AQA GCSE Maths — Past Papers, Mark Schemes, Grade Boundaries & Resources
Every higher tier AQA GCSE Maths past paper and mark scheme, plus grade boundaries by year — collected and kept up to date by Kevin Holdstock, a full-time private maths tutor for 14 years.
Studying for this course? See how weekly tuition works →
Starting A-Level Maths in September? See what to do next →
What weekly tuition looks like for GCSE Maths
I'm Kevin. I've been a full-time private maths tutor for 14 years — the first seven travelling house to house, and every year since 2019 entirely online. Lessons are usually one hour a week, always one to one, online and £120 an hour.
Where marks actually get lost
At Higher tier especially, the difference between a 6 and an 8 is rarely about content nobody's taught you — it's method marks left on the table, questions abandoned because they look unfamiliar, and small arithmetic slips under time pressure. Those are fixable, and they're what most of a session goes on.
If you're aiming for the very top grades, I ask every student to work through the CGP grade 8–9 targeted practice book alongside school, at a set pace through to the end of February, with session time going on whatever came up in it.
How I work with GCSE students
Weekly checking on school work
Each week we confirm what was covered in class actually landed, and I set extra practice wherever it didn't. If a topic was taught in a way that didn't click, I'll teach it again, my way.
Exam technique as a taught skill
Laying out working so method marks are there even when the final answer isn't, and knowing which questions to leave and come back to. Most students have never been shown this explicitly.
Building toward A-Level, if that's next
If you're likely to take Maths at A-Level, we can start bridging the gap in the final few months — the same head start the FSMQ and AQA Level 2 pages talk about, adapted to whatever time is left.
Testimonials
"Our daughter is being home schooled by Kevin for Year 11. Her clarity and confidence have soared with Kevin and she has rediscovered her love of maths. Highly recommended."
Edexcel GCSE, home schooled — awaiting grade
AQA GCSE Maths grade boundaries — Higher tier
Overall qualification boundaries for Higher tier, out of 240 across all three papers, with the percentage in brackets.
Starting A-Level Maths in September? See what to do next →
| Year | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Published 20 August 2026 — added here on results day | ||||||
| 2025 | 219 (91%) | 191 (80%) | 164 (68%) | 130 (54%) | 96 (40%) | 63 (26%) | 46 (19%) |
| 2024 | 219 (91%) | 191 (80%) | 163 (68%) | 129 (54%) | 95 (40%) | 61 (25%) | 44 (18%) |
| 2023 | 214 (89%) | 186 (78%) | 158 (66%) | 125 (52%) | 92 (38%) | 59 (25%) | 42 (18%) |
| 2022 | 194 (81%) | 165 (69%) | 137 (57%) | 104 (43%) | 71 (30%) | 38 (16%) | 21 (9%) |
| 2019 | 206 (86%) | 171 (71%) | 136 (57%) | 105 (44%) | 74 (31%) | 43 (18%) | 27 (11%) |
| 2018 | 201 (84%) | 169 (70%) | 138 (58%) | 107 (45%) | 77 (32%) | 47 (20%) | 32 (13%) |
| 2017 | 189 (79%) | 157 (65%) | 125 (52%) | 98 (41%) | 72 (30%) | 46 (19%) | 33 (14%) |
No exams ran in 2020 or 2021. The 2022 series was graded under transitional post-pandemic arrangements with deliberately more generous boundaries. Boundaries as published by AQA. Official AQA grade boundaries →
What these numbers tell you
Since exams returned to standard grading, the grade 9 boundary has climbed steeply and then held: 81% in 2022, up to 89% in 2023, and 91% in both 2024 and 2025 — a genuinely stable target for two years running. If you're setting a revision goal, 91% is the number to aim for, not the lower figures from 2022 or 2023.
2024 and 2025 are worth noticing together: the grade 9 boundary was identical at 219 marks in both series, and every other grade moved by at most two marks. That's an unusually settled pair of years for this qualification.
One hour a week. One to one. Marks that get found.
Weekly online lessons that find exactly where marks are being lost — method, layout, or content — and fix that specifically, whether you're building toward a top grade or closing a gap for a resit.
£120 per hour