It’s hard to achieve a goal if you aren’t entirely clear on what it is you are aiming to hit. If you are preparing to sit your A-level chemistry exam, then it’s imperative that you familiarise yourself with the grade boundaries that exist for the subject, especially seeing as the boundaries for various grades have seen quite a bit of change in recent years. Below are the latest chemistry A Level grade boundaries for each exam board from June 2024:
| Exam Board | Max Mark | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | 239 | 198 | 162 | 126 | 90 | 55 | |
| Edexcel | 300 | 216 | 180 | 150 | 120 | 90 | 60 |
| OCR | 300 | 216 | 180 | 150 | 120 | 90 | 60 |
In this article, we’re going to clarify A-Level Chemistry grade boundaries and get you on your way to the 239 out of 300 marks needed to grab the A*.
What are A Level Chemistry grade boundaries?
📝 Change of Exam Format
📚 The Difficulty of the Exam
❓ An Unforeseen Event
As we touched on in the introduction, knowing what to expect from your A-Level chemistry exam and how the grading system works will help you excel. To better comprehend the A-Level Chemistry examination, it's important to understand how the boundaries are altered. A great place to start would be to provide some explanation for what grade boundaries are and how they change. When we talk about grade boundaries, what we really mean is the minimum number of marks needed to achieve a certain grade in their A-level chemistry exams.
These boundaries range from A* down to E and become public on results day. Senior examiners and assessment specialists set these boundaries after marking all papers.
The raw grade that the examiner leaves on your chemistry paper is not the actual score that you’ll be using. The percentage or score must be translated according to the respective boundaries. If we take the raw mark A* boundary for OCR A Level Chemistry A in 2023, for example, the score needed was 234 out of 270, while Chemistry B (Salters) had a boundary of 211.
| Exam Board | Maximum Mark | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | 300 | 239 | 198 | 162 | 126 | 90 | 55 |
| Edexcel | 300 | 252 | 216 | 177 | 138 | 99 | 61 |
| OCR A | 270 | 243 | 212 | 173 | 134 | 96 | 58 |
| OCR B | 270 | 221 | 186 | 156 | 127 | 98 | 69 |
These numbers show why knowing the difference between raw and scaled marks matters. This conversion is in place in order to ensure fairness across each exam year. So, exam difficulty is the main reason why boundaries move. This means that if an exam was particularly difficult one year, then the AQA or OCR might lower the boundaries to level the playing field.
Grade boundaries serve as so much more than mere thresholds for marking exam papers. They are actually sophisticated equalising tools that keep A-Level Chemistry assessments fair and consistent from year to year and across various groups of students.
You don’t want the year above you at school to sail to a top grade simply because they had an easier exam, do you? That’s exactly what these grade boundaries serve to prevent. It's important to state that getting good grades in chemistry is more than ever based on exams, so chemistry revision and preparation are critical. Practising regularly throughout the course will mean you are better prepared. So please don't leave it until the last minute!
Why are A Level Chemistry grade boundaries often so high?
After working so hard to attain high marks in the exam, you might be wondering why certain grades are easier to find in other subjects. Well, to the detriment of students like yourself, chemistry is one A-level subject that stands out from others for having consistently high grade boundaries. But why is this? Well, it comes down to a combination of the subject's nature, student demographics, and yearly changes. Take the initiative to ask for help or hire a chemistry tutor to get the best grade you can!
If you think about any of the long-form essay-style answers that you might be tasked with writing inside the exam hall for many of your other subjects, such as English or History.
In that case, these are often subjective and will have a greater range in how an examiner might mark them.
In contrast, the subject of chemistry often deals with absolutes, where students are either right or wrong.
It is this precision that creates a skewed grade distribution, seeing as more students are awarded full credits in their answers than might be the case across other subjects. You can also point to how students perform in the exam from year to year.
Over the last few years, in particular, student performance has changed quite a bit. The subject saw a 9% increase in the number of students opting to study it in the UK, showing its appeal despite the challenges that it presents to those competing for the highest grades.
As a result of this increase in the number of students taking the subject, the overall A-Level average point score rose from 35.29 to 35.55, having quite a bit of an effect on the grade boundaries for the subject. Don't forget that you also need to consider the exam board you're taking your A-level chemistry exam with, seeing as they all set boundaries differently. You can also consult a chemistry tutor if you're looking to refine your exam strategy so that you get the grade boundary you're after.
How the A Level Chemistry specification affects grade boundaries
Another key factor that governs the A-level chemistry grade boundaries would be the structural framework of the subject. In order to ensure that the subject being taught in schools keeps up with the pace of a rapidly changing industry, there are always amendments and improvements being made to the course structure and exam layout.
As it currently stands, A-level chemistry students are assessed at the very end of their years of study through an examination once they complete the course.
This is quite far removed from the former modular system that allowed students to retake individual units of the course in isolation.
Let’s not forget the monumental change that students will have seen throughout the pandemic, when schools grappled with the obstacles that came along with it. The likes of Ofqual made adjustments during this time to help teachers and students deal with the disruptions while keeping standards high. Exam boards managed to keep 15% of assessment marks for testing practical skills, which just goes to show how grade boundaries can be affected by change. Regardless of how the boundaries shape up after this year's exam, ensure you achieve your potential by availing of private chemistry tuition.
AQA's A Level Chemistry breaks down its assessment into three parts:
AO1 (knowledge and understanding) at 30%
AO2 (application in unfamiliar situations) at 45%
AO3 (analysis and evaluation) at 25%
Since the learning objectives for the subject lean heavier on application than memorisation, students tend to have a tougher time earning top marks. You can also look at what sort of skills are assessed throughout the A-level chemistry paper. The first thing that will jump out to you is that a whopping 20% of the grade comes from calculations. Now, the level of math that is required to compute many of these questions is roughly equivalent to GCSE higher-level maths, which most certainly isn’t in every student's arsenal.
Students find it harder to get top grades just by memorising because the system values application more than recall.
Then there are the exam questions, which have been getting more and more challenging since 2008, seeing as students now need to work out multi-step answers without the clear directions they used to get.
Practising or revising chemistry daily is an excellent way to learn your topic in manageable chunks and prepare for the ever-important final exam.
Several shorter practice sessions spread out over a while are more efficient than a marathon session where you'll be tired and unable to concentrate.
Chemistry Grade Boundaries for 2025
So, now that you’re up to speed on what the grade boundaries for A-level chemistry are, you have a better idea of what it is that you’re aiming for. With your newfound understanding of the factors that cause these boundaries to change, we can also make some assumptions as to how the 2025 boundaries are likely to look. Well, seeing as there haven’t been any changes to the exam format this year, boundaries are likely to stay close to 2024's numbers.
It seems that the grades are beginning to level out after the impact of the post-pandemic period. If we look at the top grades (A*-A), they increased slightly from 26.5% in 2023 to 27.6% in 2024. So, while the boundaries won’t be set until the papers have been corrected, we can only assume that this slow upward trend is to continue this year.
We’ll just have to wait and see how challenging this paper ends up being, and how students perform across the board. While knowing exactly what your goals are will help you achieve them in the subject, don’t let it distract you from your preparation. Keeping your focus on your study timetable and past chemistry papers will ensure that you end up on the highest grade boundary, whatever that might be.
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