2026 GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries

What Are GCSE Grade Boundaries?

A grade boundary is the minimum number of marks required to achieve a particular GCSE grade. I get asked this question all the time. Still, it can be very confusing for people.

For example, if the Grade 7 boundary is 166 marks, a student who scores 166 or above will achieve at least a Grade 7.

Grade boundaries are not fixed percentages. They can move up or down each year depending on the difficulty of the papers and how students perform nationally. Each year is unique. There isn’t really any point in comparing grade boundaries over several years.

This is important because getting 60% in one exam series does not necessarily result in the same grade as getting 60% in another.

Exam boards set the final boundaries after the papers have been marked. The aim is to make sure the standard required for each grade remains broadly consistent even when the difficulty of an exam changes from year to year.

AQA explains that if a paper is found to be slightly harder than the previous year’s paper, boundaries may be slightly lower. If it is easier, they may rise.

GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries 2026

GCSE Maths is normally divided into two tiers:

Foundation Tier allows students to achieve grades 1 to 5.

Higher Tier allows students to achieve grades 4 to 9, with a limited Grade 3 available for students who narrowly miss a Grade 4.

For both AQA and Edexcel, GCSE Maths is marked out of a total of 240 marks.

AQA GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries 2026

How Do the AQA 2026 Grade Boundaries Compare With 2025?

There were some relatively small changes at Higher Tier, while Foundation boundaries generally fell.

In 2025, AQA Foundation students needed:

The biggest change was at Grade 4, where the boundary dropped from 160 marks in 2025 to 154 in 2026.

That meant students needed six fewer marks to achieve a standard pass on the AQA Foundation paper this year.

The Higher Tier changes were smaller:

The Grade 9 boundary stayed exactly the same at 219 marks, while the Grade 7 boundary increased slightly from 164 to 166.

Overall, AQA Higher Tier boundaries were very similar to last year.

Edexcel GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries 2026

The Edexcel GCSE Maths grade boundaries 2026 show a rather different pattern.

The Edexcel Higher Tier boundaries were noticeably lower than they were in 2025.

How Do the Edexcel 2026 Grade Boundaries Compare With 2025?

For Foundation Tier, the boundaries actually increased at most grades.

The Grade 4 boundary increased by seven marks, from 144 in 2025 to 151 in 2026.

The Grade 5 boundary also rose by six marks.

However, the story is very different for Higher Tier.

This is one of the clearest differences in the GCSE grade boundaries 2026.

An Edexcel Higher Tier student needed 146 marks for a Grade 7 in 2026, compared with 156 marks in 2025.

The Grade 9 boundary also fell from 217 to 208, a difference of nine marks.

This does not mean that getting a Grade 9 became “easier”. Grade boundaries are adjusted partly to take account of differences in exam difficulty from one year to another.

AQA vs Edexcel GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries 2026

There are some sizeable differences between the two exam boards.

For Higher Tier:

For example, the Grade 7 boundary was 166 marks for AQA compared with 146 marks for Edexcel.

However, this does not mean Edexcel was automatically easier.

The papers are different, the questions are different and the groups of students sitting each specification are different. Raw grade boundaries should therefore not be used to decide that one exam board is easier than another.

What matters is the standard of work demonstrated by the student.

What Percentage Was Needed for a Grade 4 in GCSE Maths 2026?

Because both qualifications are out of 240 marks, we can convert some of the boundaries into approximate percentages.

For AQA Higher Tier, a Grade 4 required 63 marks:

63 out of 240 = approximately 26%.

For Edexcel Higher Tier, a Grade 4 required 50 marks:

50 out of 240 = approximately 21%.

Foundation boundaries were considerably higher.

For AQA Foundation, a Grade 4 required 154 marks, or approximately 64%.

For Edexcel Foundation, a Grade 4 required 151 marks, or approximately 63%.

The major difference exists because Higher Tier students sit a more difficult paper containing content aimed at the higher GCSE grades.

What Percentage Was Needed for a Grade 7 in GCSE Maths 2026?

A Grade 7 is often considered roughly comparable to the old GCSE Grade A.

In 2026:

• AQA: 166 out of 240, approximately 69%
• Edexcel: 146 out of 240, approximately 61%

Again, these percentages cannot be directly compared as measures of exam difficulty because the two boards use different papers.

What Percentage Was Needed for a Grade 9 in GCSE Maths 2026?

For the highest possible GCSE Maths grade:

• AQA Grade 9: 219 out of 240, approximately 91%
• Edexcel Grade 9: 208 out of 240, approximately 87%

The AQA Grade 9 boundary remained unchanged from 2025, while the Edexcel boundary fell by nine marks.

Why Are Foundation Grade Boundaries So Much Higher?

Students sometimes look at the boundaries and wonder why a Grade 4 can require more than 150 marks on Foundation Tier but only around 50 or 60 marks on Higher Tier.

The reason is that the papers are designed differently.

Foundation questions are targeted mainly at grades 1 to 5, while Higher Tier contains much more difficult material aimed at grades 4 to 9.

A student sitting Higher Tier is therefore answering a more challenging set of questions.

This is why the raw marks cannot simply be compared between the tiers.

Is a Grade 4 a Pass at GCSE?

Yes.

A Grade 4 is considered a standard pass, while a Grade 5 is generally described as a strong pass.

Maths and English are particularly important because students who do not achieve a Grade 4 may be required to continue studying the subject after the age of 16.

What Happens if You Are One Mark Below a Grade Boundary?

Being one or two marks below the next grade can understandably be frustrating.

If you are very close to a boundary, speak to your school or teacher about your options.

Your school may be able to request a review of marking if there is a genuine reason to believe a marking error has occurred.

However, a review does not automatically mean your mark will increase. Marks can remain the same and, in some circumstances, can also decrease.

GCSE Grade Boundaries 2026: Key Takeaways

The 2026 results show that grade boundaries can move in very different directions depending on the board and tier.

For AQA Maths, Foundation boundaries fell slightly while Higher Tier remained broadly similar to 2025.

Edexcel showed a more dramatic split. Foundation boundaries increased, but Higher Tier boundaries fell across every reported grade.

Some of the biggest changes included:

• AQA Foundation Grade 4 falling from 160 to 154
• AQA Higher Grade 9 remaining at 219
• Edexcel Foundation Grade 4 increasing from 144 to 151
• Edexcel Higher Grade 7 falling from 156 to 146
• Edexcel Higher Grade 9 falling from 217 to 208

The most important thing to remember is that lower or higher boundaries do not necessarily mean students had an easier or harder route to a particular grade. The boundaries are adjusted to maintain standards between different exam series.

For students checking their GCSE Maths results, make sure you use the correct exam board, tier and year before comparing your mark with a grade boundary.

TJ