AQA A-level grade boundaries 2025: the marks for every grade

AQA A-level grade boundaries June 2025

Every figure comes from AQA's document Grade boundaries, June 2025 exams: A-level (version 1.0, published 14 August 2025). A boundary is the lowest total mark that earns the grade, out of the total in the second column. A total below the E boundary is a U. These are the subject-level boundaries, the ones that decide your grade. AQA's document also lists notional boundaries for each paper, which it says are for illustration only.

Three of our subjects split into options, and AQA gives each option its own boundaries. Physics has five (Astrophysics, Medical Physics, Engineering Physics, Turning Points and Electronics), set by the Section B option in Paper 3. Further Maths has three, named after the pair of Paper 3 topics: Discrete and Statistics (DS), Mechanics and Discrete (MD), and Statistics and Mechanics (SM). Computer Science has one set of boundaries for all four programming languages (C#, Java, Python and VB.NET).

The same figures for each subject are in the subject pages: Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science.

How marks become an A-level grade

Add your marks from every paper, and the NEA if the subject has one, then find the highest boundary your total reaches. A-level papers are not graded one by one. Two worked examples, with totals we made up:

• Maths. 72, 68 and 81 on the three papers is 221 out of 300. The A boundary is 221, so that is an A, and the total sits exactly on the boundary. A total equal to a boundary earns that grade. To reach the A* boundary of 260 you would have needed 39 more marks.
• Chemistry. 64, 60 and 55 on Papers 1, 2 and 3 is 179 out of 300. That is above 127 (C) and below 162 (B), so it is a C, -17 marks short of a B.

Computer Science works the same way, but the 375 is made of two papers weighted to 150 each plus a 75 mark non-exam assessment. The gaps differ by subject: in Maths only 39 marks separate A from A*, while in Biology 129 marks separate A* from E.

How each subject builds its total

Totals differ because the papers do. The component rows in AQA's document show the build, and each specification confirms it:

This is why a total of 200 is a B in Maths (an A needs 221) but an A in Chemistry (an A needs 197), and why you must always look up your own subject. The same share of the marks gives different grades too: 70% of the marks is an A in Physics (an A needs 59% to 62%) and in Biology (63%), but a B in Maths, where an A needs 74%.

A-level grade boundaries 2025 compared with 2024 and 2023

Here is the A boundary for each subject in the last three summers, taken from AQA's 2024 document (published 15 August 2024) and 2023 document (published 17 August 2023).

The A boundary in Maths went up by 21 marks between 2023 and 2024, then barely moved in 2025 (222 to 221). Chemistry went the other way: 210 in 2023, 198 in 2024 and 197 in 2025. Biology held at 165 in both 2024 and 2025, after 153 in 2023. The big mover in 2025 was Physics, where the A boundary for Astrophysics rose from 138 to 152.

Here is the A* boundary, the figure students ask about most:

Computer Science A* climbed each year, 296, 298, 300. Further Maths DS went from 225 in 2023 to 239 in 2024 and 243 in 2025, so the A* needed 18 more marks in 2025 than in 2023.

Why a boundary says nothing about how hard a grade is

Boundaries are set after marking, so they move with the difficulty of the papers: a harder paper gets a lower boundary. Reading 2025 against 2024 as a change in how easy a grade is to earn would be a mistake. What the share of the total does show is how different the subjects are in how they use their marks. Here are the 2025 boundaries as a rounded share of the total:

Maths puts its A* at 87% of the marks and its E at 24%, while Physics options put A* at 72% to 76% and E at exactly 20%. Neither tells you which subject is harder. It tells you what share of the paper the examiners judged a grade to be worth. Compare the shares, not the raw marks, when you move between subjects or between a mock and the real paper.

What these boundaries do not cover

• AS. AQA publishes AS boundaries in a separate document, and AS and A-level are different qualifications. A grade on one does not carry across.
• Other boards. Edexcel, OCR and the rest publish their own boundaries on their own scales. A mark that is an A at AQA means nothing at OCR.
• Paper by paper. The notional boundaries for each paper are for illustration. If you mark one paper, convert your total across all papers instead.

Use today's paper to estimate your grade

Sit today's paper on our A-level papers: Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Computer Science. Each is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, written by us rather than by AQA, so it works as a quick mock and not as a full AQA paper. Mark it once it has been marked on the site, then turn the result into a share.

1. Divide your mark by the paper's total. 22 out of 30 is 73%.
2. Look along your subject's row in the share table above. In Maths, 73% is just under the A boundary share of 74%, and well above B at 61%.
3. Repeat on several days and take the mean with the Mean, Median and Mode Calculator. One short paper can swing by a few marks either way, and a run of results is a steadier guide.
4. Treat the answer as a range, because next summer's boundaries will move by a few marks. For turning a grade into a prediction, see our A-level predicted grades guide, and for how A* to E works, A-level grades explained.

Common mistakes with A-level boundaries

• Using last year's boundary as this year's target. Chemistry's A boundary was 210 in 2023 and 197 in 2025. Aim 10 to 15 marks above the grade you need.
• Taking the wrong Physics or Further Maths row. The options have different boundaries, so check which Section B option or Paper 3 pairing you sat before you read the table.
• Comparing raw marks across subjects. 220 is an A in Maths on 300 and a different thing in Physics on 250. Use the share.
• Mixing up the A-level and AS documents. They are separate files with separate boundaries.

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