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What GCSE grades 4, 5 and 7 mean

GCSE grades run from 9 down to 1. This is what the grades you hear most about mean, how the marks needed for each are decided, and what happens if your child leaves Year 11 without a 4 in English.

Quick guide for parents and carers · 3 minute read

GCSEs in England have been graded from 9 to 1 since 2017, in place of the old A* to G. Ofqual, which regulates exams in England, says: “The highest grade is 9, the lowest is 1, and U means ‘ungraded’.” English Language and English Literature are separate GCSEs, so your child gets a grade for each.

The grades schools talk about

Ofqual and the Department for Education give fixed points for comparing the new scale with the old letters.

  • Grade 4: Ofqual says “the bottom of grade 4 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade C”. The Department for Education recognises grade 4 and above as a “standard pass”.
  • Grade 5: the Department for Education calls grade 5 and above in English or maths a “strong pass”, and uses it in its headline measure of school results. Its statistics on Key Stage 4 results still report the percentage of students with grade 5 or above in both English and maths, which is one reason schools talk about 5s.
  • Grade 7: Ofqual says “the bottom of a grade 7 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade A”.
  • Grade 9: the highest grade. The Department for Education’s factsheet for parents says it “will be awarded to fewer students than the old A*”.

Sixth forms and colleges set their own entry grades for each course, and they vary. Check the requirements for the courses your child is interested in, especially for A level English.

How grade boundaries are set

A grade boundary is the lowest mark that earns a grade. Ofqual explains that “Grade boundaries are decided after students take exams and when marking is nearly complete.” The exam board compares data about this year’s students with students in previous years. Senior examiners then read papers with marks on and around the possible boundaries and compare them with work from the year before. If a paper turned out harder than usual, its boundaries go down. If it was easier, they go up.

GCSE English Language and maths have one extra check. Each February and March, a sample of Year 11 students at more than 300 schools in England sits the National Reference Test, which gives extra evidence each year for setting the boundaries in those two subjects.

There is no fixed share of each grade. Ofqual says “There are no quotas for the number of students who must pass or fail a subject each year”, and boundaries are set to keep the standard steady over time.

Between 2025 and 2026 the change was small. In AQA’s English Language, a grade 4 needed 73 marks out of 160 in June 2025 and 75 in June 2026. A grade 7 needed 100 and then 103. In AQA’s English Literature, a grade 4 needed 62 and then 66. AQA publishes each year’s boundaries on results day.

Because a summer’s boundaries are only set once that summer’s papers are marked, a grade your child gets in a mock has to use boundaries from an earlier year. That makes it an estimate: What mock exam results tell you.

Without a grade 4 in English

A grade 4 matters after Year 11. Under the Department for Education’s condition of funding for 16 to 19 study, a student aged 16 to 18 on a sixth form or college course who has not got a grade 4 in English has to keep studying it. A grade 4 in either English Language or English Literature meets the rule. With a grade 3 in English Language, a full-time student must work towards the GCSE again. With a grade 2 or below, the course can be Functional Skills English at Level 2 or the GCSE. If your child does not get a grade 4 in English explains what that looks like and when resits happen.

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