GCSE

Grade Boundaries


In 2017, letter grades were replaced with a new 9-1 grading system. Grades range from 9 to 1, with 9 being the highest.  Grade boundaries and equivalences are as follow

  • 9 = High A*  (roughly 85%)
  • 8 = Low A* or high A grade (roughly 70%)
  • 7 = Low A grade (roughly 55%)
  • 6 = High B grade (roughly 45%)
  • 5 = Low B or high C grade (roughly 30%). This is considered a "strong pass." 
  • 4 = Low C grade (roughly 25%).  This is considered a "pass."
  • 3 = D or high E grade (roughly 20%)
  • 2 = Low E or high F grade (roughly 15%)
  • 1 = Low F or G grade (roughly 10%)
  • U = Ungraded

GCSE's are offered in two tiers, foundation or higher level.  The highest grade you can obtain for a foundaton tier course is 5.  The foundation tier is designed for students who are aiming for grades 1-5, and Higher tier is designed for students who are looking for grades 4-9.  So, in the higher tier you can only get grades 4 to 9 or a U, which is ungraded . If a student is doing the higher tier and only just misses a grade 4 then they may be awarded a 3 which means a “nearly a pass” grade.  A student should only take higher if they can confidently expect get at least a grade 4, but are really aiming for 6 or above. Approximately 50% of the marks on the higher paper are aimed at grade 7 and above (this is the usual requirement for entry to an A-level Maths course), so most of a higher paper will be too difficult to someone who’s doubtful of achieving Grade 4. Tiers cannot be mixed, so one must either take foundation or higher.

2017-2023 GCSE Grade Boundaries Higher Tier:

Pearson GCSE Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Summer 2017 240 190 157 124 96 68 41 27
Summer 2018 240 202 170 139 109 79 50 35
Summer 2019 240 198 167 130 108 80 52 38
Summer 2022 240 194 165 137 104 71 38 21
Summer 2023 240 203 174 145 112 79 47 31

Note: 2020 and 2021 are missing since exams were not taken due to Covid.  Papers were still written anyway and you can find the grade boundaries by clicking the pdfs below.  Grade boundaries for individual papers for all years can also be found by clicking the pdfs below.

AQA GCSE Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Summer 2017 240 189 157 125 98 72 46 33
Summer 2018 240 201 169 138 107 77 47 32
Summer 2019 240 206 171 136 105 74 43 27
Summer 2022 240 214 185 156 121 86 51 33
Summer 2023 240 214 186 158 125 92 59 42

 

OCR GCSE Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Summer 2017 300 248 203 159 121 83 46 27
Summer 2018 300 256 210 164 129 94 60 43
Summer 2019 300 256 213 171 136 102 68 51
Summer 2022 300 1242 200 158 120 82 45 26
Summer 2023 300 242 193 144 109 74 39 21

 

2017-2023 iGCSE Grade Boundaries Higher Tier:

Pearson iGCSE A Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
June 2018 200 149 125 102 81 60 39 28
Jan 2019 200 155 127 100 79 58 38 28
June 2019 200 150 125 101 81 61 41 31
Jan 2020  200 159 131 104 83 62 41 30
Jan 2022 200 136 111 86 64 41 21 10
June 2022 200 142 117 92 69 47 25 14
Jan 2023 200 142 117 92 69 47 25 14
June 2023 200 152 123 95 75 55 35 25

 

Pearson iGCSE A (R) Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
June 2018 200 160 131 103 81 60 39 28
Jan 2019 200 153 125 97 77 57 38 28
June 2019 200 159 129 100 79 58 37 26
Jan 2020 200 158 130 103 82 61 41 31
Jan 2022 200 136 111 86 64 42 21 10
June 2022 200 143 113 84 63 42 21 10
Jan 2023 200 149 124 99 75 52 29 17
June 2023 200 160 131 103 80 58 36 25

'R; stands for regional as these papers were specifically designed to cater for the different time zones. The 'R' papers are used by centers in the Asian/Pacific regions (countries that are between 5 and 9 hours ahead of the UK). This is done so that none of the papers get leaked. Otherwise, due to time difference of countries someone who already had their exam can simply leak the paper to a person in another country.

