveyed by Ofqual and Robert Coe’s historical statistical analysis have placed Media Studies towards the easier end of GCSE subjects.

In GCSE Media Studies, students analyse how media products create meaning, represent different groups and appeal to audiences. Depending on the exam board, students may also produce their own media. Analytical writing skills are therefore important, particularly for students aiming for the highest grades.

Media Studies may suit you if:

• You are interested in films, television, advertising, news or social media
• You enjoy analysing how images, language and sound influence audiences
• You like combining written analysis with creative production

4. Food Preparation and Nutrition

Grade 4 and above rate: 68.4%

Grade 9 rate: 4.2%

The pass rate for Food Preparation and Nutrition was close to the average for all GCSE subjects in 2025. However, its predecessor, Food Technology, was described as one of the easier options by some teachers in Ofqual’s research and appeared towards the easier end of Robert Coe’s historical analysis.

The modern GCSE includes both practical cooking and scientific theory. Students learn about nutrition, food safety, food provenance and the chemical and physical processes involved in cooking. A substantial proportion of the qualification is usually assessed through non-exam assessments, which many students find easier.

Food Preparation and Nutrition may suit you if:

• You enjoy preparing and experimenting with food
• You are interested in nutrition and the science of cooking
• You prefer a mixture of practical work, written work and project-based assessment

5. Religious Studies

Grade 4 and above rate: 73.2%

Grade 9 rate: 8.4%

Religious Studies had an above-average pass rate in 2025, while its grade 9 rate was also considerably higher than the average across all subjects. Teachers surveyed by Ofqual identified it as one of the easiest GSCE subjects, reinforcing anecdotal accounts from students who claim to have achieved high grades with little revision.

In RS, students must become familiar with the basic theology and practice of selected religions, explain different viewpoints on key issues within these religions, and write structured arguments under timed conditions. Students who are comfortable with essay-writing and argument should find it manageable.

Religious Studies may suit you if:

• You are interested in ethical questions and different systems of belief
• You enjoy discussing issues from several points of view
• You can construct clear, balanced and well-supported written arguments

6. Drama

Grade 4 and above rate: 77.6%

Grade 9 rate: 6.3%

Drama had one of the highest pass rates among widely available creative GCSEs in 2025, with more than three-quarters of students achieving a grade 4 or above. It has also been placed towards the easier end by Robert Coe’s statistical analysis and was among the subjects described as easier by teachers in Ofqual’s research. While it is generally not considered too difficult, it is not among the very easiest GCSEs, however. This is because many students find the subjective nature of assessment makes it harder to be confident that you can achieve top marks.

In GCSE Drama, students may be required to devise an original performance, perform or design for a scripted piece, and complete a written examination analysing plays and live theatre. Rehearsals and group projects can also make it more time-consuming than students expect.

Drama may suit you if:

• You enjoy performing, directing or theatrical design
• You are comfortable collaborating closely with other students
• You like exploring characters, plays and ideas through both practical and written work

7. Combined Science

Grade 4-4 and above rate: 57.6%

Grade 9-9 rate: 1.1%

Combined Science covers Biology, Chemistry and Physics but awards two GCSEs rather than three. Compared with taking the three separate sciences, each component contains fewer topics and generally studies them in less depth. Some of the more advanced material included in separate GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics is omitted from the Combined Science course.

This reduced content can make Combined Science more manageable than studying all three sciences separately. However, students must still learn material from three scientific disciplines and sit several examinations. Its 4-4 and 9-9 rates were below the average 4 and 9 rates across individual GCSE subjects in 2025, although this is not a direct comparison because Combined Science produces a double grade.

Combined Science may suit you if:

• You want to study Biology, Chemistry and Physics without taking three separate GCSEs
• You would prefer less detailed and advanced content in each scientific discipline
• You are comfortable learning a broad range of scientific ideas and applying them in examinations

8. Geography

Grade 4 and above rate: 65.1%

Grade 9 rate: 4.9%

Although Geography’s pass and grade 9 rates were slightly below the average across all GCSE subjects, many students and teachers anecdotally consider it one of the easiest GCSE subjects. Because the syllabus consists of a mixture of social sciences (human geography) and science (physical geography), it is sometimes considered that the content does not reach an advanced level in either area. “It’s just common sense” is a refrain from many who believe Geography to be an easy GCSE. One teacher interviewed by Ofqual even said “I can just demonstrate that our weaker students who take geography will get an A* and some of our stronger students who take physics will get a B.”

