A-Level Grade Calculator

A-level grades range from A* to E, with grade boundaries set by exam boards after marking. Most A-levels consist of two or three exam papers, each carrying a different weighting, and some subjects add non-exam assessment in the form of coursework, practical endorsements or portfolios. Pick the grade you expect in each A-level and the calculator adds up your UCAS Tariff points, picks out your best three grades and shows where the total sits against typical university offers.

Grade boundaries are set each year to reflect how the cohort performed, are published on results day and are often far below round percentages: in June 2025 an A in AQA Chemistry needed 197 out of 300 (66%) and an A* 239 (80%), while an A* in AQA Physics needed 184 out of 250 (74%). AS-levels are a separate qualification, worth 40% of a full A-level on the UCAS Tariff.

Uniform Mark Scale was used by legacy specifications to standardise marks across different exam sessions. Current linear A-levels do not use UMS, since grades come from raw marks measured against boundaries set fresh each year. To turn paper marks into a likely grade, compare your total with last year's boundaries from AQA, Edexcel, OCR or WJEC, bearing in mind that they move every year.

Grades convert to UCAS Tariff points at 56 for an A*, 48 for an A, 40 for a B, 32 for a C, 24 for a D and 16 for an E. AS-levels score 20, 16, 12, 10 and 6 from A down to E. A BTEC Extended Diploma at D*D*D* is worth 168 points, roughly three A* grades, with DDD at 144 and MMM at 96. Scottish Highers score 33, 27 and 21 at A, B and C, and the Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate is worth 56 at A* and 48 at A. This page covers A-levels only; to add AS-levels, BTECs or the EPQ, use the UCAS points calculator.

Universities read those totals against their own bands. Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL and Imperial usually sit at 152 to 168 points, which is A*AA up to A*A*A*, with Medicine typically at A*AA, Law between AAA and A*AA, and Maths or Physics requiring an A* in the subject itself. Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds want 128 to 144, or ABB to AAA, while Bath Spa and Manchester Met sit at 96 to 112, CCC to BBC. Course-specific requirements settle the matter, and a points total on its own guarantees nothing.

Schools produce predicted grades for UCAS applications, and research by UCL found that most predicted grades turn out higher than the grades students actually get. Universities make conditional offers on those predictions and then check them against the real results, so missing the conditions can cost you the firm offer. That is the reason the insurance choice is normally set one or two grades lower. Beating your predictions no longer triggers Adjustment, which UCAS scrapped in 2022; a student holding an unconditional firm offer can instead use 'Decline my place' to release themselves into Clearing.

Clearing runs from early July (2 July in 2026) to October. On results day, a Thursday in mid-August (13 August in 2026), applications can be viewed from 8am and Clearing choices can be added from 1pm. Applicants phone universities directly, the lines are busy and decisions are often wanted within hours, with most places taken inside 24 to 72 hours. Availability leans towards lower-tariff courses, although Russell Group places do surface for high achievers, and the UCAS portal lists what is open at any moment.