Nord Anglia's Largest-Ever IGCSE Cohort Posts Record Grades, Ho Chi Minh City Leads Asia

Nord Anglia Education's I/GCSE results for 2026 came from its largest cohort to date. Across 3,380 students sitting I/GCSE examinations, 48.5 percent of all grades fell in the 9-7 band, the equivalent of A* to A under the old scale, according to Nord Anglia Education.

Among the group's Asian schools, British Vietnamese International School in Ho Chi Minh City delivered the standout performance. Sixty-six percent of its students' grades fell in the 9-7 band, well ahead of the group average and the highest return posted by any Nord Anglia campus in South or South-East Asia. The result extends a run of improvement at the school, whose students have accumulated Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel Outstanding Learner Awards, including multiple Top in Vietnam citations, in each of the past three years.

A level results painted a similar picture

The IGCSE figures followed Nord Anglia's A Level results, published in mid-August. Across its A Level cohort, 50.4 percent of grades were at A* or A, and 74.8 percent at A* to B, the strongest returns the group has reported in its current form. In Asia, the British School of Nanjing and the British School of Guangzhou each posted 58 percent at A*-A; British International School Kuala Lumpur returned 48 percent.

The group's IB results, published in July, were equally strong. One in seven Nord Anglia students achieved 40 or more points, a threshold that fewer than two percent of candidates reach globally.

What the cohort size reflects

The growth in cohort size matters as much as the grades. A sitting of 3,380 I/GCSE students represents sustained enrollment growth across Nord Anglia's Asian schools, driven in part by local affluent families who now make up a larger share of enrollment than expatriate students at most of its campuses. Schools in Vietnam, in particular, have seen that shift accelerate as the country's upper-middle class expands and demand for internationally recognised qualifications outpaces available capacity.

For families and operators alike, the results land at the start of a new academic year and admissions cycle. Schools that post strong I/GCSE outcomes, the qualification that most directly drives secondary enrollment decisions, are likely to see that translate into applications over the months ahead, including at campuses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City where Nord Anglia is competing against a growing roster of British and international providers.