What are the AQA A Level Grade Boundaries in 2018 and Why They Matter

Grade boundaries set by AQA are the minimum number of marks you need to score in your A Level exam to achieve a certain grade. The grade boundaries change for every exam series, so they will be different in 2018 than they were in previous years. Grade boundaries are set after your AQA A Level exams have been marked, so you won’t know the exact grade boundaries for the 2018 exams before you take them.

This article will provide you with the grade boundaries for AQA A Level 2018, help you interpret them, and provide tools to help you succeed in your exams.

Subject	Year	Maximum Mark	A*	A	B	C	D	E
Art & Design Adv (3D Design)	2018	480	391	365	315	265	215	165
Art & Design Adv (Art Craft & Des)	2018	480	391	365	315	265	215	165
Art & Design Adv (Fine Art)	2018	480	391	365	315	265	215	165
Art & Design Adv (Graphic Comm)	2018	480	391	365	315	265	215	165
Art & Design Adv (Photography)	2018	480	403	385	338	292	246	200
Art & Design Adv (Textile Design)	2018	480	391	365	315	265	215	165
Biology Adv	2018	260	166	138	116	94	72	50
Business Adv	2018	300	221	196	166	137	108	79
Chemistry Adv	2018	300	241	198	163	128	94	60
Computer Science Adv (C#)	2018	375	314	260	215	170	125	80
Computer Science Adv (Java)	2018	375	314	260	215	170	125	80
Computer Science Adv (Pascal/Delphi)	2018	375	314	260	215	170	125	80
Computer Science Adv (Python)	2018	375	314	260	215	170	125	80
Computer Science Adv (Vb.Net)	2018	375	314	260	215	170	125	80
Dance Adv	2018	200	139	129	112	95	78	62
Drama And Theatre Adv	2018	200	164	147	126	106	86	66
Economics Adv	2018	240	188	163	140	117	94	72
English Language Adv	2018	500	433	381	328	275	222	169
English Language And Literature Adv	2018	250	196	175	150	126	102	78
English Literature A Adv Option A	2018	375	314	278	237	197	157	117
English Literature A Adv Option B	2018	375	319	282	239	196	153	111
English Literature B Adv Option AA	2018	375	295	259	222	185	148	111
English Literature B Adv Option AB	2018	375	303	265	226	187	149	111
English Literature B Adv Option BA	2018	375	294	259	220	181	143	105
English Literature B Adv Option BB	2018	375	300	265	225	185	145	105
French Adv Teacher Cond Option	2018	400	354	310	269	228	187	147
French Adv Visiting Exr Option	2018	400	354	310	269	228	187	147
Geography Adv	2018	300	225	193	163	134	105	76
German Adv Teacher Cond Option	2018	400	345	281	236	191	146	101
German Adv Visiting Exr Option	2018	400	345	281	236	191	146	101
History Adv Opt AA	2018	200	154	130	109	88	67	47
History Adv Opt AB	2018	200	152	128	107	87	67	47
History Adv Opt AD	2018	200	157	133	111	90	69	48
History Adv Opt AE	2018	200	160	136	114	92	70	48
History Adv Opt AM	2018	200	159	135	113	91	69	47
History Adv Opt AS	2018	200	156	132	110	89	68	47
History Adv Opt BA	2018	200	161	137	116	96	76	56
History Adv Opt BB	2018	200	159	135	115	95	75	56
History Adv Opt BD	2018	200	164	140	119	98	77	57
History Adv Opt BE	2018	200	167	143	121	99	78	57
History Adv Opt BM	2018	200	166	142	120	98	77	56
History Adv Opt BS	2018	200	163	139	118	97	76	56
History Adv Opt CF	2018	200	155	131	110	89	68	47
History Adv Opt CG	2018	200	156	132	110	89	68	47
History Adv Opt CH	2018	200	153	129	108	87	67	47
History Adv Opt CJ	2018	200	156	132	110	89	68	47
History Adv Opt CK	2018	200	148	124	104	85	66	47
History Adv Opt CL	2018	200	152	128	108	88	68	48
History Adv Opt CN	2018	200	153	128	107	87	67	47
History Adv Opt CO	2018	200	156	131	110	89	68	47
History Adv Opt CP	2018	200	156	132	111	91	71	51
History Adv Opt CQ	2018	200	156	135	113	91	69	47
History Adv Opt CR	2018	200	160	135	113	91	69	47
History Adv Opt CT	2018	200	152	128	107	87	67	47
History Adv Opt DC	2018	200	172	148	123	98	73	49
History Adv Opt DG	2018	200	168	144	119	95	71	47
History Adv Opt DH	2018	200	165	141	117	93	70	47
History Adv Opt DJ	2018	200	168	144	119	95	71	47
History Adv Opt DK	2018	200	160	136	113	91	69	47
History Adv Opt DL	2018	200	164	140	117	94	71	48
History Adv Opt DN	2018	200	164	140	116	93	70	47
History Adv Opt DO	2018	200	167	143	119	95	71	47
History Adv Opt DP	2018	200	168	144	120	97	74	51
History Adv Opt DQ	2018	200	171	147	122	97	72	47
History Adv Opt DR	2018	200	171	147	122	97	72	47
History Adv Opt DT	2018	200	164	140	116	93	70	47
History Adv Opt EA	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt EB	2018	200	108	129	-	87	67	47
