Every subject, every board — AQA, OCR, Edexcel and Cambridge. See exactly how many marks you need for a grade 9, 7 or 4, and jump straight to the official boundaries for your subject.
Grade boundaries are the minimum marks needed to achieve each grade. They are set after each exam series based on student performance. A grade 9 boundary of 107 means you need at least 107/160 marks to achieve a grade 9. Boundaries change each year, so use these figures as a guide only.
Detailed grade-by-grade tables and a mark calculator for Computer Science across all four boards. For every other subject, use the official board links further down.
Enter your score below to see which grade it corresponds to for each board.
| Grade | Minimum marks (out of 180) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 155 | 86% |
| 8 | 142 | 79% |
| 7 | 130 | 72% |
| 6 | 111 | 62% |
| 5 | 92 | 51% |
| 4 | 74 | 41% |
| 3 | 55 | 31% |
| 2 | 36 | 20% |
| 1 | 18 | 10% |
| Grade | Minimum marks (out of 160) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 141 | 88% |
| 8 | 132 | 83% |
| 7 | 123 | 77% |
| 6 | 108 | 68% |
| 5 | 93 | 58% |
| 4 | 78 | 49% |
| 3 | 58 | 36% |
| 2 | 39 | 24% |
| 1 | 20 | 13% |
| Grade | Minimum marks (out of 150) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 124 | 83% |
| 8 | 109 | 73% |
| 7 | 94 | 63% |
| 6 | 79 | 53% |
| 5 | 64 | 43% |
| 4 | 49 | 33% |
| 3 | 36 | 24% |
| 2 | 23 | 15% |
| 1 | 10 | 7% |
| Grade | Minimum marks (out of 150) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 120 | 80% |
| 8 | 107 | 71% |
| 7 | 94 | 63% |
| 6 | 79 | 53% |
| 5 | 64 | 43% |
| 4 | 50 | 33% |
| 3 | 40 | 27% |
| 2 | 30 | 20% |
| 1 | 21 | 14% |
Boundaries are set per board, per subject, per series — an AQA grade 7 in Maths is not the same mark as an OCR grade 7 in Computer Science. Jump to the subject you need:
| Subject | AQA spec | OCR spec | Edexcel spec | Revise it free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths | 8300 | J560 | 1MA1 | GCSE Maths revision |
| Computer Science | 8525 | J277 | 1CP2 | GCSE Computer Science revision |
| Biology | 8461 | J247 | 1BI0 | GCSE Biology revision |
| Chemistry | 8462 | J248 | 1CH0 | GCSE Chemistry revision |
| Physics | 8463 | J249 | 1PH0 | GCSE Physics revision |
| English Language | 8700 | J351 | 1EN0 | GCSE English Language revision |
| English Literature | 8702 | J352 | 1ET0 | GCSE English Literature revision |
OCR codes shown are the most-entered suite (Gateway Science A, Maths J560). Check your exam paper for the code printed on the front — boundaries differ between suites.
Studying at sixth form? See A-Level grade boundaries for AQA, OCR and Edexcel — including A-Level Computer Science, Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Doing Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English or another subject? Each board publishes the exact marks for every grade. Go straight to the official documents:
Links open the official awarding-body pages. Boundaries are published on results day and change each series.
Once you know your target mark, close the gap with free notes, past papers and auto-marked quizzes.
The exact mark for a grade 9 varies each year, by subject and by exam board (AQA, OCR, Edexcel, Cambridge), because boundaries are set after each series to keep grading standards consistent. As a rough guide a grade 9 usually needs around 80% or more of the available marks. Use the calculator above for GCSE Computer Science, or the official board links below for any other subject.
No. AQA, OCR, Edexcel and Cambridge each set their own grade boundaries for every subject, based on that year's paper difficulty and national performance, so the mark needed for a grade 9, 7 or 4 differs by both subject and board.
Each exam board publishes grade boundaries for every subject on results day. Use the “grade boundaries by board” links below to go straight to the official AQA, OCR, Edexcel or Cambridge documents for Maths, the sciences, English and any other subject.
Yes. Exam boards adjust grade boundaries after every series so that the same standard of work earns the same grade, regardless of whether that year's paper was harder or easier than usual.
Flashcards, Python IDE, progress tracking and AI grade prediction — all free to try.