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GCSE Maths Mark Calculator
Total your GCSE maths papers against the right mark scale for Edexcel, AQA or Cambridge OCR, and check the margin against a published grade boundary.
The short answer
This calculator totals GCSE Mathematics paper marks against the correct scale for your board — 240 marks at Edexcel and AQA, 300 at Cambridge OCR — and shows the percentage. Enter a published boundary from a past series and it reports the margin against it.
- Total marks
- 0 / 240
- Percentage
- 0.0%
Take this from your board's published grade boundaries for a past series. Boundaries are set fresh each year, so treat it as calibration rather than a prediction.
Not a grade prediction — boundaries are set after each series is marked
Why this does not predict a grade
Grade boundaries are set after each series is marked, and no awarding body publishes them in advance. A tool that turned 142 out of 240 into "that's a grade 6" would be inventing the single number the answer depends on — and families plan around those answers.
What it can do honestly is the arithmetic: total the papers against the right scale, give the percentage, and if you have a boundary from a published past series, report how far above or below it you are.
The mark scales differ by board
Edexcel 1MA1 and AQA 8300 both set three papers of 80 marks, so the qualification totals 240. Cambridge OCR's J560 sets papers of 100 marks, so a candidate sits 300.
This is why raw marks cannot be compared across boards, and why a percentage is the more portable figure of the two.
- Edexcel (1MA1) — 3 papers × 80 marks = 240
- AQA (8300) — 3 papers × 80 marks = 240
- Cambridge OCR (J560) — 3 papers × 100 marks = 300
How to use past boundaries sensibly
Boundaries move between series, sometimes by several marks, in response to how hard that year's papers turned out to be. A student sitting a mark or two above last year's grade 6 boundary is not safely at a 6.
The margin is most useful as a direction of travel across a term's worth of mocks rather than as a verdict on any single paper.
- Total marks at Edexcel (1MA1) and AQA (8300)
- 240Total marks at Edexcel (1MA1) and AQA (8300)[1]
- Total marks at Cambridge OCR (J560), which uses 100-mark papers
- 300Total marks at Cambridge OCR (J560), which uses 100-mark papers[2]
- Boards that publish grade boundaries before a series is marked
- 0Boards that publish grade boundaries before a series is marked
Common questions
What percentage is a grade 4 in GCSE maths?
There is no fixed percentage. Boundaries are set for each series after the papers are marked, so the mark needed for a grade 4 differs from year to year and between boards. Past-series boundaries give a useful range, not a threshold.
How many marks is GCSE maths out of?
240 at Edexcel and AQA — three papers of 80 marks each. Cambridge OCR's J560 uses 100-mark papers, so it totals 300.
Can I compare my mark across exam boards?
Not directly, because the scales differ. Compare percentages rather than raw marks, and remember that boundaries are set separately by each board.
Sources
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Mathematics — specification — Pearson Edexcel
- GCSE (9–1) Mathematics J560 — specification — Cambridge OCR
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