Edexcel GCSE Literature Grade Boundaries

Important note

Grade boundaries change every year 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 Pearson Edexcel website for the most up-to-date boundaries after results day.

The total number of marks across both papers is 160. Paper 1 (Shakespeare and Post-1914 Literature) is worth 50% (80 marks) and Paper 2 (19th-Century Novel, Poetry Anthology, and Unseen Poetry) is worth 50% (80 marks). Your raw marks from both papers are combined to produce your overall grade. Below are the approximate boundaries from recent exam series:

Grade	June 2023	June 2024	June 2025	Approx. %
9	132	134	136	~84%
8	116	118	120	~74%
7	100	102	104	~64%
6	84	86	88	~54%
5	68	70	72	~44%
4	53	55	57	~34%
3	38	40	42	~25%
2	24	25	26	~16%
1	10	10	11	~6%

Note: These boundaries are approximate and based on publicly available Pearson Edexcel data. The “Approx. %” column shows roughly what percentage of the total 160 marks you need.