GCSE 2020 grade boundaries – AQA, Edexcel, CCEA and OCR criteria and grading system explained

Hundreds of thousands of teens are today (August 20, 2020) receiving their GCSE results.

The way grades will be decided this year has been been a point of contention between teachers, students and the government.

⚠️ Read our GCSE and A-levels live blog for the latest news & updates

What are the 2020 GCSE grade boundaries?

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, students did not sit their exams this year so there will not be grade boundaries.

Students will now receive their teacher assessed grades (unless their moderated grades surpass them) after a government U-turn, so grade boundaries are not relevant this year.

This U-turn came after thousands of A Level students saw their marks downgraded.

Plus there were fears about less advantaged students being the most adversely affected by the original proposed grading system.

If a student is unhappy with a result, they can take an exam in November in attempt of achieving a higher grade.

Normally, grade boundaries change each year depending on how well students do overall.

There are five different exam boards used in every school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This list includes Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), Council for Curriculum and Examinations Assessment (CCEA), Pearson Edexcel, Oxford Cambridge and RSA Exams (OCR) and Welsh Joint Examinations Committee (WJEC).

How do the new GCSE grades work?

In 2017 the grading system was overhauled so that instead of using letters as had been the tradition, students would receive a number 1-9.

This year in 2020 will be the first time that all students receive their grades with the new system after a few years of phasing it in.

The numerical system matches up against the old letters like this:

• 9, 8 and 7 are equivalent to A* or A
• 6, 5 and 4 are equivalent to B or C
• 3, 2 and 1 are equivalent to D, E, F or G
• A U is equivalent to ungraded

Why are GCSE grades changing?

The number system came into place in an attempt to make GCSEs tougher.

It's believed that it will help students appear more attractive to potential employers as higher grades now have more distinction than the old system.

The shift to numbered grades also fits better with European exam results and most of Britain's other global competitors.