GCSE grades 2023: The 9-1 boundaries explained

Students in England and Wales who took GCSE exams in November received their results in early January.

In England, most students who took exams in November were resitting English or maths.

Their GCSEs were graded using a numerical system from 9 to 1.

Exams are graded differently in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Scotland has a separate qualifications system to the rest of the UK, with no GCSEs.

Senior examiners decide the minimum marks needed for each grade.

In England, the summer 2023 grade boundaries were published via the following links for the different exam boards:

The main exam board for Wales, WJEC, also published grade boundaries on its website.

For those taking GCSEs in Northern Ireland, broad subject grade boundaries were published on the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) website and the grade boundaries for specific papers were published here.

The 9-1 grading scheme was brought in alongside an overhaul of the curriculum in England in 2014.

The rollout began in 2017 with three subjects - English language, English literature and maths - being the first to be graded in numbers. By 2020, all subjects were using the new grading system.

The highest grade is now 9, while 1 is the lowest. The U grade, meaning "ungraded", remains the same.

The number scale is not directly equivalent to the old letter one. However, the two scales do meet in certain places:

Exams watchdog Ofqual has said fewer grade 9s will have been awarded than A*s "to identify exceptional performance".

Pupils will have needed a 4 for a "standard pass" and 5 for a "strong pass".

This means that a candidate who gets nine grade-4s has, technically, passed all their exams.

However, the government's school league tables are based on the percentage of pupils who achieve a 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs.

Many sixth forms insist on a minimum number of 5s or 6s as a condition of entry for further study.

The numerical grading scheme was introduced as part of a 2014 curriculum overhaul by then-education secretary, Michael Gove.

It put less emphasis on GCSE coursework than before, with grades in almost all subjects decided in final exams.

The qualifications were designed to be more challenging, with exams taken after two years of study. Previously pupils covered the syllabus through a series of modules with regular assessments throughout the course.

At the time of the changes, the government argued that the new scale "recognises more clearly the achievements of high-attaining students, as the additional grades allow for greater differentiation".

It also said that the move from letters to numbers would make it clear - for example to an employer - "whether a student has taken a new, more challenging GCSE, or an old reformed GCSE".

Grades have changed in Northern Ireland too.

In summer 2019, the CCEA introduced a new nine-category grade scale - A* to G, including a C*.

Students may also get results with grades 9-1 if they take exams set by English boards.

The Welsh government introduced new and revised GCSE courses in September 2015.

The most significant changes were in English language, Welsh language and mathematics.

Wales retained the letter-based grading structure A*- G.