IGCSE Grading System 2026 – Marks, Grades & Evaluation Criteria

IGCSE Grading System Explained

The A*-G grading system for IGCSE qualifications maintains a substantial global presence, being utilised in over 150 countries and within more than 6,000 schools worldwide. Cambridge Assessment International Education awards over one million A*-G grades annually. Notably, while England has largely transitioned to the 9-1 grading scale, students in Wales and Northern Ireland continue to receive A*-G GCSE grades, illustrating a mixed grading landscape across the United Kingdom.

IGCSE Grading System 2025: A* to G (Subject to yearly adjustments)

Cambridge sets annual grade thresholds to ensure fairness across exam sessions. These thresholds may vary year to year based on: Exam difficulty and overall candidate performance.

IGCSE students receive Percentage Uniform Marks to show how they performed compared to others in their grade (top, middle, or bottom). Refer to the table below for the mark ranges per grade.

IGCSE Grade to Percentage Conversion Table

IGCSE Grading System 2025: 9–1 Scale (Rough equivalency )

Adjustments might include lowering thresholds if the exam was harder and raising thresholds if the exam was easier. This ensures grade consistency and fairness across different years and sessions.

Comparison Between A* to G and 1 to 9

The grade boundaries that fluctuate annually are important, reflecting exam difficulty and overall student performance. Additionally, students receive percentage uniform marks, providing a comparative measure of their performance. Furthermore, IGCSE subjects often offer Core and Extended curriculum options; Core caters to students of average ability, grading from C to G, while Extended targets more capable students, grading from A* to E.

Also, read:

• Cambridge IGCSE Curriculum

• Cambridge Advanced Curriculum

• Cambridge admit card 2026

• Cambridge Time Table 2026

University Admissions and IGCSE Grading: A-G vs. 9-1*

Will students applying to university with A*-G IGCSE grades be treated differently from students with 9-1 grades? The answer is no.

Universities have stated that they will treat both grading systems equally. While some UK universities traditionally require a C grade in GCSE Maths and English, the transition to the 9-1 system has introduced some variation.

Some universities will recognise the new grade 5 as equivalent to the traditional C, while others will accept grade 4 as fulfilling the requirement. Therefore, students should consult the specific entry requirements of their chosen universities to clarify which 9-1 grade they receive as an equivalent to the traditional C.