Cambridge IGCSE English Language

Grade Boundaries

Historical grade boundaries for Core and Extended tiers, what each grade looks like in practice, and targeted strategies for reaching the next level.

Important note

Grade boundaries change every exam series based on the difficulty of the papers and the performance of the whole cohort. The boundaries below are from recent exam series and are provided as a guide only. Your actual grade boundary may be slightly higher or lower. Always check the official Cambridge website for the most up-to-date boundaries after results day.

Cambridge IGCSE English Language has two tiers, and the tier you sit determines which grades are available to you:

Extended Tier

Paper 2 (Reading) + Paper 4 (Directed Writing & Composition)

Grades available: A* – G (or 9–1 for the 9–1 grading variant)
Maximum combined mark: 160
More challenging reading passages and questions
Required if targeting grade A* or A
Most international schools enter students for Extended

Core Tier

Paper 1 (Reading) + Paper 3 (Directed Writing & Composition)

Grades available: C – G (or 4–1 for the 9–1 grading variant)
Maximum combined mark: 120
More accessible reading passages
Maximum achievable grade is C
Suitable for students who find the Extended paper too demanding

If you are unsure which tier you are sitting, check with your teacher. The tier is decided before the exam, not after.

The total number of marks across Paper 2 and Paper 4 is 160. Your raw marks from both papers are combined to produce your overall grade. Below are approximate boundaries from recent exam series:

Series	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
Jun 2024	135	122	109	96	78	60	42	24
Mar 2024	133	120	107	94	76	58	40	22
Nov 2023	131	118	105	92	74	56	38	20
Jun 2023	132	119	106	93	75	57	39	21
Mar 2023	130	117	104	91	73	55	37	19
Nov 2022	128	115	102	89	71	53	35	17

Marks shown are the minimum total marks required to achieve each grade. For example, in June 2024, a total of 135 out of 160 was needed for an A*.

84%+

Exceptional performance across all components

76%+

Strong, confident responses with good analysis

68%+

Good understanding with some strong analysis

60%+

Sound understanding of the basics

These are approximate ranges based on recent trends. The actual percentages vary depending on the difficulty of each paper and overall candidate performance.

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