UK grading system
The UK has three main scales: degree classes at university, from a First (best) down to a Third (40%, the lowest honours pass), and GCSE and A level grades at school. GCSE grades: 9 to 1, lowest pass 4. A level grades: A* to E, lowest pass E.
Example · United Kingdom · Degree classes
Upper second-class honours
A pass: 60–69% of the marks. Third is the lowest pass.
US reading: A−/B+ in Wikipedia’s table. The school you apply to decides how it reads your grades.
Degree classes: First to Third
Bachelor's honours degrees and integrated master's degrees at UK universities. Each university sets its own boundaries; the marks shown are the conventional ones.
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | first-class honours | 70–100% | Pass |
| 2:1 | upper second-class honours | 60–69% | Pass |
| 2:2 | lower second-class honours | 50–59% | Pass |
| Third | third-class honours | 40–49% | Pass |
| Fail | no honours; an ordinary (pass) degree may still be awarded | 0–39% | Fail |
GCSE grades: 9 to 1
GCSEs in England since 2017, and GCSEs from the English exam boards taken elsewhere in the UK; Wales and Northern Ireland grade their own GCSEs A* to G. Grade 4 is the “standard pass”, level with the bottom of the old grade C, and grade 5 the “strong pass”.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | highest grade (top of the old A*) | Pass |
| 8 | like an old A* | Pass |
| 7 | like an old A | Pass |
| 6 | like an old B | Pass |
| 5 | strong pass (like a high C) | Pass |
| 4 | standard pass (like a low C) | Pass |
| 3 | below a standard pass (like a D or high E) | Fail |
| 2 | below a standard pass (like a low E or F) | Fail |
| 1 | lowest grade (like a G) | Fail |
| U | ungraded: no certificate | Fail |
A level grades: A* to E
A levels, the post-16 qualifications taken after GCSEs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The A* grade was added in 2010; AS levels are graded A to E without it.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| A* | highest grade; 56 UCAS tariff points | Pass |
| A | 48 UCAS tariff points | Pass |
| B | 40 UCAS tariff points | Pass |
| C | 32 UCAS tariff points | Pass |
| D | 24 UCAS tariff points | Pass |
| E | lowest pass; 16 UCAS tariff points | Pass |
| U | ungraded: below grade E | Fail |
Your A levels, AS levels, EPQ, BTEC, IB subjects or Scottish Highers in UCAS points, and the grades a points offer asks for: the UCAS points calculator.
UK grades in US terms
Wikipedia’s table reads the degree classes on the US scale as below. It is one convention, not a rule: each US university, or the credential evaluation service it names, makes its own conversion, so the school you apply to decides what your grades are worth. The rows are the US–UK Fulbright Commission's equivalents as Wikipedia prints them, from a chart Fulbright calls unofficial; it gives a 2:1 as 3.33–3.67 grade points and an ordinary (pass) degree as a C, 2.00.
| UK grade | US letter | US grade points |
|---|---|---|
| First | A | 4.00 |
| 2:1 | A−/B+ | |
| 2:2 | B | 3.00 |
| Third | C+ | 2.30 |
What to know about grades in the United Kingdom
- A degree class rests on a weighted average of module marks, usually with later years counting more and the first year often not at all.
- Most UK master's courses ask for at least a 2:1.
- Taught master's degrees are not classed but graded Distinction (typically 70% and above), Merit (60–69%) and Pass (50–59%).
- GCSE grades 3 to 1 still earn a GCSE, at Level 1 rather than Level 2, but fall below the standard pass that sixth forms and employers usually ask for.
- Scotland has its own exams: National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses are graded A to D, where a D (40–49%) still awards the course and a mark below 40% is “No Award”.
Sources: Wikipedia, Academic grading in the United Kingdom; Wikipedia, Grading systems by country: United Kingdom; Wikipedia, British undergraduate degree classification; Wikipedia, GCSE: grades and tiering; Wikipedia, A-level (United Kingdom): grading; Wikipedia, UCAS Tariff; Ofqual, GCSE 9 to 1 grade scale explained; Department for Education, Secondary accountability measures: 2025 guidance; Qualifications Scotland (SQA), Results; Wikipedia, British undergraduate degree classification.