Introduction
Are you confused about the AQA GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries, and don’t understand why they aren’t always a fixed number each year. Don’t worry you are not alone, it's a very common question I get asked in my GCSE Maths classes by students just like you.
Understanding how Grade Boundaries work is a crucial part of preparing for your GCSEs. In this blog post we talk about the importance of grade boundaries, how they are determined, why they change each year and finally the historic grade boundaries from previous GCSE Exam sittings.
By the end of this blog post you will have a much better understanding of what is needed to succeed in the AQA GCSE Mathematics Course.
The AQA GCSE Maths Course
First let’s start with the AQA GCSE Maths course, students will be entered for either the Higher Tier or the Foundation Tier, this will be based on your performance in school tests and teacher assessments. The highest possible grade in the GCSE Maths course is a Grade 9.
On the higher tier, students can achieve from a Grade 9 to a Grade 3, in the foundation tier students can achieve a maximum of a Grade 5 and a minimum of a Grade 1.
Students will sit three exams at the end of their GCSE, these exams are usually about a week apart from each other. This year (2023) the exams will take place on the following dates:
- Paper 1 - Friday 19th May
- Paper 2 - Tuesday 6th June
- Paper 3 - Wednesday 14th June
Paper 1 is a non calculator paper so students will be expected to work out calculations on paper or mentally.
Papers 2 and 3 are calculator papers, students are permitted to use a calculator in these exams. If you need advice on picking a calculator, please read the Best Calculator for GCSE in 2023 review.
Each exam paper has a maximum of 80 marks and is 90 minutes in duration. Students should aim to spend 1 minute per mark to ensure they don’t run out of time in the exam.
In the GCSE, students will be given a final score out of 240 marks (80 marks x 3 papers) and their grades will be determined using this score out of 240 which you can find in the Historic Grade boundaries section below.
Understanding Grade Boundaries
What are Grade Boundaries?
Grade boundaries are the cut off points between grades, for example 62 marks might be a Grade 7 but 63 could be a Grade 8, a student scoring 68 might also get a Grade 8, it just depends on where the Grade boundaries are located.
The official grade boundaries are determined by AQA and take into account a variety of factors such as how the population did on the exam and the difficulty of the exam. Using grade boundaries can assist with your revision and give you a better idea of what grades you are working towards.
How are the AQA GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries determined?
As I mentioned above, grade boundaries are determined by AQA using a variety of factors. Sometimes AQA will use past performance data, typically about 4% of students achieve a Grade 9 in GCSE Maths.
The exam board will also determine if an exam sitting was more difficult than previous ones and if so they would lower the grade boundaries so that students don’t get poor grades due to a difficult paper. The best situation is when you find the exam easy but other people find it difficult, this not only means that you should have done well, but the grade boundaries could be lower too.
The ultimate aim of grade boundaries is to ensure that students are graded fairly and accurately year after year after year.
Why do Grade boundaries change each year?
Grade boundaries vary each year as no two papers are equal in difficulty. If an exam is considered by the exam board to be difficult, grade boundaries would be lowered, if it is considered easy, grade boundaries would be increased.
In recent years due to the pandemic, grade boundaries have been set lower than previously to account for education that students had lost due to school closures.
Exam boards also want to ensure that grade boundaries stay consistent with the standard from previous years. This is all done to ensure fair and accurate grading of student performance.
Historic AQA GCSE Grade Boundaries
I have looked at the official grade boundaries from AQA for previous GCSE Maths sittings and have created a table to display this data. These numbers have been taken from the official AQA website.
I have also added an extra row at the bottom to display the average grade boundaries over the previous sittings.
