Question 1

What mark do I need for a grade 5 in AQA GCSE Maths?

Accepted Answer

In 2025, AQA set the grade 5 boundary at 96 marks out of 240 on Higher tier, and 188 marks out of 240 on Foundation tier. This changes slightly every year depending on how difficult that year's papers were, so always check the year you actually sat.

Question 2

How many marks is AQA GCSE Maths out of?

Accepted Answer

AQA GCSE Mathematics (spec 8300) is marked out of 240 in total, across 3 papers × 80 marks. The grade boundary is the combined mark across all three papers, not a per-paper cut-off.

Question 3

Why do grade boundaries change every year?

Accepted Answer

Exam boards set boundaries after every series to account for how hard that particular set of papers was, so the same grade represents a consistent standard of work year on year. A harder paper generally gets a lower boundary, and an easier paper gets a higher one.

Question 4

Were there real AQA grade boundaries in 2020 or 2021?

Accepted Answer

No. Exams were cancelled in both years because of COVID-19. Grades were awarded as Centre Assessed Grades in 2020 and Teacher Assessed Grades in 2021, so no genuine raw-mark boundaries exist for those two years.

Year	Grade 9	Grade 8	Grade 7	Grade 6	Grade 5	Grade 4	Grade 3
2025	219	191	164	130	96	63	46
2024	219	191	163	129	95	61	44
2023	214	186	158	125	92	59	42
2022	214	185	156	121	86	51	33
2020–2021: No exams held (COVID-19) — grades were centre/teacher assessed
2019	206	171	136	105	74	43	27
2018	201	169	138	107	77	47	32
2017	189	157	125	98	72	46	33

Year	Grade 5	Grade 4	Grade 3	Grade 2	Grade 1
2025	188	160	119	79	39
2024	186	157	117	77	37
2023	189	158	117	76	35
2022	172	135	101	67	33
2020–2021: No exams held (COVID-19) — grades were centre/teacher assessed
2019	157	122	89	57	25
2018	161	125	92	59	27
2017	156	124	91	59	27

AQA GCSE Maths grade boundaries.

Higher tier

Foundation tier

Common questions

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