Which A-level exam board is hardest?
AQA asked for the most
73.0%
Questions people ask
Which A-level Maths board is hardest?
No published figure answers that. In June 2026 AQA needed 73.0% of the marks for an A, Edexcel 70.0%, OCR A 69.3% and OCR B (MEI) 68.0%, but a higher boundary means candidates scored higher on those papers, not that the A was harder.
Why are chemistry grade boundaries so high?
Boundaries follow how candidates score on each year's papers. In June 2026 AQA Chemistry needed 85.0% for an A* and OCR A Chemistry 86.7%, while AQA Biology needed 76.5%. Papers that most candidates score well on get high boundaries.
Can I switch boards to get a better grade?
The boundaries alone cannot tell you. Your school chooses the board, and each board's papers and candidates differ.
What percentage get an A* in A-level Maths?
In June 2026, 13.3% of AQA's 15,743 Maths candidates, 17.1% of Pearson's 79,068 UK candidates and 25.1% of OCR A's 7,151 candidates got A*. Those groups of candidates differ, so the shares are not a difficulty ranking either.
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How we work this out
What it does
AQA, Edexcel and OCR boundaries as a share of the marks, with how many candidates got each grade.
The 21 current A-level specifications in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology from AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR, each June from 2017 (Pearson from 2018), with grade shares from each board's results statistics where published.
Method
- Divide each board's qualification boundary by its own maximum mark, because maxima differ (for example 300 for AQA Maths, 275 for OCR MEI Maths, 360 for OCR MEI Further Maths).
- Where a specification has optional routes, show the lowest and highest route rather than an average.
- Show beside it the share of the board's candidates who got that grade or higher, from its published results statistics.
- Where a board's boundary is a range of percentages, the one figure shown is its middle.
Published figures
Every board side by side, June 2026
Boundary as a share of each specification’s own maximum, and the share of candidates who got A*. Neither is a measure of difficulty.
| Subject and specification | A* boundary | A boundary | Got A* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maths: AQA 7357 | 86.7% | 73.0% | 13.3% |
| Maths: Edexcel 9MA0 | 84.7% | 70.0% | 17.1% (UK) |
| Maths: OCR A H240 | 83.3% | 69.3% | 25.1% |
| Maths: OCR B (MEI) H640 | 81.1% | 68.0% | 26% |
| Further Maths: AQA 7367 | 78.7% to 80.0% | 66.3% to 67.7% | 26% |
| Further Maths: Edexcel 9FM0 | 87.3% to 91.7% | 78.7% to 83.7% | 27.8% (UK) |
| Further Maths: OCR A H245 | 78.3% to 81.0% | 66.7% to 69.7% | 34.7% |
| Further Maths: OCR B (MEI) H645 | 72.5% to 81.7% | 60.8% to 70.6% | 31.7% |
| Physics: AQA 7408 | 74.4% to 76.4% | 62.8% to 64.8% | 11.2% |
| Physics: Edexcel 9PH0 | 79.7% | 71.7% | 11.9% (UK) |
| Physics: OCR A H556 | 76.7% | 65.9% | 10.9% |
| Physics: OCR B (Advancing Physics) H557 | 79.6% | 68.5% | 13.8% |
| Chemistry: AQA 7405 | 85.0% | 73.3% | 9% |
| Chemistry: Edexcel 9CH0 | 82.0% | 70.7% | 12.8% (UK) |
| Chemistry: OCR A H432 | 86.7% | 74.1% | 8.5% |
| Chemistry: OCR B (Salters) H433 | 83.7% | 73.3% | 7.7% |
| Biology: AQA 7402 | 76.5% | 66.9% | 8.9% |
| Biology: Edexcel B 9BI0 | 72.7% | 63.0% | 12.3% (UK) |
| Biology: Edexcel A (Salters-Nuffield) 9BN0 | 73.3% | 65.3% | 8.8% (UK) |
| Biology: OCR A H420 | 75.6% | 65.2% | 9.1% |
| Biology: OCR B (Advancing Biology) H422 | 71.5% | 64.1% | 19.2% |