AQA GCSE Maths 8300 Higher Grade Boundaries
You can also access AQA GCSE Maths 8300 Past Papers here and if you need more practice you can also access Older AQA GCSE Maths 4365 Past Papers here from 2012 to 2017
| Date | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Nov 22 | 201 | 172 | 143 | 111 | 79 | 48 | 32 |
| Jun 22 | 214 | 185 | 156 | 121 | 86 | 51 | 33 |
| Nov 21 | 192 | 155 | 119 | 90 | 62 | 34 | 20 |
| Nov 20 | 194 | 159 | 124 | 95 | 67 | 39 | 25 |
| Nov 19 | 199 | 168 | 137 | 107 | 78 | 49 | 34 |
| Jun 19 | 206 | 171 | 136 | 105 | 74 | 43 | 27 |
| Nov 18 | 194 | 160 | 126 | 96 | 66 | 37 | 22 |
| Jun 18 | 201 | 169 | 138 | 107 | 77 | 47 | 32 |
| Nov 17 | 194 | 159 | 124 | 96 | 68 | 40 | 26 |
| Jun 17 | 189 | 157 | 125 | 98 | 72 | 46 | 33 |
| Average | 198 | 166 | 133 | 103 | 73 | 43 | 28 |
these are the total scores for all three papers. If you need to estimate after doing one paper, multiply your score by 3 and compare it. Anything not meeting the required marks for Grade 3 will be awarded Ungraded.
AQA GCSE Maths 8300 Foundation Grade Boundaries
| Date | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Nov 22 | 167 | 130 | 97 | 64 | 31 |
| Jun 22 | 172 | 135 | 101 | 67 | 33 |
| Nov 21 | 145 | 108 | 79 | 51 | 23 |
| Nov 20 | 146 | 116 | 86 | 56 | 26 |
| Nov 19 | 162 | 134 | 98 | 62 | 27 |
| Jun 19 | 157 | 122 | 89 | 57 | 25 |
| Nov 18 | 153 | 121 | 88 | 56 | 24 |
| Jun 18 | 161 | 125 | 92 | 59 | 27 |
| Nov 17 | 157 | 127 | 93 | 59 | 25 |
| Jun 17 | 156 | 124 | 91 | 59 | 27 |
| Average | 158 | 124 | 91 | 59 | 27 |
Please note that the table outlines total scores after all three exam papers, to estimate a grade after one paper, multiply your score by 3. Students scoring below the threshold for Grade 1 will be awarded Ungraded.
Conclusion
In conclusion the AQA GCSE Maths course can be daunting but with the right preparation and understanding of grade boundaries, students can improve their grades.
By understanding how grade boundaries are determined, students gain an insight into the processes the exam boards use and use this information to their advantage. We have provided historic information about grade boundaries from previous years to give you an idea of what the grade boundaries should approximately be. It is important that it will change year to year based on many factors outlined in the article above.
As you prepare for your exam, remember to stay focussed and organised, if you need any assistance with your preparation, we are here for you at Mathinar.
With hard work and dedication, I hope you can achieve the grades you need to progress onto your next academic and professional endeavours. Best of Luck!!!
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is the highest possible grade in the AQA GCSE Maths course?
Answer: The highest possible grade in the AQA GCSE Maths course is a Grade 9.
Question: How many exam papers will students sit for the AQA GCSE Maths course and what is the duration of each exam paper?
Answer: Students will sit three exam papers for the AQA GCSE Maths course. Paper 1 is a non-calculator paper and Papers 2 and 3 are calculator papers. Each exam paper has a maximum of 80 marks and is 90 minutes in duration.
Question: When will the exams take place for the AQA GCSE Maths course in 2023?
Answer: The exams will take place on the following dates: Paper 1 - Friday 19th May, Paper 2 - Tuesday 6th June, Paper 3 - Wednesday 14th June.
Question: What is the maximum and minimum grade students can achieve in the foundation tier of the AQA GCSE Maths course?
Answer: Students in the foundation tier can achieve a maximum of a Grade 5 and a minimum of a Grade 1.
About the Author
The Author has been teaching Maths for over 20 years to students doing GCSE and A-Level Maths, he has also been a GCSE Examiner since 2005 and has claimed to mark over 250,000 exam questions since then.
He is the lead tutor at Mathinar and you can also find him on YouTube and TikTok where he posts regular tutorial videos.