History Adv Opt ED	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt EE	2018	200	114	137	-	92	70	48
History Adv Opt EM	2018	200	113	136	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt ES	2018	200	111	133	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt FC	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt FF	2018	200	113	136	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt FG	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt FH	2018	200	112	134	-	90	68	47
History Adv Opt FJ	2018	200	114	137	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt FK	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt FL	2018	200	111	133	-	90	69	48
History Adv Opt FN	2018	200	111	133	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt FO	2018	200	113	136	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt FP	2018	200	115	137	-	93	72	51
History Adv Opt FQ	2018	200	116	140	-	93	70	47
History Adv Opt FR	2018	200	116	140	-	93	70	47
History Adv Opt FT	2018	200	111	133	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt GC	2018	200	114	136	-	92	70	49
History Adv Opt GF	2018	200	110	131	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt GG	2018	200	110	132	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt GH	2018	200	108	129	-	87	67	47
History Adv Opt GJ	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt GK	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt GL	2018	200	108	128	-	88	68	48
History Adv Opt GN	2018	200	107	128	-	87	67	47
History Adv Opt GO	2018	200	110	131	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt GP	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt GQ	2018	200	113	135	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt GR	2018	200	113	135	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt GT	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt HA	2018	200	111	133	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt HB	2018	200	110	131	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt HD	2018	200	114	136	-	92	70	48
History Adv Opt HE	2018	200	116	139	-	93	70	48
History Adv Opt HM	2018	200	115	138	-	92	69	47
History Adv Opt HS	2018	200	113	135	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt JC	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt JF	2018	200	114	136	-	92	71	50
History Adv Opt JG	2018	200	115	137	-	93	71	50
History Adv Opt JH	2018	200	113	134	-	92	71	50
History Adv Opt JJ	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt JK	2018	200	-	-	-	-	-	-
History Adv Opt JL	2018	200	112	133	-	91	71	51
History Adv Opt JN	2018	200	112	133	-	91	70	50
History Adv Opt JO	2018	200	114	136	-	92	71	50
History Adv Opt JP	2018	200	116	137	-	95	74	54
History Adv Opt JQ	2018	200	117	140	-	94	72	50
History Adv Opt JR	2018	200	117	140	-	94	72	50
History Adv Opt JT	2018	200	112	133	-	91	70	50
History Adv Opt KA	2018	200	109	130	-	88	67	47
History Adv Opt KB	2018	200	107	128	-	87	67	47
History Adv Opt KD	2018	200	111	133	-	90	69	48
History Adv Opt KE	2018	200	114	136	-	92	70	48
History Adv Opt KM	2018	200	113	135	-	91	69	47
History Adv Opt KS	2018	200	110	132	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt LA	2018	200	112	134	-	90	68	47
History Adv Opt LB	2018	200	110	132	-	89	68	47
History Adv Opt LD	2018	200	114	137	-	92	70	48
History Adv Opt LE	2018	200	117	140	-	94	71	48
History Adv Opt LM	2018	200	116	139	-	93	70	47
History Adv Opt LS	2018	200	113	136	-	91	69	47
Mathematics Adv	2018	300	158	181	-	135	112	90
Music Adv	2018	300	179	209	-	149	120	91
Physical Education Adv	2018	300	170	194	-	146	122	99
Physics Adv (Astrophysics)	2018	250	125	150	-	100	75	51
Physics Adv (Electronics)	2018	250	128	153	-	103	78	53
Physics Adv (Engineering)	2018	250	127	152	-	102	77	52
Physics Adv (Medical)	2018	250	122	147	-	98	74	50
Physics Adv (Turning Points)	2018	250	124	149	-	99	74	50
Psychology Adv	2018	288	161	190	-	132	104	76
Religious Studies Adv Option A	2018	200	114	140	-	88	62	36
Religious Studies Adv Option B	2018	200	114	140	-	88	62	36
Religious Studies Adv Option C	2018	200	114	140	-	88	62	36
Religious Studies Adv Option D	2018	200	114	140	-	88	62	36
Religious Studies Adv Option E	2018	200	114	140	-	88	62	36
Sociology Adv	2018	240	142	164	-	121	100	79
Spanish Adv Teacher Cond Opt	2018	400	261	307	-	215	169	123
Spanish Adv Visiting Exr Opt	2018	400	261	307	-	215	169	123

