Academic grading in the United Kingdom

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Below-degree grading in the United Kingdom is not the same everywhere. England, Wales and Northern Ireland share a common approach for most secondary qualifications, while Scotland uses its own system.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland (secondary qualifications)

- GCSEs (taken around ages 14–16)
- England uses a numeric scale from 9 (highest) down to 1 (lowest). A passing grade is 4 or higher.
- Wales and Northern Ireland use letter grades A* to G (with A* the top grade). In Northern Ireland, a C* grade was added in 2019 to align with England’s level 5.
- Some GCSE components (such as English Language Spoken) are reported as Pass, Merit, Distinction or Unclassified (U if not passed).
- Below grade G or 1 is labeled Unclassified (U). In general, C roughly equals a 4, A roughly equals a 7, and 8 is about an A* in the older system.

- A‑levels and AS‑levels (post-16)
- A‑levels are graded A* to E, with U for ungraded. The A* grade was introduced in 2010.
- AS‑levels (taken earlier) used to count for part of an A‑level; since 2017 they count differently (AS is worth about 40% of the A‑level).
- An AS‑level does not have an A* grade.

- Other standards
- International Foundation Year (2015 onward) uses a 7‑point scale: A, A−, B+, B−, C+, C−, D, F (F = Fail).

Scotland

- National qualifications structure (high school around ages 15–18)
- National 4 and National 5 are taken in S4 (about age 15–16). In some schools top students may study National 5 in S3, but exams aren’t always taken.
- National 4 is not graded with letters; it is pass/fail. If grades are shown, each grade is divided into bands, but these bands are not shown on certificates.
- National 5 is graded A to C with sub-bands (A can be bands 1–2, B can be bands 3–4, etc.). The exact bands aren’t usually shown on CVs.
- National 4 is considered equivalent to the old Standard Grade General, and National 5 is roughly equivalent to Standard Grade Credit.
- Highers and Advanced Highers are higher-level exams that remain part of the system, with Highers at a level similar to the traditional “college entrance” standard and Advanced Highers at a higher level.
- The required pass marks for each grade can change from year to year depending on performance standards.