What are the AQA AS Grade Boundaries in 2022 and Why They Matter
Grade boundaries set by AQA are the minimum number of marks you need to score in your AS exam to achieve a certain grade. The grade boundaries change for every exam series, so they will be different in 2022 than they were in previous years. Grade boundaries are set after your AQA AS exams have been marked, so you won’t know the exact grade boundaries for the 2022 exams before you take them.
This article will provide you with the grade boundaries for AQA AS 2022, help you interpret them, and provide tools to help you succeed in your exams.
| Subject | Year | Maximum Mark | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology AS | 2022 | 150 | - | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 | 30 |
| Business AS | 2022 | 160 | - | 109 | 94 | 79 | 64 | 49 |
| Chemistry AS | 2022 | 160 | - | 111 | 92 | 74 | 56 | 38 |
| Computer Science AS Opt A (c#) | 2022 | 150 | - | 102 | 86 | 70 | 55 | 40 |
| Computer Science AS Opt B (java) | 2022 | 150 | - | 102 | 86 | 70 | 55 | 40 |
| Computer Science AS Opt D (python) | 2022 | 150 | - | 102 | 86 | 70 | 55 | 40 |
| Computer Science AS Opt E (vb.net) | 2022 | 150 | - | 102 | 86 | 70 | 55 | 40 |
| Economics AS | 2022 | 140 | - | 96 | 84 | 72 | 60 | 49 |
| English Language AS | 2022 | 140 | - | 106 | 90 | 74 | 59 | 44 |
| English Literature A AS | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 57 | 48 | 39 | 30 |
| English Literature B AS Opt AA | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 25 |
| English Literature B AS Opt AB | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 57 | 47 | 38 | 29 |
| English Literature B AS Opt BA | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 23 |
| English Literature B AS Opt BB | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 57 | 47 | 37 | 27 |
| French AS Teacher Option | 2022 | 200 | - | 155 | 132 | 109 | 87 | 65 |
| French AS Visitor Option | 2022 | 200 | - | 155 | 132 | 109 | 87 | 65 |
| Further Maths AS Opt DS | 2022 | 160 | - | 119 | 102 | 85 | 68 | 51 |
| Further Maths AS Opt MD | 2022 | 160 | - | 120 | 103 | 86 | 69 | 52 |
| Further Maths AS Opt SM | 2022 | 160 | - | 123 | 104 | 85 | 66 | 48 |
| Geography AS | 2022 | 160 | - | 98 | 86 | 74 | 62 | 51 |
| German AS Teacher Option | 2022 | 200 | - | 133 | 109 | 85 | 61 | 37 |
| German AS Visitor Option | 2022 | 200 | - | 133 | 109 | 85 | 61 | 37 |
| History AS Opt AA | 2022 | 100 | - | 58 | 49 | 41 | 33 | 25 |
| History AS Opt AB | 2022 | 100 | - | 61 | 52 | 43 | 34 | 26 |
| History AS Opt AE | 2022 | 100 | - | 65 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 25 |
| History AS Opt AM | 2022 | 100 | - | 64 | 54 | 44 | 34 | 24 |
| History AS Opt AS | 2022 | 100 | - | 65 | 55 | 45 | 36 | 27 |
| History AS Opt CG | 2022 | 100 | - | 62 | 51 | 40 | 30 | 20 |
| History AS Opt CJ | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 54 | 42 | 31 | 20 |
| History AS Opt CL | 2022 | 100 | - | 63 | 52 | 41 | 31 | 21 |
| History AS Opt CN | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 25 |
| History AS Opt CO | 2022 | 100 | - | 63 | 52 | 41 | 30 | 19 |
| History AS Opt CP | 2022 | 100 | - | 64 | 53 | 42 | 31 | 20 |
| History AS Opt CQ | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 56 | 45 | 34 | 23 |
| History AS Opt CR | 2022 | 100 | - | 64 | 53 | 42 | 32 | 22 |
| History AS Opt DG | 2022 | 100 | - | 65 | 54 | 43 | 32 | 21 |
| History AS Opt DJ | 2022 | 100 | - | 69 | 57 | 45 | 33 | 21 |
| History AS Opt DL | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 22 |
| History AS Opt DN | 2022 | 100 | - | 69 | 58 | 47 | 36 | 26 |
| History AS Opt DO | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 54 | 42 | 31 | 20 |
| History AS Opt DP | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 55 | 43 | 32 | 21 |
| History AS Opt DQ | 2022 | 100 | - | 70 | 58 | 46 | 35 | 24 |
| History AS Opt DR | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 56 | 45 | 34 | 23 |
| History AS Opt FG | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 54 | 42 | 30 | 18 |
| History AS Opt FJ | 2022 | 100 | - | 70 | 57 | 44 | 31 | 18 |
| History AS Opt FL | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 55 | 43 | 31 | 19 |
| History AS Opt FN | 2022 | 100 | - | 70 | 58 | 46 | 34 | 23 |
| History AS Opt FO | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 54 | 41 | 29 | 17 |
| History AS Opt FP | 2022 | 100 | - | 68 | 55 | 42 | 30 | 18 |
| History AS Opt FQ | 2022 | 100 | - | 71 | 58 | 45 | 33 | 21 |
| History AS Opt FR | 2022 | 100 | - | 68 | 56 | 44 | 32 | 20 |
| History AS Opt GG | 2022 | 100 | - | 62 | 51 | 40 | 29 | 18 |
| History AS Opt GJ | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 54 | 42 | 30 | 18 |
