GCSE Grade Boundaries 2021: Everything You Need To Know.

What is the best way to prepare for your GCSE exams?

Achieving success in your GCSE exams requires proper resources and effective strategies. Below are several ideas to help improve your performance:

• Understand the Exam Format and Requirements: Use the exam board specifications to make a list of all the topics that are assessed in your GCSE exam for each subject. The specification also tells you the percentage that each paper contributes towards your final grade, how much time you get in the exam, and which topics are covered in each paper.

  Take a look at a set of GCSE past papers for each subject so you know how much reading there is to do on each paper, how many questions there are, what type of questions come up, and if different sections of a paper have different requirements. The more you know in advance, the better prepared you will be for your GCSE exams.

• Create a Study Plan: Use your list of topics for each GCSE subject, and rate each one with your level of confidence. Create a weekly study schedule that you can stick to. Plan your revision sessions around your extracurricular activities and give yourself time for breaks. You may find it useful to use a calendar app or a study planner to stay organised.

• Focus on Weak Areas: You will quickly see that you do not have enough time to revise every topic for every subject, so you need to prioritise. Give more revision time to the topics you are least confident in; this is where you can make the biggest difference in your GCSE grades.

• Practice with Past Papers: Often GCSE students overlook the importance of practising the exam itself. Sitting an GCSE exam successfully requires a whole new skill set; can you physically write for 3 hours straight? Can you hold your concentration for 3 hours without taking a break? You need to build up your stamina, and you can only do that through practice. Print out the GCSE past exam paper, set your timer, put away your phone, textbooks and notes and sit the paper under exam conditions.

  Keep an eye on the time and see how you do, the more you practice this the easier it will get. Here at Save My Exams we have arranged all the GCSE past papers by subject and exam board so you can easily find everything you need all in one place.

• Take Care of Yourself: The most important thing to remember during your GCSE revision process and during exam season is to look after yourself. A well-rested brain is a powerhouse, but if you are tired your brain struggles to retain and recall information. Therefore, you need to get around 8 hours of quality sleep each night. You need to take lots of breaks between study sessions. You need to eat well, get regular exercise and stay hydrated to give your brain everything it needs to perform at its best. As with everything in life, balance is key. With all this hard work, you need to make time for things you enjoy. You can use this downtime as a reward to help keep you motivated. Yes, you can watch your favorite TV show - after you finish your GCSE revision for the day.

  The run up to exam season can be a very stressful time. Talk to your friends and family about how you are feeling and allow them to support you through this time. If you find that you are struggling physically or emotionally, reach out to someone you trust for help. You can contact your GP, or you can find information about mental heath support at Young Minds and Mind.

• Make Use of Online Resources: Revision is a huge task, but you don't need to do everything yourself. There are lots of online resources available to help with your revision. Here at Save My Exams, we believe in providing you with everything you need to get the best possible GCSE grades with the least possible effort. We have a team of expert teachers and examiners creating high quality, exam board specific GCSE revision notes, exam questions and flashcards, organised by topic so you can easily find exactly what you need.

What are GCSE grade boundaries?

Grade boundaries are the thresholds set by examination boards to determine the final grades of students based on their exam performance. They set the minimum mark a student needs to achieve to get a particular grade.

Grade boundaries play a crucial role in the education system. They ensure that grades reflect students' knowledge, understanding and mastery of the subjects they have studied. These boundaries are established by the different exam boards, including AQA, Edexcel, and OCR. They are significant for students as they influence final grades, academic progression, and future opportunities.

What is the 9-1 grading system?

The 9-1 grading system was introduced to replace the traditional A*- G grades, aiming to provide a more accurate measure of student performance.

The new system ranges from 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest). It was designed to increase the challenge for students and create clearer differentiation among their abilities. The transition from the old to the new grading system began in 2017. It aimed to make the grading criteria more rigorous and more reflective of students' knowledge, understanding and skills.

Comparison between new and old GCSE grades

A grade 4 is the new minimum standard for colleges, universities and employers. This is equivalent to a low C on the old grading system. A grade 5 is a strong pass, this is equivalent to a high C. A grade 7 is equivalent to an A, and a grade 9 is higher than the old A* grade. The new grading system helps to differentiate between students scoring the higher grades. The old system had three top grades: B, A and A*. The new grading system has four top grades: 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Why are the grade boundaries important?

Grade boundaries are essential in the grading process, as they define the score ranges required for each GCSE grade. They ensure consistency and fairness in awarding grades, reflecting the relative performance of all GCSE students in a given exam series. These boundaries significantly impact students' final grades, influencing their academic progression, eligibility for further education, and career opportunities.

When teachers mark student work, particularly end-of-unit assessments, the thing that GCSE students often look for first is the grade the work has achieved. This is because grades have such a significant impact on their academic progression. But, it is essential to recognise the difference between grades and your knowledge and understanding.

To improve your grade you need to focus not just on your knowledge and understanding but how you apply this to the questions in the exams. Using websites such as Save My Exams for your GCSEcan help you gain the exam skills you need to improve your grades.

How are GCSE grade boundaries set?

Exam boards such as AQA, Edexcel and OCR have a meticulous process in place for determining where the grade boundaries should be for each exam series. The process involves several factors:

• Exam Difficulty: For each new exam series, new GCSE questions are written by a team of subject specialists. Therefore, with each new GCSE exam series there are minor fluctuations in the level of difficulty of each paper in comparison to previous years. If a cohort of GCSE students finds an exam particularly challenging, then the grade boundaries will be lowered slightly to compensate and vice versa. This ensures the consistency of GCSE grades from one year to the next.

• Statistical Analysis: Exam boards use statistics from previous cohorts of GCSE students to inform how they set GCSE grade boundaries. Each cohort's results for each GCSE subject are compared to those of previous years to ensure consistency in grading standards. Previous attainment data of the current cohort can also be used as a benchmark. Particular attention is paid to those students around the grade boundaries to ensure they are set fairly.

• Moderation: A sample of exam papers from each GCSE exam will be sent for moderation. Moderation is a second round of marking by another examiner to ensure that the marks awarded are consistent and fair.

• Examiner Judgements: Experienced examiners will review a sample of exam papers from each GCSE exam. They will look at papers scoring a range of marks and compare them to papers from previous years. They will make recommendations to the exam boards on where they think the grade boundaries should be set.

Using grade boundaries to improve your results

By incorporating grade boundaries into your revision process, you can gain a clearer picture of the level you're currently working at and pinpoint exactly where you need to improve. Begin by selecting a GCSE past paper for your chosen subject and sitting it under timed exam conditions. Complete all the GCSE papers from that year's exam series, then use the official mark scheme or ask a friend or family member to score your work.

Add up your total marks from all the papers, then consult the corresponding year's grade boundaries to determine your working grade. Take note of how many marks you need to reach the next grade up, and reflect on any areas of weakness. For example: Did you struggle with time management? Did you find certain topics challenging? Focus your revision on these weaker areas, using notes, practice questions, and flashcards to build confidence.

Next, choose a different year's GCSE papers and repeat the process to gauge your improvement. Keep in mind that for 2021 and 2022 GCSE exams, grade boundaries were adjusted due to the impact of COVID-19, so these particular sets of papers may not provide an accurate reflection of the GCSE grade boundaries.

Conclusion: understanding GCSE grade boundaries in 2021

Grade boundaries ensure fairness and consistency across across different years. By reviewing past grade boundaries, you can measure your current performance, gain insight into how many extra marks you need, and set realistic targets. This level of understanding can improve your technique and boost your chances of achieving a higher grade.