Pearson iGCSE B Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
June 2018 300 216 190 165 132 99 67 51
Jan 2019 300 216 190 165 133 101 69 53
June 2019 300 245 204 164 134 104 74 59
Jan 2020 300 244 210 177 144 111 78 61
Jan 2022 300 196 155 114 84 55 26 11
June 2022 300 185 146 108 87 66 46 36
Jan 2023 300 185 146 108 87 66 46 36
June 2023 300 231 189 148 122 96 71 58

 

Pearson iGCSE B (R) Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
June 2018 300 230 198 166 133 101 69 53
Jan 2019 300 231 199 167 134 101 69 53
June 2019 300 245 211 177 143 109 75 58
Jan 2020 300 241 208 175 142 109 77 61
Jan 2022 300 196 157 118 87 56 26 11
June 2022 300 227 181 136 110 85 60 47
Jan 2023 300 189 150 112 90 68 46 35
June 2023 300 231 189 148 122 97 72 59

 

Pearson iGCSE B Further Pure Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
June 2019 200 184 168 152 125 98 71 57
Jan 2020 200 183 166 149 122 95 68 54
Jan 2022 200 149 110 72 59 47 35 29
June 2022 200 135 105 76 60 45 30 22
Jan 2023 200 136 106 77 61 46 31 23
June 2023 200 165 145 126 99 72 46 33

 

Pearson iGCSE B Further Pure (R) Max 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
June 2019 200 169 153 138 116 94 72 61
Jan 2020 200 184 168 152 124 97 70 56
Jan 2022 200 149 110 72 59 46 34 28
June 2022 200 167 141 116 92 69 46 34
Jan 2023 200 140 110 81 66 51 36 28
June 2023 200 170 150 131 104 78 52 39

 

 

2017-2023 GCSE Grade Boundaries Foundation Tier:

Pearson GCSE Max 5 4 3 2 1
Summer 2017 240 158 122 90 58 26
Summer 2018 240 169 136 101 66 31
Summer 2019 240 184 149 111 73 36
Summer 2022 240 173 135 100 66 32
Summer 2023 240 182 147 109 71 33

 

AQA GCSE Max 5 4 3 2 1
Summer 2017 240 156 124 91 59 27
Summer 2018 240 161 125 92 59 27
Summer 2019 240 157 122 89 57 25
Summer 2022 240 172 135 101 57 33
Summer 2023 240 189 158 117 76 35

 

OCR GCSE Max 5 4 3 2 1
Summer 2017 300 174 126 99 60 28
Summer 2018 300 187 146 105 64 24
Summer 2019 300 189 144 104 64 24
Summer 2022 300 170 119 85 52 19
Summer 2023 300 178 129 92 56 20

 

2017-2023 iGCSE Grade Boundaries Foundation Tier:

   Pearson    iGCSE A Max 5 4 3 2 1
June 2018 200 136 110 80 51 22
Jan 2019 200 137 113 83 53 23
June 2019 200 134 114 84 54 24
Jan 2020 200 145 120 88 56 24
Jan 2022 200 119 90 66 43 20
June 2022 200 130 100 74 48 23
Jan 2023 200 128 98 73 48 23
June 2023 200 140 117 86 55 24

Note: June 2020, Jan 2021 and June 2021 are missing since exams were not taken due to Covid.  Papers were still written anyway and you can find the grade boundaries by clicking the pdfs below. Grade boundaries for individual papers for all years can also be found by clicking the pdfs below

   Pearson    iGCSE A (R) Max 5 4 3 2 1
June 2018 200 136 109 80 51 22
Jan 2019 200 141 111 81 52 23
June 2019 200 140 114 84 54 24
Jan 2020 200 141 112 83 54 25
Jan 2022 200 118 89 66 43 20
June 2022 200 122 87 65 43 21
Jan 2023 200 135 104 78 52 26
June 2023 200 137 108 78 48 18

 

For boundaries by paper click on the relevant document below

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