GCSE Grade Boundaries 2024 — what do the numbers mean?

Examevo Team · 22 March 2026 · 6 min read

GCSE grades 9–1 replaced A*–G in England. A grade 9 is not simply an old A* — it is designed to identify the very highest performers in each subject each year. Understanding boundaries helps you interpret mock results and set realistic targets.

How boundaries are set

After students sit the real exams, senior examiners review paper difficulty and set grade boundaries — the minimum raw mark needed for each grade. Boundaries shift each series because papers differ in difficulty. Your mock paper from February is compared to last summer's boundaries only as a rough guide.

Typical raw mark ranges (Higher tier, illustrative)

On an 80-mark Maths paper, grade 4 often sits around the low 30s in raw marks, grade 7 in the mid 50s, and grade 9 near 70+ — but these numbers move by board, tier, and year. Always check the official boundary table for your specification code.

Foundation vs Higher

Foundation tier caps at grade 5; Higher tier awards grades 4–9. Choosing the wrong tier is costly — discuss with your teacher using recent mock data, not guesswork.

Using boundaries in revision

After each mock, convert your raw score to a predicted grade using boundary profiles for your board. Examevo does this automatically and tracks whether you are moving toward your target grade across papers — more useful than chasing a single percentage in isolation.