A level results day 2026

It's based on marks and not %.So 220 is Astar, 200 is A, 170 is B etc. (OCR from Studydog.co.uk)

They also give indicative grade boundaries for each paper. This is important for subjects such as history and further maths where there are optional papers and the grade boundaries are different for different papers to reflect differences in difficulty.

It varies by exam board and by subject. Humanities have a far lower percentage of A star as low as 5 percent in some cases. Some stem subjects have 15-20 percent A star. System is pretty shit imo. So the marks that may have got you an A star last year may not get you this year. So the curve varies by subject!

I haven’t seen the specific grade boundary you are talking about and am most familiar with CCEA grade boundaries, but the premise is the same across all exam boards.

Grade boundaries are set following the marking of all papers and are decided on a bell curve meaning that a certain percentage will achieve each grade.

In CCEA it is always 80% for an A for instance, and 90% for an Astar. However, those percentages are for the UMS - Uniform Mark Scheme - and the raw marks needed to convert into those UMS are changed every year.

Take for example the Physical Geography A2 paper - it is marked out of 70, but those marks are then translated into a UMS out of 120. (Total across all 3 papers is 300 - 120 for physical, 120 for human and 60 for DME)

In previous years, you have needed around 47/70 (approx 67%) in raw marks to convert to 96/120 (80%) get an A. That means that an Astar is likely to have been approx 59/70 (approx 84%).

This year, that paper was particularly tough and you only needed 43/70 (approx 61%) to get an A, meaning that you likely needed around 56/70 (approx 80%) to get an Astar.

The UMS grade boundaries stay the same for the duration of the spec, but what changes every year is the conversion from raw marks to UMS and this is dependent on how tough the paper was and how the cohort as a whole found it.

Sorry the star symbol is turning the rest of the text to bold!

Can someone clarify if I am correctly understanding the grade boundaries please?

For example the overall mark for psychology is 300, for an a you need 220 or better so 73% in the exam would be an a?

Last year DS got a D in maths and was one mark off a C. Got first 2 papers marked n grade didn’t change. Felt hopeless getting paper 3 marked and DH was against it but i felt it was worth a shot. Managed to gain that extra mark.. so grade went up to a C. Which meant he did not have to resit it thank goodness. I hope your DSs grade does too.

Let’s face it - very many, if not most, things happen by chance. You’ve just got learn to ride the waves. And this is one such occasion.

@Sunnyskiesa I really feel for you both. I can imagine how upset he is. I’m not going to give advice but earlier in the thread I mentioned how things will change for the better but I know it can be so painful when you are in the eye of the storm so to speak.

My daughter went up in a remark to an A* last year so it is always worth while. I’m a secondary school teacher and know first hand that marking can in some cases be inaccurate and as you are looking for one mark do check carefully.

Wishing you both the best and that when he’s had some time to reflect he can move forward with confidence - a year later after a disappointing results day my daughter is now off to her dream course. It does happen!

Thanks all.

For 1 mark I’d want to see papers and go over with a fine tooth comb, you can check everything has been marked and added up correctly. Son with teacher help if necessary can see if possibly a mark to be had.
Nothing to lose except fee per paper.
If not you will always think what if.

It's worth doing but not worth pinning your hopes on

That’s fair - and I accept that there is limited read across from another GCSE to a maths A level. But my DD would have been a “no change” had I not scoured the reviewed scripts and found a mark that had been missed. I would say it is worth doing just so that the OP can say that she’s done everything possible and not wonder “what if”? (I also know of someone whose GCSE maths went up by 10 marks, so I think I am now rather cynical about the quality of exam marking and moderation! But I do take your point that most papers will be marked accurately and it isn’t a sure thing to pin hopes on etc.)

A 7 mark gain is very unusual, though. Ofqual data shows 55% of reviewed papers show no change to the mark. Only around 20% lead to a change in grade. It's worth doing but not worth pinning your hopes on, and the chance of a change is even smaller with a science or maths paper, so it depends on the subject as well. Sometimes you have to accept you weren't quite there.

Fwiw data also shows that 80% of predicted grades are wrong, the majority too generous.

Really feel for him, so close. Few of DD’s friends in a similar situation. One rejected with AAB,(read two A stars) with her offer being A*AA. My understanding is that admissions for Home vs International students are separate, with quite strict number quotas, so don’t interchange if one category has a few spaces, hence your DS being rejected even if a few spaces were available in the International category. I think the door has closed on his firm, especially if a review doesn’t look like helping.

The question now I suppose is how to help him move on. Maybe a visit to his insurance uni? There must have been something he liked about it originally? Look at the course/module details to try to bring back some enthusiasm?

We are also getting two papers remarked by the exam board, although his school has already said that, on a first look, it doesn’t seem likely there will be a mark to gain.

@Sunnyskiesa I think I’d throw everything at the remark. If I understand correctly, you have a week post results to apply for a priority remark and this should be back by 31/8. I think most universities agree to hold the place until that date. How many papers were there in the A level? I would ask school to take a second look and I would go over those papers with a fine toothed comb myself. I know it’s not the same thing, but my DD went up 7 marks to the next grade on a GCSE last year. I spotted three of those marks with zero knowledge of the subject: two as a clerical error (two ticks on screen and a 0 on the marks list) and one really basic rule question that was marked wrong. It was also missed on the review of marking, so we had to appeal, but won - and she got the higher grade.

