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Hundreds of thousands of students from across the UK have been receiving their A-level examination results today, with many hoping to secure a coveted place at university.
Figures from Ofqual show that the number of students acheiving top grades has risen slightly from last year, with 27.8 percent of UK entries acheiving A or A* grades.
The overall pass rate has declined, however, and is down to 97.2 percent. This is lower than both last year and the 2019 pre-pandemic results.
For the sake of transparency, exam boards release grade boundaries on the day results are published.
Boundaries show the minimum mark you need to get a certain grade: for example, you might need a mark of at least 114 out of 180 for a grade C in a certain exam. They also show students how close they were to getting the next grade up, opening the possibility of appealing a result if you think a mistake has been made.
Previously, boundaries were released ahead of time but this was stopped in a bid to reduce stress for students. They change each year to reflect any differences in the demand of the assessments.
Here is everything you need to know about grade boundaries for your exam board:
When do A-level results come out?
A-level results day for this year is on Thursday 15 August.
Results can be picked up from schools and further education colleges any time after 8am on results day. However, you’ll need to find out the exact times from your school as these may vary.
AQA grade boundaries
Grade boundaries are set by senior examiners and assessment experts once all exam papers are marked.
“It’s not until after all the marking has been completed that it’s possible to see how difficult students found the paper (for example, compared to previous years) and so take this into account when setting the boundaries. This means that a student who performed at a certain level should get the same grade regardless of which year they sat the exam,” the AQA website says.
Grade boundaries for this year are now available on the AQA website.
Pearson Edexcel grade boundaries
Pearson’s Grade boundaries for A level, BTEC National and other level 3 qualifications for summer 2023 are now available.
OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA) grade boundaries
Grade boundaries for AS, A Level, Cambridge Technicals, Core Maths, Extended Project and FSMQ are now available.