Source

What is the best way to prepare for your A Level AQA exam?

The best way to prepare for your AQA A Level exam is to start your revision early. Begin with a list of topics for all your A Level courses and highlight the ones you are the most unsure about. Create a revision timetable with short periods of focus, giving the most time to these topics.

Ideally, you will want to revise all the topics for each subject, but often there just isn’t time. Prioritising topics will help you make the best use of the time you do have, and will give you the biggest increase in marks for your A Level exams.

Use revision notes to revise AQA A Level content. Flashcards are a great tool to practice recall, reinforce key concepts and boost memory retention. Then use exam questions to test your understanding and identify any areas that you are still unsure of.

It is also super helpful to use 2018 AQA A Level past exam papers to practice your exam technique. Set a timer for the amount of time allowed for your AQA A Level exam, and sit the paper under exam conditions. This will help you to manage your time more effectively. It will also help increase your exam stamina! It is difficult to concentrate and to write for extended periods, so you need to practice this before the big day.

Explore A Level Study Tools

How to interpret 2018 grade boundaries for AQA A Level exams

Grade boundaries are established by exam boards such as AQA to reflect student performance in any given year. It is important to understand that the A Level grade boundaries are set after the A Level exams have been marked.

A variety of methods are used to ensure the grade boundaries are set fairly. Statistical analysis and examiner judgement are used to ensure the grade boundaries are fair and consistent with previous years.

Each A Level exam paper is different, so the level of difficulty of the paper as a whole can fluctuate slightly from year to year. For example, if an entire cohort of students finds an exam paper particularly difficult, the grade boundary is lowered slightly so that students are not unfairly penalised.

Looking at the AQA A Level grade boundaries for previous years can help you get an idea of the marks you need in 2018 to achieve the grade you want. With this information and your AQA A Level past paper scores, you can get an idea of the grade you are currently working at. You will be able to see how many marks you would have needed to get the higher grade. Armed with this information and an effective revision process, you can successfully work to increase your grade.

A word of caution. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the AQA A Level grade boundaries were lowered to minimise the disadvantage faced by students who missed school due to lockdowns. Therefore, the grade boundaries for the AQA A Level years 2020 to 2022 will not be representative of other years.

AQA A Level grade boundaries from other years

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