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

Edexcel A-level grade boundaries June 2025

Every number below comes from Pearson's document Grade Boundaries, Edexcel GCE AS/A Level, June 2025. Pearson's results-day notice for summer 2025 says the boundaries went on its website from results day, and A level results went to students on 14 August 2025. A boundary is the lowest total that earns the grade. Pearson's own example is a B boundary of 60: a mark of 59 is a C.

Each A level here is linear, so every paper is sat in the same summer, and the total is the sum of the paper marks: 300 for Mathematics (three papers of 100), Physics and Chemistry (90, 90 and 120), and both Biologies. The grades run A* to E, with a mark below the E line ungraded (U).

A level grade boundaries 2025 for our subjects

If your school teaches Biology, check which one it is. Biology A (Salters-Nuffield, 9BN0) and Biology B (9BI0) are separate Edexcel specifications with separate boundaries, and the gap in 2025 was real: an A* in A needed 225 and in B 217, and a C needed 146 against 132. Our guides to Edexcel A-level Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology set out the papers behind each total, and the subject boundary pages for 2025 are Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

Further Maths: a different line for every pair of options

Pearson lists Further Mathematics (9FM0) ten times, once for each pair of optional papers you can sit beside the two Core Pure papers. The total is out of 300 in every case, and the lines differ. In 2025 the A* boundary ran from 241 (Decision Maths 1 and 2) to 266 (Further Pure 1 and Further Mechanics 1), so the options you took matter when you read the table.

AS level

AS grades run A to E and the total is out of 160. These are the AS boundaries for the same subjects in June 2025:

How marks become a grade: one worked example

Take A level Physics. The three papers are worth 90, 90 and 120 marks. Say a student scores 71 on Paper 1, 68 on Paper 2 and 82 on Paper 3. The total is 71 + 68 + 82 = 221 out of 300. The 2025 Physics boundaries are A* 227, A 199, B 169, C 139, D 109 and E 80. The total is above 199 and below 227, so the grade is an A, and the student is 6 marks short of an A*. Had the total been 199 exactly, it would still be an A, because the boundary is the lowest mark for the grade.

Nothing is averaged across papers and no paper has to reach a standard on its own. One weak paper can be made up on another. Check the total, then read across to the nearest boundary.

How 2025 compares with 2024

The same document for June 2024 is here. Here are the top two boundaries side by side:

Three things stand out. Biology A moved more than any other line: the A* boundary rose from 199 to 225, 26 marks, and the A boundary rose 29 marks. Mathematics rose by 7 at A* and 9 at A. Chemistry fell, by 6 at A* and 9 at A. Physics A* dropped 4, while its A line did not move at 199.

The lower grades moved too. This is the E boundary, the line between a grade and a U:

Ofqual explains the reason for movement: "Grade boundaries typically change each year to reflect any differences in the difficulty of the assessments", so an easier paper has higher boundaries and a harder one lower ones. A rise or fall therefore describes that year's papers, not how clever the year group was. A student who got an A in 2024 with 205 in Mathematics would have needed 214 in 2025 for the same grade.

What the boundaries mean for you

Marks are only half of it. Look at the share of the total each boundary asks for:

• A* is never close to full marks. The A* boundary in 2025 sat between 72% and 86% of the total.
• An E needs under a third in most subjects. Physics E was 80 of 300 (27%), Mathematics E was 71 (24%).
• Use last year as a range. Set a target a few marks above the line, because next summer's line will not match this one.
• Core Pure is not optional. In Further Maths the two Core Pure papers are half the total, so a gap there costs you under any option pair.

Use today's paper to estimate your grade

Today's paper for each A-level track is on our UK papers. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not an Edexcel paper, and it is not written by Pearson. It gives you a share, and a share is what the table above compares against.

1. Sit the paper on its own with a timer and the calculator you will have in the exam.
2. Mark it and divide your mark by the paper total: 24 out of 30 is 80%.
3. Find the row for your subject in the share table. In Mathematics, 80% sits between A (71%) and A* (86%).
4. Repeat across a fortnight and average the shares with the Mean, Median and Mode Calculator. One paper is a rough guide, and a run of results tells you more.

The tracks are Maths: Algebra and Functions, Calculus, Statistics, Mechanics, Further Maths, Physics Year 1, Year 2, Chemistry Year 1, Year 2, Biology Year 1 and Year 2.

Mistakes students make with A-level boundaries

• Reading the wrong Biology. A and B have different boundaries from a different course, so check the code on your paper: 9BN0 or 9BI0.
• Using an AS boundary for an A level total. AS is out of 160 and A level out of 300, and the grades differ in how many marks they need.
• Forgetting the Further Maths option pair. The ten rows are not interchangeable.
• Treating the boundary as a pass mark. Grade E is the lowest grade, and it needs around a quarter to a third of the marks.
• Comparing years without the maximum. Compare marks only when the out-of totals match, which they do here at 300.

Exam answers

Answers and a worked mark scheme come with today's paper once it is marked. We do not publish official answers, past paper answers or Edexcel mark schemes, and every question on the daily paper is our own.

Read next

UK · A-levelEdexcel A-level Maths grade boundaries 2025: every gradeEdexcel A-level Maths boundaries for June 2025: A* was 258 and A was 214 out of 300, with AS and 2024 for comparison.