I would say - if you can bear it - throw all your energies into exploring every option with remark and appeal if you have to, while simultaneously trying to manage your son’s expectations that he may have to go elsewhere. At least you’ll know you’ve ttried every angle, even if it ends up as one of those desperately unfortunate things that happens. Fingers crossed for your son.

@Sunnyskiesa that's so hard, my heart goes out to your son. Unfortunately, the places for international students will be fee-related so unless you'd pay three times as much to go there (theoretically I mean, I don't even think that's poss), it's not places that would ever become available for home students. It's like there being seats left in first class but you can't sit there with a standard ticket (analogy inspired by a thread on mumsnet yesterday). So don't let those places tantalise you/him, they might as well not exist at all.

Same goes for the firm sadly. Some places would have budged for one mark, but I'm guessing the 'dream' must be one of the top places that simply won't take a B under any circumstances. So unless the remarks go his way, a miss is as good as a mile, as they say, and your advice is dead right - better to let it go and start talking up the insurance or other viable options.

Sucks though. DS had a couple of rejections from his dream too (twice rejected by Cambridge, post interview and via the august pool) so I know a little of how you/he must feel, but thankfully DS embraced fate and is now looking forward to the uni that wants him. That means a lot. Hope it all works out and your DS can start looking forward too.

@Sunnyskiesa afaik if they've said no, it's a no. They had the option to take him with the grades he has and didn't.

Hi, I needed a few days before writing here. I’m ready now, and I’m hoping people might be able to help or offer some advice.
My DS missed his firm (the dream uni) by one mark — not one grade, literally one mark. So instead of getting an A, he got a B in Maths. He has been accepted by his insurance, but he’s now wondering whether he actually wants to go there.
We spent Thursday afternoon calling five universities that he might have preferred to his insurance and that, because they had courses available through Clearing, seemed more approachable. Unfortunately, no luck.
We are also getting two papers remarked by the exam board, although his school has already said that, on a first look, it doesn’t seem likely there will be a mark to gain.
I’ve told him that he has to accept the situation and move on — sometimes things just don’t go the way we want. But what has left me a little baffled is that the course at his firm university is now showing as available only to international students.
Do you think there is any chance that this could change and the course might become available to UK students later in Clearing? And if they don’t fill all the places allocated to international students, is there any possibility that they might accept an extra UK student?
I know nobody can predict what the university will do, but I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with this or knows how it works behind the scenes.

I'm looking for a microwave rice cooker for mine and some small jars for spices/ mixes, and I'll decant some curry powder, mixed spices, fajitas mix into them.

Thanks, wise words. 🙏
I told her people say that, as they want to comfort you, but don’t know what to say.
We’ve asked for the scripts and a teacher is going to talk her through them - won’t change the outcome, but will hopefully give her the closure, as you say.

I hope she feels better soon. She’s sad that reality didn’t meet her expectations, but I think the further they get away from results, social media celebrations etc…the better they’ll feel (or that’s certainly my hope). Tomorrow we’re making an IKEA list for uni…moving forward.
Thinking of you both.

I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s really awful to watch them struggling and not be able to help. 😢
I’m a children’s psychotherapist, (my DD is always telling me not to counsel her & there’s no emotional distance with your own child), but they’re probably going through the stages of loss/grief (for the future they imagined/identity they held). There’s denial, bargaining, sadness, anger and acceptance will finally come. My DD is currently at sadness and anger (at not getting the outcome she had worked so hard for).You can’t rush the journey, only support them through it. I really hope he feels better soon.

When I went to uni anything new was "bought" with Esso vouchers. I got a sandwich toaster and some glasses.

I'm looking on Argos so I can spend nectar points!

Thanks, yes I was tempted to go with something like the basics. Maybe 1 pan and 1 frying pan would be ok. University list has just about everything on it. Where did you get the 1 litre jug bowl? We have a great one at home and I can't find them any more. Ours might be 1.5 or 2 litre. It's a jug and also a microwave bowl.

@manywanderings
You need to check with their accommodation. None of my dc's uni accommodation would allow toasters let alone air friers! They did provide toasters though.

It also depends on what they like to cook/will want to cook.
For my oldest she took 3 pans, my youngest the frying pan was the most important - I think he had one other pan. #2 I think took one pan but they shared equipment.
And the size of the kitchen and the space they have - remember they may want to keep food in their "cupboard" or whatever space they have too, so there isn't a huge amount of space. They may manage to link up with people beforehand and discuss sharing equipment, or they might not.

We went for the basics:
Bowl/plate/dinner plate set of 4
Cutlery x4
Cups x 4
1 pan
1 good knife
1 chopping board
1 baking tray
1 can opener
1litre jug that could double as a bowl
1 wooden spoon

Then altered it depending on the child. Extras included:
More pans
Frying pan
Cake tins
Scales
Scissors
bottle opener
casserole dish
glasses
Filter jug
Cooking bowls
Food mixer
Cheese grater
Cake tin
Biscuit barrel
Plastic lunch boxes/storage tins

To identify it they had different ways.
One got it out, cooked, washed up and put it away in locked cupboard so no danger of mixing
One labelled all their stuff with coloured dots (they took spares in different colours and I think the whole flat used them in the end
And ds trusted to luck and that he wouldn't really care if he got the wrong one back anyway

You also want to put in washing up stuff so:
Fairy liquid (or equivalent)
dish cloths
Brush
Scrubber
tea towels