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 papersSpecification 7172, Philosophy.
Grade C needed 83 out of 200 marks (42%) in June 2026; in the June series from 2019 to 2025 it ranged from 36% (2022) to 42% (2019).
June 2026 out of 200
- A*
- 156 78%
- A
- 134 67%
- B
- 108 54%
- C
- 83 42%
- D
- 58 29%
- E
- 33 17%
Grade C as a share of the maximum: June 2019 42%, June 2022 36%, June 2023 42%, June 2024 42%, June 2025 42%, June 2026 42%. Grade A as a share of the maximum: June 2019 66%, June 2022 60%, June 2023 68%, June 2024 67%, June 2025 68%, June 2026 67%.
Every mark, every series
| Series | Out of | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 200 | 15678% | 13467% | 10854% | 8342% | 5829% | 3317% |
| June 2025 | 200 | 15879% | 13668% | 11055% | 8442% | 5829% | 3317% |
| June 2024 | 200 | 15578% | 13367% | 10854% | 8342% | 5930% | 3518% |
| June 2023 | 200 | 15779% | 13668% | 11055% | 8442% | 5829% | 3216% |
| June 2022 | 200 | 14070% | 11960% | 9548% | 7136% | 4724% | 2312% |
| November 2021 | 200 | 13769% | 11357% | 9246% | 7236% | 5226% | 3216% |
| November 2020 | 200 | 13769% | 11457% | 9246% | 7035% | 4925% | 2814% |
| June 2019 | 200 | 15477% | 13166% | 10754% | 8342% | 5930% | 3518% |
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 AQA's A level grade boundary documents: June 2026, June 2025, June 2024, June 2023, June 2022, November 2021, November 2020, June 2019.