What is a grade 4 at GCSE? The standard pass and its old equivalent

What is a grade 4 at GCSE?

A grade 4 is the middle pass on the 9 to 1 scale. AQA's page on the 9 to 1 grades describes it as the "standard pass", and says grade 4 remains the level students must achieve without needing to resit English and maths after 16. Ofqual says that "the bottom of grade 4 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade C". A grade 4 is therefore the lowest mark that would have earned a C, so it is the equivalent of a C, not a higher one. The full comparison is in GCSE grade equivalents.

The grade above, a 5, is a strong pass. See What is a grade 5 at GCSE? and GCSE grades explained for the whole scale.

Grade 4 and resits

GOV.UK's maths and English condition of funding applies to students aged 16 to 19 in funded education who do not have a grade 4. Its 2026 to 2027 guidance says 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. The page says this wording, updated on 24 July 2026, is a clarification only and not a change in policy. Your college explains how it applies to you.

Grade 4 for sixth form, college and work

A grade 4 counts as a level 2 qualification, as do grades 5 to 9, which GOV.UK lists as level 2. Ofqual says that where employers, universities and others set a requirement before the new grades, they now take into account the comparable points between the old and new scales. CCEA, the Northern Ireland regulator, puts it more directly: if employers asked for GCSEs at grade C and above, there is no reason for that to change, and grade 4 is equivalent to grade C.

A sixth form or college sets its own entry requirements, usually by subject, so read the prospectus rather than assuming a grade 4 is enough or not enough.

How many students get a grade 4 or above

Two thirds of England's GCSE results in 2026 cleared the standard pass: 67.0%, or 70.7% among 16-year-olds. Exactly 14.9% of results were a 4, the third-largest single grade, after the 3 and the 5.

English Language and Maths are the subjects most students need a grade 4 in. In 2026, 59.5% of English Language results and 57.2% of Maths results in England were grade 4 or above. The separate sciences are higher, at about 90% to 92%. Grade 4 shares have barely moved in four years:

How many marks you need for a grade 4

A 4 is a modest share of the Higher paper and a large share of the Foundation one. AQA's June 2026 marks: Source: AQA's June 2026 document.

On the Higher tier a grade 4 is a low share of the marks, between 22% and 34% in the three sciences and Maths, because Higher papers are written to stretch students at grades 7 to 9. On the Foundation tier the same grade 4 needs 55% to 64%. It is one grade on two different papers.

The total at grade 4 or above in England went from 67.8% in 2023 to 67.0% in 2026, a fall of 0.8 percentage points over three years.

Common mistakes about a grade 4

• Thinking a grade 4 is a 40% mark. It depends on the paper and the board. AQA Higher Maths needed about 26% of the total in 2026.
• Confusing a 4 with a 5. Grade 4 is the standard pass, grade 5 a strong pass, and the two have different marks.
• Assuming a grade 3 finishes with English and maths. A student aged 16 to 19 with a grade 3 must keep studying towards the GCSE.

Test your own grade 4 today

Sit today's Maths Foundation or Maths Higher paper (8 questions, 25 to 35 marks) and mark it. The results page names a grade; on our typical cut-offs a 4 starts at 28% on Higher and 60% on Foundation. Check English and maths first if resits worry you.

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.