A-Level Grade Hub

A-Level Guides

Straightforward explainers for Cambridge International AS & A Level students and parents — written to demystify the numbers behind your results.

A-Level grading can feel like a black box: you sit several papers, wait weeks, and a single letter appears. These guides open that box. They explain how raw marks turn into an A*, A, B, C, D or E, why grade boundaries move from one session to the next, and how the grades on your record shape university applications through UCAS. Everything here is specific to the Cambridge International A Level route (AS + A2), not the older 9–1 style used at earlier stages.

Read them in any order. When you want to put the theory into practice, pair them with our grade calculator, the grade boundary tables, or the grade-to-percentage converter to test your own targets against real figures.

Choose a guide

How A-Level Grading Works
From raw marks to A*–E: how components combine and where thresholds come from.
 What Percentage Is an A* at A-Level?
Why there is no fixed number, and roughly what it takes to reach the top grade.
 A-Level Grade Boundaries Explained
What thresholds are, why they shift each session, and how to read the tables.
 A-Level Predicted Grades for UCAS
How predictions are formed, why they drive university offers, and how to self-estimate.
 A* Thresholds by Subject, Ranked
Every Cambridge A Level ranked by its average A*, A and E boundary since 2022 — from the official tables.
 Results Day Guide
Release times, how to read the statement of results and PUMs, and what to do in the first 48 hours.
 Re-marks: Enquiries About Results
Clerical re-checks vs reviews of marking, deadlines, fees, and using thresholds to decide.
 AS Carry-Forward: Staged vs Linear
What the 7x/8x/9x numbers in threshold tables mean and how the A* works on a staged route.

Independent study tool. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Cambridge Assessment International Education. Grade boundary figures are sourced from official releases; always confirm with your exam board.