The course normally covers physical geography, such as rivers, coasts, weather and natural hazards, alongside human geography topics such as cities, development and the use of resources. Students also complete fieldwork and answer questions involving maps, graphs, data and extended writing.

Geography may suit you if:

• You are interested in places, environments and current global issues
• You enjoy interpreting maps, graphs and geographical data
• You prefer studying a mixture of scientific processes and human societies

9. Other Sciences

Grade 4 and above rate: 81.4%
Grade 9 rate: 19.0%

Other Sciences had very high results in 2025: more than four-fifths of candidates achieved a grade 4 or above, while almost one in five received a grade 9.

Other Sciences covers less commonly taken science subjects (like Geology or Astronomy), and only around 2,500 results were included in the 2025 data. Students taking these subjects are likely to be a particularly selected group with a strong interest or ability in these areas. The high grade rates therefore do not necessarily mean that the courses are easy for the average student.

A GCSE included within Other Sciences may suit you if:

• Your school offers a specialist science subject that interests you
• You already perform strongly in science
• You want to study a more specialised scientific field

10. Biology

Grade 4 and above rate: 89.4%

Grade 9 rate: 13.1%

Biology had one of the highest pass rates of any major GCSE subject in 2025. Almost nine in ten candidates achieved a grade 4 or above, while 13.1% achieved the top grade.

Ofqual’s teacher research found that Biology was often regarded as the easiest of the three separate sciences because its subject matter was considered more relatable and less abstract than Physics or Chemistry. However, the high results are also likely to reflect the academic strength of students entered for separate sciences. Biology contains a large amount of terminology and factual content, as well as questions requiring data analysis, calculations and practical understanding.

Biology may suit you if:

• You are interested in living organisms, health and the natural world
• You are good at learning and applying detailed scientific content
• You prefer Biology’s subject matter to the more mathematical or abstract aspects of Physics and Chemistry

What makes a GCSE easy?

There is no single feature that makes a GCSE easy for every student. A subject that feels straightforward to one person may be difficult for another, depending on their abilities, interests and preferred way of working.

However, there are three main factors which contribute to a subject being considered easy.

Limited depth of understanding required

GCSE subjects are often seen as easier when assessments rely more heavily on recalling facts or following familiar methods. They may be seen as harder when students must demonstrate a deeper understanding of the content or apply their knowledge in new situations. Examples of higher level questions might include analysis of unseen texts in English Literature or multi-step problems in Maths.

Nonetheless, memorisation-based subjects do bring their own challenges. A course with a large amount of factual content can still require plenty of work and revision, particularly for students who struggle to retain information.

Style of assessment

The balance between examinations, coursework and practical assessment can have a major effect on perceived difficulty.

Subjects with more coursework or non-exam assessment are sometimes regarded as easier because students can complete work over a longer period, receive guidance and improve their responses before submission. By contrast, subjects assessed mainly through final examinations place more pressure on performance under timed conditions.

Whether this is the case in reality depends heavily on the student. Some prefer coursework, while others find long projects difficult to organise and would rather revise for an exam.

Light workload

A GCSE may be perceived as easy because there is less content to learn or because there is limited time management or effort required outside of lessons.

Some subjects have a large syllabus and require extensive revision. Others involve portfolios, rehearsals, practical work or long-term projects. Art and Drama, for example, may be regarded as accessible in terms of their academic content but can demand a considerable amount of time and sustained effort.

Bearing all this in mind, when choosing GCSEs, it is worth considering:

• Whether you prefer recall, problem-solving or extended analysis
• Whether you perform better in exams, coursework or practical assessments
• How much independent work and time management the subject requires
• Whether you are genuinely interested in the material

Interest is particularly important. Students are generally more willing to revise, practise and complete coursework for subjects they enjoy, which can make those GCSEs feel easier and improve their chances of achieving a high grade.

GCSE Tutoring

If you want to achieve the best GCSE grades possible, our GCSE tutors can help. Our tutors have years of experience and a proven track record: 96% of our GCSE students meet or exceed their predicted grades. They are subject specialists, graduates of leading universities, and highly familiar with all the GCSE exam boards.

We take care to personally match each child with the tutor who best suits their unique personality, learning style, and requirements. Book a free consultation with our friendly team to learn more about our GCSE tuition or to get matched with the best-fit tutor.

Sources

2025 GCSE results data, Ofqual

‘Perceptions of subject difficulty and subject choices: Are the two linked, and if so, how?’, Ofqual, 2017

‘Comparability of Different GCSE and A Level Subjects in England: An Introduction’, Ofqual, 2015

‘Relative difficulties of examinations at GCSE: an application of the Rasch model’, Robert Coe, 2008