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GCSE Grades Explained: What 9 to 1 Means, and Why Grade 4 Matters

GCSE grades in England run from 9, the highest, down to 1, with U for ungraded. Grade 4 is a "standard pass" and grade 5 a "strong pass", and grade 4 lines up with the bottom of the old grade C. Grade 7 lines up with the bottom of the old A, and grades 8 and 9 split the old A* territory so that the very top answers can be told apart. In summer 2026, 67.0% of GCSE results in England were grade 4 or above and 21.8% were grade 7 or above, according to Ofqual. This page explains each grade, how the numbers compare with letters, what happens below a 4 in English and maths, and how tiers and combined science work.

GCSE grades explained, one grade at a time

Only three points are fixed against the old system: the bottom of grade 7 meets the bottom of the old A, the bottom of grade 4 meets the bottom of the old C, and the bottom of grade 1 meets the bottom of the old G. The rest are approximate, so "a 6 is a B" is a fair shorthand, not an exact conversion.

Standard pass and strong pass

The Department for Education calls grade 4 a "standard pass" and grade 5 a "strong pass". Employers, colleges and sixth forms set their own entry requirements, and most ask for 4s or 5s in English and maths. Schools are judged in league tables partly on the share of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both, which is why some schools push hard for 5s rather than 4s. Our page on Progress 8 and Attainment 8 explains how those measures work.

What happens if your child gets below a 4 in English or maths

Every full-time student aged 16 to 18 in England who has not got grade 4 or above in GCSE English or maths must keep studying the subject. This is a condition of the funding sixth forms and colleges receive, and the government confirmed the rule is unchanged for 2026 to 2027:

• Grade 3: the student must study towards the GCSE again, and usually resits it in November or the following summer.
• Grade 2 or below: the student can study towards either the GCSE or Functional Skills level 2.

It does not stop a student starting A levels, a T level or an apprenticeship, though some courses ask for grade 4 or 5 at entry. Our guide to sixth form vs college covers the routes after Year 11.

Foundation and higher tier

Some subjects, including maths, the sciences and modern languages, are set at two tiers. The foundation paper covers grades 5 to 1, so 5 is the highest grade a foundation candidate can get. The higher paper covers grades 9 to 4, with an allowed grade 3 for students who narrowly miss a 4. A student entered for higher who falls below that gets a U, which is why schools think carefully about which tier to enter. Mock results in Year 11 usually decide it; see our page on GCSE mock exams.

Combined science: the double grade

Combined science is worth two GCSEs and is awarded on a 17-point scale from 9-9 down to 1-1. A grade 5-4 means the student is just over the standard pass on one GCSE and at the strong pass on the other. A 4-4 counts as two standard passes.

How grade boundaries work

There is no fixed percentage for each grade. Exam boards set grade boundaries after marking, using statistics and examiner judgement to keep standards the same from one year to the next, and they publish the boundaries on results day. A raw mark that earned a 7 in one paper might earn a 6 in another year if the paper was easier. That is also why national results stay broadly steady: in 2026, grade 4 and above in England was 0.1 percentage points down on 2025, and grade 7 and above was 0.1 points up.

Grades in Wales and Northern Ireland

This page covers England. Wales still uses A* to G for GCSEs. Northern Ireland's exam board, CCEA, uses a nine-point letter scale including C*, but students there taking English exam board papers receive 9 to 1 grades.

Sources: Ofqual, GCSE results 2026 at a glance; DfE, 16 to 19 funding: maths and English condition of funding (updated 24 July 2026). Exam dates for next summer: GCSE exam dates 2027.