GCSE grade equivalents: 9 to 1 compared with A* to G and Scottish grades

GCSE 9 to 1 against the old A* to G

England's 9 to 1 scale only matches the old letters at three points, so every table that gives a letter for each number goes beyond what the regulator has published for England. The table below uses the two official sources that exist: Ofqual and AQA for England, and CCEA, the Northern Ireland regulator, which published a full letter-for-number mapping for its own GCSEs.

The "closest old letter" for England comes from CCEA's mapping, except grade 5, where AQA says a 5 is equivalent to a high C and a low B on the old system. For the three comparable points in England, the source is Ofqual: "the bottom of a grade 7 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade A", "the bottom of grade 4 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade C" and "the bottom of grade 1 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade G". Ofqual adds that the scale was designed so there are comparable points at key grades.

GCSE grade 4 equivalent

A grade 4 is equivalent to a C. CCEA's guide says that when comparing letter grades with number grades, grade 4 is equivalent to grade C, and that if employers asked for GCSEs at C and above before, there is no reason for that to change. Ofqual says the same thing in general terms: where employers or universities previously set a requirement, they now take into account the comparable points between the old and new scales. Read more in What is a grade 4 at GCSE?.

GCSE grade 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 equivalents

• Grade 5. A strong pass, between a high C and a low B. In Northern Ireland a 5 is a C*. See What is a grade 5 at GCSE?.
• Grade 6. A B in Northern Ireland's mapping. See What is a grade 6 at GCSE?.
• Grade 7. The level of the old A, at the bottom of the grade. See What is a grade 7 at GCSE?.
• Grade 8. An A in Northern Ireland's mapping, with the A covering 7 and 8. See What is a grade 8 at GCSE?.
• Grade 9. The highest grade, lined up with the A* in Northern Ireland. AQA says a formula means around 20% of all grades at 7 or above will be a 9. See What is a grade 9 at GCSE?.

GCSE grades in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland

Our guides to GCSE grades in Wales, GCSE grades in Northern Ireland and National 5 and Higher compared with GCSE and A-level go through each. The Scottish comparison is of the whole qualification, not of single grades, so there is no official line saying a National 5 A is a grade 6 or 7.

Levels: what GCSE grades count as

GOV.UK lists GCSE grades 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 and 4, or A*, A, B and C, as level 2 qualifications. Grades 3, 2 and 1, or D, E, F and G, are level 1. The same page lists A level and AS level at level 3. It is also why English and maths after 16 turn on grade 4, and why it matters whether a requirement is written as a letter or a number.

Grade shares: the same three points in the results

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) reports results at the three comparable points. For all GCSE subjects in 2026, the UK shares were 22.0% at A/7 and above, 67.3% at C/4 and above and 97.9% at G/1 and above, from 6,199,256 entries.

The shares differ between nations for many reasons, so do not read the gaps as a difference in difficulty. Each nation's regulator awards its own grades.

Use today's paper to see your grade

Sit today's paper on our GCSE papers, such as Maths Higher, Maths Foundation, Physics Higher or Biology Higher. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full exam board paper. When you mark it, the results page shows a predicted grade and the marks needed for each grade. Those cut-offs are typical ones, not an exam board's: on the Higher tier, grade 4 starts at 28% of the marks and grade 7 at 61%, and on the Foundation tier grade 4 starts at 60%. A real board's boundaries move from year to year, so treat the prediction as a guide.

Our papers show a number from 9 to 1. If you are used to letters, read a grade 4 as a C, a 5 as a high C and low B, and a 7 as an A at the bottom of the grade.

Read next

UK · GCSEWhat is a grade 6 at GCSE? Equivalent to a BA grade 6 at GCSE sits above the strong pass and below the old A. How many students get one, the marks AQA needed in 2026, and which tier you need.