GCSE grades explained: the 9 to 1 scale, what each grade means and who gets it

GCSE grades: the 9 to 1 scale

GCSEs in England are graded 9 to 1 rather than A* to G, and grade 9 is the highest. AQA says grades 7 to 9 are based on the share of students who would have been expected to get an A or A* before the reform, so three number grades cover the range of two letters. Here is each grade with the share of results that earned it in England in 2026, from Ofqual's and JCQ's published results for all subjects combined.

The two right-hand columns are the same data. The first counts the results that earned exactly that grade, the second adds every higher grade. So 21.8% of results were grade 7 or above, made up of 9.5% at grade 7, 7.2% at grade 8 and 5.0% at grade 9. The figures cover all 5,719,406 results in England, for students of all ages. For 16-year-olds only, Ofqual reports that 23.1% were grade 7 or above and 70.7% were grade 4 or above.

What is a pass at GCSE?

There are two pass marks. AQA describes grade 4 as the standard pass and grade 5 as a strong pass, equivalent to a high C and a low B on the old system. Grade 4 is also the level students need to reach without having to keep studying English and maths after 16. The government's funding rules for 16 to 19 year olds say that a student with a grade 3 must study towards a GCSE, and a student with a grade 2 or below may study towards either a GCSE or Functional Skills level 2. Read more in What is a grade 4 at GCSE? and What is a grade 5 at GCSE?.

How GCSE grades compare with A* to G

The two scales only match at three points. Ofqual says that the bottom of grade 7 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade A, the bottom of grade 4 to the bottom of the old grade C, and the bottom of grade 1 to the bottom of the old grade G. Between those points, nothing is exact. A grade 8 or 9 is above the old A boundary, and a grade 5 sits between a high C and a low B. The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) uses those three points in its results tables, which is why its headlines read A/7 and above, C/4 and above and G/1 and above. The full comparison, with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish scales, is in our GCSE grade equivalents guide.

Foundation and Higher tier grades

Many subjects are tiered. On AQA's June 2026 papers, Higher tier awards grades 9 to 3 and Foundation tier awards grades 5 to 1. That is why a student entered for Foundation cannot get a 6 or above. Combined Science, which is worth two GCSEs, awards double grades on a 17-point scale, from 9-9 down to 1-1, so a student who is a 7 in one half and a 6 in the other gets a 7-6. See our GCSE Combined Science guide.

How many students get each grade, by subject

The share at each grade differs a lot between subjects. Here are grade 9, grade 7 and above and grade 4 and above in England in 2026 for the subjects with the most entries that we cover.

Biology, Chemistry and Physics have far higher shares at the top than English and Maths. JCQ explains that the separate sciences attract the highest proportion of the most able students. That is a statement about who takes them, not about how hard they are. Maths and English Language have the lowest grade 4 shares in this table, at 57.2% and 59.5%. They are also the two GCSEs with the most students in England, while the separate sciences have far fewer students each.

How grade boundaries are set

Grade boundaries are the marks needed for each grade. Ofqual says they are set after students have taken their assessments and marking is nearly complete, and that exam boards are responsible for setting them. There is no cap on the number of students who can get a particular grade. Boundaries change each year to reflect how hard each paper was, and they differ between boards. AQA says a formula means around 20% of all grades at 7 or above will be a grade 9, and that the grade 8 boundary sits midway between the grade 7 and grade 9 boundaries. In England in 2026, the 5.0% of results at grade 9 were about a quarter, 23%, of the 21.8% at grade 7 or above.

Our AQA GCSE grade boundaries 2026 guide has every mark. On Higher Maths, grade 4 needed 63 out of 240, about 26%, and grade 7 needed 166, about 69%. On Foundation Maths, grade 4 needed 154 out of 240, about 64%.

GCSE grades in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland

• Wales. WJEC GCSEs keep the letter scale A* to G. See GCSE grades in Wales.
• Northern Ireland. CCEA awards a nine-point letter scale, A* to G with a C*. See GCSE grades in Northern Ireland.
• Scotland. Scottish students sit National 5 and Higher, graded A to D. See National 5 and Higher compared with GCSE and A-level.

Across the UK in 2026, JCQ reports 22.0% of GCSE entries at grade 7/A or above, 67.3% at 4/C or above and 97.9% at 1/G or above, from 6,199,256 entries.

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.

Reading a grade from a mark

The marks add up across every paper in a subject, and the board's boundary table turns the total into a grade. Take Physics Higher on AQA in June 2026, out of 200: grade 7 started at 128 and grade 8 at 142, so a total of 133 is a grade 7, nine marks short of an 8. In Maths Foundation, out of 240, grade 3 started at 115 and grade 4 at 154, so 150 is a grade 3, four marks short of a 4. Both examples use made-up totals and AQA's real boundaries, which you can check in our AQA GCSE grade boundaries 2026 guide.

Results day and what comes next

JCQ published the 2026 GCSE results on Thursday 20 August 2026. It notes that results are provisional and become final when the review of results period ends. The next step depends on your grades. A sixth form or college sets its own entry requirements, often by subject, so check the prospectus for the courses you want rather than assuming a grade. For English and maths, the 16 to 19 funding rules above say what happens after a grade 3 or below. Use the Mean, Median and Mode Calculator to average your short-paper results over a week, which gives a steadier guide to your grade than any one paper.

Common mistakes about GCSE grades

• Treating a grade 9 as the old A*. Grades 7, 8 and 9 together cover the old A and A*, and the bottom of grade 7 matches the bottom of an old A.
• Thinking a pass is 50%. A grade 4 needed about 26% on AQA Higher Maths in 2026. What counts is the boundary for that paper, not a round percentage.
• Comparing Higher and Foundation marks. They have separate boundaries and the same grade needs very different marks.
• Forgetting the double grade in Combined Science. A 6-5 is two grades, not one.

Read next

UK · GCSEWJEC GCSE grades: A* to G in Wales explainedHow GCSE grades work in Wales: WJEC letter grades A* to G, the new Made-for-Wales GCSEs, 2026 results, and how letters compare with 9 to 1.