grades 9–1 (untiered — no Foundation/Higher split). Every candidate sits the same papers. Years available: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2019.
AQA GCSE Economics is untiered — every candidate sits the same papers and is eligible for the full grade 9–1 range, unlike the sciences and Maths which split into Foundation and Higher tiers. Your raw mark is the total of all your paper scores added together.
| Grade | Min. mark | % of 160 |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 136 marks | 85% |
| 8 | 128 marks | 80% |
| 7 | 120 marks | 75% |
| 6 | 107 marks | 67% |
| 5 | 94 marks | 59% |
| 4 | 82 marks | 51% |
| 3 | 61 marks | 38% |
| 2 | 40 marks | 25% |
| 1 | 19 marks | 12% |
Use the Past Paper Score Tracker to log each past paper and see your score % trend — then compare it to these boundaries.
AQA GCSE Economics is untiered — every candidate sits the same papers and is eligible for the full grade 9–1 range, unlike the sciences and Maths which split into Foundation and Higher tiers. Your raw mark is the total of all your paper scores added together.
Yes — your raw mark is the sum of your marks from all papers in the subject. For example, if Economics has two papers and you scored 65/100 on Paper 1 and 72/100 on Paper 2, your total raw mark is 137/200. Enter 137 in the tool to see your grade.
No — AQA GCSE Economics is untiered. Every candidate sits the same papers and is eligible for the full grade 9–1 range, so there's no tier to choose — unlike the sciences and Maths, which do split into Foundation and Higher.
This tool has grade boundary data for the following years: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2019. All data is from the May/June examination series, which is the main series for most students.
Grade boundaries are adjusted each year so that students who performed as well as an average student from a previous year receive the same grade, regardless of whether that year's paper was harder or easier. This process is called grade protection (Cambridge) or comparable outcomes (Ofqual). A harder paper will have lower boundaries; an easier paper will have higher ones.
If your mark is within 2–3 marks of the next grade boundary, it may be worth asking your school about an Enquiry About Results (EAR) or a clerical check. One mark can sometimes be the difference between grades. Note that mark reviews can result in grades going up, staying the same, or going down — discuss with your teacher before requesting one.
These boundaries are sourced from published AQA grade threshold documents and are provided for reference only. Boundaries for 2026 exams are not yet published — they will be released on results day. Always verify at the official AQA website.
The terms are used interchangeably. A grade threshold (Cambridge terminology) or grade boundary (AQA/Edexcel terminology) is the minimum raw mark needed to achieve a particular grade in that examination series.
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