GCSE · 2022–2026 · 9-1 scale

Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies

The published GCSE grade distribution for Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies, nationally and board by board, 2022 to 2026. Official figures, shown as they were published: a distribution, not a difficulty rating.

22
entries · 2026
9.1%
Grade 9
22.7%
7+
40.9%
5+ (strong pass)

OCR — the only board publishing this subject · 2026

987654321U
9.19.118.222.722.813.6
Open in the explorer

Year by year

The spread since 2022.

Every bar below is OCR, the only board publishing this subject. 2022 grades were the assessed-grades peak, and the reset since is visible in the shape of each year.

OCR — the only board publishing this subject

987654321U
20227+ 44.4% · 72 entries
19.49.715.313.915.39.79.7
20237+ 55.7% · 61 entries
21.321.313.111.58.211.58.2
20247+ 46.4% · 56 entries
17.917.910.710.78.912.512.5
20257+ 25.9% · 27 entries
14.811.118.529.722.2
20267+ 22.7% · 22 entries
9.19.118.222.722.813.6
Movement · ranked on 7+

Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies has slipped 17 places, from #7 to #24.

Position among the 31 subjects OCR published in every year from 2022 to 2026. Subjects that appear in only some years are left out, so the field is the same size each time and a change of place is a change in the subject rather than a change in the table. A subject sits differently on each measure, so the ranking is only ever a ranking of that one thing. The block beside each measure is the whole grade scale, in the colours used at the top of this page, with the grades that measure counts filled in.

#7Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies44.4%
#6Biology50.9%
#3Classical Civilisation52.0%
#5Chemistry51.2%
#4Physics51.6%
#11Design and Technology41.4%
#10Religious Studies42.3%
#9Ancient History43.2%
#8Economics43.4%
2022

The 9 subjects shown span 10.6 percentage points in 2022.

Every subject, every year · #1 is the highest 7+
#1#31#7#3#5#20#2420222023202420252026
Entries · who is growing

Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies is shrinking while OCR’s entries as a whole grow.

72 entries in 2022, 22 in 2026 — a change of −69%, against +9.3% across all 31 subjects OCR published in every year from 2022 to 2026. This is what students chose, not how they were graded.

Every subject starts level at its 2022 size, so the bars show growth and decline rather than which subject is biggest. Boards that publish no entry counts are left out.

#1Ancient History+0.0%
#2Art and Design: Art, Craft and Design+0.0%
#3Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies+0.0%
#4Art and Design: Fine Art+0.0%
#5Art and Design: Graphic Communication+0.0%
#6Art and Design: Photography+0.0%
#7Art and Design: Textile Design+0.0%
#8Art and Design: Three-Dimensional Design+0.0%
#9Biology+0.0%
2022

Ranked by growth since 2022, so #1 is the fastest-growing subject rather than the largest. In 2022 the 9 shown run from +0.0% to +0.0%.

Every subject, every year · dashed line = all subjects together
ALL SUBJECTS+52%−69%20222023202420252026

Board by board · 2026

One board publishes Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies.

With a single board there is no cross-board comparison to draw; the figures below are the complete published picture.

OCR
22 entries
9.19.118.222.722.813.6
22.7%
7+

Grade distributions reflect who enters a subject as much as the exam itself, so nothing on this page is a difficulty ranking. Figures are published cumulative percentages from JCQ and the awarding bodies; per-grade shares are derived by subtracting adjacent bands. How the data is sourced and worked out.