A-level grade boundaries 2023: what are AQA, OCR and Edexcel boundaries and where can I find them?

Students across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are receiving their A-level results today, with many anxious to find out if they have done enough to get into university or pursue their chosen career path.

Figures released by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have revealed that the number of top grades is down on last year, but still remains above pre-pandemic levels. It comes after ministers and exams regulators said there would be less As and A*s, as part of plans to return grading to what it was in 2019.

This followed record results being achieved in 2020 and 2021, when pupils’ final marks were based on assessments by their teachers. According to the data by the JCQ, this year’s drop in grades was the steepest in England, which is down to examiners in Wales and Northern Ireland deciding they would not make the full return to pre-pandemic marking until 2024.

With all this talk of changes in results, many students may be wondering how close they were to the grade above or below what they achieved in their respective subjects. This could particularly be the case for those who missed out on what they needed to be accepted into their chosen university, or for those who are pleasantly surprised with how they performed.

Fortunately, there’s a way to find this out. Each exam board - including AQA, OCR, and Edexcel - publish so-called ‘grade boundaries’, which clearly lay out what you needed to score in order to achieve an A*, A, B, C, D, and E. Here’s what they said this year.

What are the 2023 grade boundaries for AQA?

AQA’s subject grade boundaries can be found here. In several tables, the exam board has highlighted what the maximum mark is in each subject - then how many marks you needed to get to achieve each grade.

For example, in the maths exam, the highest score students could get was 300 - and they needed 248 for an A*, 201 for an A, 163 for a B, 125 for a C, 87 for a D, and 49 for an E.

What are the 2023 grade boundaries for OCR?

OCR has also published its grade boundaries for each subject on its website. Marks have been broken down into each module, so students can see how much they needed in each individual exam paper.

For instance, in English Literature, those aiming for an A* needed 55 out of 60 in drama and poetry pre-1900, 57 out of 60 in comparative and contextual study, and 37 out of 40 in literature post-1900.

What are the 2023 grade boundaries for Edexcel?

Meanwhile, Pearson Edexcel’s grade boundaries are available on this web page, again breaking the scores down by grade (A* - E) for each subject.

Edexcel has also highlighted that to be given a U - which stands for ‘unclassified’ - students need to have scored 0 in the exam paper. Those who scored more than 0 but less than what is needed for an E will fail that subject.

What are grade boundaries?

A grade boundary is the minimum mark you need to achieve a particular grade, whether that be an A*, A, B, C, D or E. Exam boards decide on these every year, but only after students’ papers have been marked - as boundaries change depending on how well each cohort has performed.

This means that the grade boundaries for each subject can vary year on year, which prevents students from being penalised with poor grades if the exam was especially challenging. It also means that if lots of students performed well in a particular exam, they will need higher marks to achieve the top grade.

Exam boards typically decide the grade boundaries needed for A* and E first, and slot the others in at regular intervals.