For students and parents · All year, and on results day
GCSE grades explained: 9 to 1 and the old letters
GCSEs in England are graded from 9, the highest, down to 1, with U for a result below a 1. The scale does not convert letter for letter, but the bottom of a 7 lines up with the bottom of an old A, the bottom of a 4 with the bottom of a C, and the bottom of a 1 with the bottom of a G. A 4 is called a standard pass and, in English and maths, a 5 a strong pass.
Why did GCSEs change to numbers?
The GCSEs in England were reformed with harder content, and the new grades needed to look different from the old ones so that nobody would mistake an A from before the change for one after it. The numbers also add a grade at the top, so the strongest students can be told apart more clearly than the old A* allowed.
The first reformed GCSEs, English language, English literature and maths, were sat in summer 2017, and nearly every other subject followed by 2019, with a few languages in 2020. So anybody who sat GCSEs in England since then has number grades, and certificates from the changeover years can mix numbers and letters.
How do 9 to 1 grades compare with A* to G?
The government is clear that the scales are not directly equivalent, and gives three points where they line up, shown below. Everything between those points is a comparison rather than a conversion, so it is fair to say a 5 sits between the old C and B, but not that it equals either.
A 9 is the top grade and is given to fewer students than the old A* was. The share of students who get each grade in each subject, year by year, is on the grade statistics pages, from Ofqual’s own figures.
| New grade | How it compares with the old letters |
|---|---|
| 9 | The top grade, given to fewer students than the old A* |
| 7 | The bottom of a 7 lines up with the bottom of an A |
| 4 | The bottom of a 4 lines up with the bottom of a C |
| 1 | The bottom of a 1 lines up with the bottom of a G |
What is a pass, and why does a 4 matter?
The Department for Education calls a grade 4 or above a standard pass in any subject, the nearest to the old C, and counts a 5 or above in English or maths as a strong pass in the measure it uses to report on schools. Sixth forms and colleges set their own entry grades, often a 5 or 6 in subjects to be studied at A level, so check their requirements.
The 4 matters most in English and maths. A student in England who finishes Year 11 without a 4 in either must keep studying it after 16, which the resits guide explains.
What a mark needs to reach each grade
The marks needed for each grade are set after every exam series by the board, from how hard that year’s papers turned out to be, which is why the same mark can give a different grade from one year to the next. The grade calculator turns a mark from a mock or past paper into the grade it would have got on each year’s real boundaries.
These are the rules for GCSEs in England. GCSEs taken in Wales and Northern Ireland are graded differently, so check with the school or the board there.
Where to check
Checked against these on . The rules change from year to year, so the pages above are the ones to trust if anything here disagrees with them.
Common questions
Is a grade 4 a pass?
Yes. The Department for Education calls a 4 or above a standard pass, and it is the nearest grade to the old C. A 5 or above in English or maths counts as a strong pass in how schools are measured.
Is a 9 the same as an A*?
No. A 9 is the top grade and fewer students get one than used to get an A*, so it sits above the old top grade rather than matching it.
What is a 6 in old GCSE grades?
There is no exact conversion. The bottom of a 7 lines up with the bottom of an A and the bottom of a 4 with the bottom of a C, so a 6 falls in the old B range, but the government does not give a letter for it.
What happens if my child does not get a 4 in maths or English?
In England they must carry on studying that subject after 16, and with a 3 they normally resit the GCSE. The sixth form or college arranges it.
What does a U mean at GCSE?
Ungraded: the result was below the mark needed for a grade 1.