AQA GCSE English Language grade boundaries calculator

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AQA GCSE English Language

Enter both paper marks

Questions people ask

What mark is a grade 4 in AQA GCSE English Language?

In June 2026, grade 4 needed 75 out of 160 across both papers, and grade 5 needed 84. In June 2025 they were 73 and 82. The boundary changes every series.

What is a grade 9 in AQA English Language?

In June 2026 a grade 9 needed 122 out of 160. It was 119 in June 2025 and 121 in June 2023 and June 2024.

Can I get a grade for Paper 1 on its own?

No. AQA awards one grade for the total of both papers. It publishes paper-level figures only as a notional guide.

Is the November resit graded differently?

November has its own boundaries. In November 2025 grade 4 needed 73, the same as June 2025. November entry is open to students who were at least 16 on the previous 31 August.

How we work this out

What it does

Add your Paper 1 and Paper 2 marks and see the grade that total earned in any series since 2018, from AQA's own tables.

AQA GCSE English Language (8700) only: June 2018, June 2019, June 2022 to June 2026, and the November resit series of 2023 to 2025. There were no summer exams in 2020 or 2021. June 2026 was the first series with the updated questions.

Method

  1. We add your Paper 1 and Paper 2 marks. Each paper is out of 80, so the total is out of 160.
  2. We read AQA's qualification boundary table for the series you choose: the lowest total for each grade.
  3. Your grade is the highest grade whose boundary your total reaches. A total exactly on a boundary gets that grade.
  4. AQA grades the total only. Paper-by-paper boundaries are notional, so we never work out a grade for one paper.
  5. For the next June series we show a scenario: the grade if June 2026's boundaries were repeated, and the grades the same total got in each June since 2023.

Published figures

Every AQA 8700 boundary since 2018

Lowest total out of 160 for each grade, AQA GCSE English Language (8700)
Series987654321
June 2026 †122112103938475553516
November 2025120110101918273543516
June 202511910910091827354 (53 in the snapshot)3516
November 2024121111102918070523416
June 2024121111102928273543516
November 2023120110101908070523416
June 2023121111102918171523416
June 2022 *119109100908070523416
June 2019127117108978676563616
June 2018128118108978676563616

* 2022 was a transition year with more generous grading. † The first series with the updated questions. AQA's June 2025 boundary table prints 54 for grade 3; its English results snapshot prints 53. We use the table, AQA's main boundary document, and show both. There were no summer exams in 2020 or 2021.

Independent practice for AQA GCSE English Language (8700), not endorsed by AQA.

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