Higher GCSE grades linked to lifetime earnings boost New research shows the link between GCSE attainment and earnings over a person's lifetime. From: 9 July 2021 Those who perform just one GCSE grade better than their counterparts across nine subjects have been shown to earn on average over £200,000 more throughout their lives. For the first time ever, statisticians and economists at the Department for Education have established a direct link between GCSE attainment and an increase in lifetime earnings after tracking the earnings of more than two million people in England. School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: We are taught from a young age to do well at school to better our life chances, and today we see tangible, robust evidence to support this.