A grade boundary is the lowest total mark that earns a grade. Exam boards set them after the exams, once marking is nearly complete, and they change from year to year with how demanding the papers were (Ofqual). To use them with a past paper, add up your child's marks across all of that year's papers and compare the total with that year's row, which is out of the same maximum. Each year links to its papers.
June 2026, board by board
The marks needed for grade C and A in June 2026, as a share of each board's maximum. Each board writes its own papers and sets boundaries for them, so a lower boundary doesn't mean a board's exam is easier to pass.
AQA
AQA past papersEnglish Literature A (7712)
AQA's documents give the boundaries for each paper.
AQA, June 2026 · AQA, June 2025 · AQA, June 2024 · AQA, June 2023
English Literature B (7717)
AQA's documents give the boundaries for each paper.
AQA, June 2026 · AQA, June 2025 · AQA, June 2024 · AQA, June 2023
Pearson Edexcel
Edexcel past papersSpecification 9ET0, English Literature.
Grade C needed 149 out of 300 marks (50%) in June 2017.
June 2017 out of 300
- A*
- 231 77%
- A
- 207 69%
- B
- 178 59%
- C
- 149 50%
- D
- 120 40%
- E
- 91 30%
Grade C as a share of the maximum: June 2017 50%. Grade A as a share of the maximum: June 2017 69%.
Every mark, every series
| Series | Out of | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2021 | 240 | 15966% | 13858% | 11548% | 9238% | 6929% | 4720% |
| November 2020 | 240 | 16770% | 14460% | 11950% | 9540% | 7130% | 4720% |
| June 2017 | 300 | 23177% | 20769% | 17859% | 14950% | 12040% | 9130% |
Raw marks for the whole qualification, with the share of the maximum. From Pearson Edexcel's A level grade boundary documents: November 2021, November 2020, June 2017.
OCR
OCR past papersSpecification H472, English Literature.
Grade C needed 130 out of 200 marks (65%) in June 2026; in the June series from 2017 to 2025 it ranged from 59% (2022) to 67% (2019).
June 2026 out of 200
- A*
- 188 94%
- A
- 178 89%
- B
- 154 77%
- C
- 130 65%
- D
- 106 53%
- E
- 83 42%
Grade C as a share of the maximum: June 2017 63%, June 2018 65%, June 2019 67%, June 2022 59%, June 2023 65%, June 2024 66%, June 2025 67%, June 2026 65%. Grade A as a share of the maximum: June 2017 87%, June 2018 87%, June 2019 89%, June 2022 85%, June 2023 88%, June 2024 88%, June 2025 89%, June 2026 89%.
Every mark, every series
| Series | Out of | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 200 | 18894% | 17889% | 15477% | 13065% | 10653% | 8342% |
| June 2025 | 200 | 18794% | 17789% | 15578% | 13367% | 11156% | 8945% |
| June 2024 | 200 | 18794% | 17688% | 15377% | 13166% | 10955% | 8744% |
| June 2023 | 200 | 18693% | 17588% | 15276% | 12965% | 10653% | 8442% |
| June 2022 | 200 | 18291% | 17085% | 14472% | 11859% | 9347% | 6834% |
| November 2021 | 160 | 14490% | 13182% | 11270% | 7446% | 5635% | |
| November 2020 | 160 | 14792% | 13584% | 11673% | 9761% | 7849% | 6038% |
| June 2019 | 200 | 18894% | 17789% | 15578% | 13367% | 11156% | 8945% |
| June 2018 | 200 | 18593% | 17487% | 15276% | 13065% | 10955% | 8844% |
| June 2017 | 200 | 18693% | 17387% | 14975% | 12563% | 10251% | 7940% |
Raw marks for the whole qualification, with the share of the maximum.The chart shows June series only; November and January sittings, mostly resits, are in the table.No exams were sat in 2020 or 2021, when grades were assessed by teachers, so those years are blank. From OCR's A level grade boundary documents: June 2026, June 2025, June 2024, June 2023, June 2022, November 2021, November 2020, June 2019, June 2018, June 2017.
Eduqas
Eduqas past papersSpecification A720, English Literature.
Grade C needed 192 out of 400 marks (48%) in June 2026; in the June series from 2017 to 2025 it ranged from 48% (2022) to 51% (2017).
June 2026 out of 400
- A*
- 314 79%
- A
- 286 72%
- B
- 239 60%
- C
- 192 48%
- D
- 145 36%
- E
- 98 25%
Grade C as a share of the maximum: June 2017 51%, June 2018 51%, June 2019 50%, June 2022 48%, June 2023 51%, June 2024 49%, June 2025 48%, June 2026 48%. Grade A as a share of the maximum: June 2017 74%, June 2018 75%, June 2019 74%, June 2022 70%, June 2023 75%, June 2024 73%, June 2025 72%, June 2026 72%.
Every mark, every series
| Series | Out of | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 400 | 31479% | 28672% | 23960% | 19248% | 14536% | 9825% |
| June 2025 | 400 | 31579% | 28672% | 23960% | 19248% | 14536% | 9825% |
| June 2024 | 400 | 31880% | 29173% | 24261% | 19449% | 14637% | 9825% |
| June 2023 | 400 | 32882% | 29975% | 25063% | 20251% | 15439% | 10627% |
| June 2022 | 400 | 31679% | 28170% | 23659% | 19148% | 14737% | 10326% |
| November 2021 | 320 | 23172% | 20063% | 16752% | 13442% | 10232% | 7022% |
| November 2020 | 320 | 24075% | 20765% | 17254% | 13843% | 10433% | 7022% |
| June 2019 | 400 | 32481% | 29574% | 24762% | 19950% | 15238% | 10526% |
| June 2018 | 400 | 33383% | 29975% | 25063% | 20251% | 15439% | 10627% |
| June 2017 | 400 | 33183% | 29574% | 24962% | 20351% | 15739% | 11128% |
Raw marks for the whole qualification, with the share of the maximum.The chart shows June series only; November and January sittings, mostly resits, are in the table.No exams were sat in 2020 or 2021, when grades were assessed by teachers, so those years are blank. From Eduqas's A level grade boundary documents: June 2026, June 2025, June 2024, June 2023, June 2022, November 2021, November 2020, June 2019, June 2018, June 2017.
WJEC
Specification 1720, English Literature.
WJEC awards this qualification on its uniform mark scale (UMS), so there is no raw-mark total for the whole qualification. Its documents give the raw marks for each unit.
WJEC, June 2026 · WJEC, June 2024 · WJEC, June 2023 · WJEC, June 2022
CCEA
CCEA past papersSpecification 492, English Literature.
CCEA awards this qualification on its uniform mark scale (UMS), so there is no raw-mark total for the whole qualification. Its documents give the raw marks for each unit.
CCEA, June 2026 · CCEA, June 2025 · CCEA, June 2024 · CCEA, June 2023