Published Figures
AQA Grade Boundaries, June 2026
Every AQA grade boundary from the June 2026 series, as published. 242 GCSE and 149 A-Level specifications, in raw marks. Search by subject or spec code, and enter a mark to see what it earned.
These are a record of one series, not a prediction. Boundaries are set after marking, once examiners can see how hard candidates found that particular paper, so they move every year. AQA only — Edexcel and OCR publish their own tables.
242 of 242 specifications
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Last year's boundaries do not predict next year's
Boundaries are set after all the marking is finished. Senior examiners look at how candidates actually performed on that specific paper and move the boundaries so that a student of a given standard gets the same grade whichever year they sat it. A harder paper gets lower boundaries — which is the system working, not a fault in it.
So use these to understand where a grade roughly sits and how far apart the grades are on a paper. Do not use them to work out the mark you will need next summer, and be sceptical of anyone who does.
Tiers are capped at both ends, not just the top
Everyone knows Foundation tier cannot award above a grade 5. The half that catches people out is the other end: Higher tier Maths runs from 9 down to 3 and cannot award a grade 1 at all, with an allowed grade 2 for candidates who narrowly miss the bottom. In June 2026 the Higher tier grade 3 boundary was 46 marks out of 240 — and below that is a U, not a 2 or a 1.
That is why the tier a student is entered for is a decision worth checking, not a formality. It sets the range of grades available before a single mark is earned.
When to use this and when to use the calculator
They do different jobs. This page is what AQA actually published for one series — use it when you have a real result to interpret. The grade calculator estimates from typical boundaries across recent years, which is what you want for a mock or a practice paper, where no official boundary exists yet and your school will have used its own.
Once you know the gap, the grade gap planner works out where the effort should go across your subjects.
Frequently asked questions
What were the AQA grade boundaries in June 2026?
They are listed in full above, taken from AQA's own published workbooks — 242 GCSE specifications and 149 A-levels, as raw marks out of each subject's maximum. AQA publishes them at 8am on results day: 13 August 2026 for A-level and 20 August 2026 for GCSE.
Can I use last year's boundaries to predict this year's?
Only as a rough guide. Boundaries are set after all the marking is finished, once senior examiners can see how difficult candidates found that particular paper, and they move every year for exactly that reason — a harder paper gets lower boundaries. Use them to understand roughly where a grade sits, not to work out the mark you will need next summer.
Why does Higher tier Maths not go down to a grade 1?
Because tiers are capped at both ends. Higher tier runs from grade 9 down to grade 3, with an allowed grade 2 for candidates who narrowly miss; Foundation tier runs from grade 5 down to grade 1 and cannot award anything above a 5. That is why the tier a student is entered for matters as much as the marks they get.
What is a raw mark boundary?
The minimum total mark across the whole subject needed for that grade. It is a raw mark, not a percentage and not a scaled score, so it only means something against that specification's maximum — which is shown alongside each subject here. Landing exactly on a boundary earns the grade; boundaries are a minimum, not a threshold you must beat.
Which exam boards are covered here?
AQA only, for the June 2026 series. Edexcel and OCR publish equivalent tables on their own websites and are not included here — a board's absence from this page says nothing about it. If you are on Edexcel or OCR, go to your board's results-day page for the published figures.
How do these relate to the grade calculator?
They are different jobs. This page is a record of what AQA actually published for one series. The grade calculator estimates a grade from typical boundaries across recent years, which is what you want for a mock or a practice paper where no official boundary exists yet. Use the published figures when you have them and the estimate when you do not.
A few marks off the grade you needed?
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