| History AS Opt GL | 2022 | 100 | - | 63 | 52 | 41 | 30 | 19 |
| History AS Opt GN | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 23 |
| History AS Opt GO | 2022 | 100 | - | 63 | 51 | 39 | 28 | 17 |
| History AS Opt GP | 2022 | 100 | - | 64 | 52 | 40 | 29 | 18 |
| History AS Opt GQ | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 55 | 43 | 32 | 21 |
| History AS Opt GR | 2022 | 100 | - | 64 | 53 | 42 | 31 | 20 |
| History AS Opt HA | 2022 | 100 | - | 60 | 50 | 41 | 32 | 23 |
| History AS Opt HB | 2022 | 100 | - | 63 | 53 | 43 | 33 | 24 |
| History AS Opt HE | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 56 | 45 | 34 | 23 |
| History AS Opt HM | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 22 |
| History AS Opt HS | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 56 | 45 | 35 | 25 |
| History AS Opt JG | 2022 | 100 | - | 65 | 53 | 41 | 30 | 19 |
| History AS Opt JJ | 2022 | 100 | - | 69 | 56 | 43 | 31 | 19 |
| History AS Opt JL | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 54 | 42 | 31 | 20 |
| History AS Opt JN | 2022 | 100 | - | 69 | 57 | 46 | 35 | 24 |
| History AS Opt JO | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 54 | 42 | 30 | 18 |
| History AS Opt JP | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 55 | 43 | 31 | 19 |
| History AS Opt JQ | 2022 | 100 | - | 70 | 58 | 46 | 34 | 22 |
| History AS Opt JR | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 55 | 43 | 32 | 21 |
| History AS Opt KA | 2022 | 100 | - | 59 | 49 | 40 | 31 | 22 |
| History AS Opt KB | 2022 | 100 | - | 62 | 52 | 42 | 32 | 23 |
| History AS Opt KE | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 22 |
| History AS Opt KM | 2022 | 100 | - | 65 | 54 | 43 | 32 | 21 |
| History AS Opt KS | 2022 | 100 | - | 66 | 55 | 44 | 34 | 24 |
| History AS Opt LA | 2022 | 100 | - | 61 | 51 | 41 | 32 | 23 |
| History AS Opt LB | 2022 | 100 | - | 64 | 54 | 44 | 34 | 24 |
| History AS Opt LE | 2022 | 100 | - | 68 | 56 | 45 | 34 | 23 |
| History AS Opt LM | 2022 | 100 | - | 67 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 22 |
| History AS Opt LS | 2022 | 100 | - | 68 | 57 | 46 | 35 | 25 |
| Mathematics AS | 2022 | 160 | - | 92 | 76 | 60 | 45 | 30 |
| Physics AS | 2022 | 140 | - | 72 | 61 | 50 | 39 | 29 |
| Psychology AS | 2022 | 144 | - | 94 | 81 | 68 | 55 | 43 |
| Religious Studies AS Opt A | 2022 | 180 | - | 129 | 107 | 85 | 64 | 43 |
| Religious Studies AS Opt B | 2022 | 180 | - | 130 | 108 | 86 | 64 | 43 |
| Religious Studies AS Opt D | 2022 | 180 | - | 130 | 108 | 86 | 64 | 43 |
| SOCIOLOGY AS | 2022 | 120 | - | 77 | 67 | 57 | 47 | 37 |
| Spanish AS Teacher Option | 2022 | 200 | - | 147 | 124 | 101 | 78 | 56 |
| Spanish AS Visitor Option | 2022 | 200 | - | 147 | 124 | 101 | 78 | 56 |
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What is the best way to prepare for your AS AQA exam?
The best way to prepare for your AQA AS exam is to start your revision early. Begin with a list of topics for all your AS courses and highlight the ones you are the most unsure about. Create a revision timetable with short periods of focus, giving the most time to these topics.
Ideally, you will want to revise all the topics for each subject, but often there just isn’t time. Prioritising topics will help you make the best use of the time you do have, and will give you the biggest increase in marks for your AS exams.
Use revision notes to revise AQA AS content. Flashcards are a great tool to practice recall, reinforce key concepts and boost memory retention. Then use exam questions to test your understanding and identify any areas that you are still unsure of.
It is also super helpful to use 2022 AQA AS past exam papers to practice your exam technique. Set a timer for the amount of time allowed for your AQA AS exam, and sit the paper under exam conditions. This will help you to manage your time more effectively. It will also help increase your exam stamina! It is difficult to concentrate and to write for extended periods, so you need to practice this before the big day.
How to interpret 2022 grade boundaries for AQA AS exams
Grade boundaries are established by exam boards such as AQA to reflect student performance in any given year. It is important to understand that the AS grade boundaries are set after the AS exams have been marked.
A variety of methods are used to ensure the grade boundaries are set fairly. Statistical analysis and examiner judgement are used to ensure the grade boundaries are fair and consistent with previous years.
Each AS exam paper is different, so the level of difficulty of the paper as a whole can fluctuate slightly from year to year. For example, if an entire cohort of students finds an exam paper particularly difficult, the grade boundary is lowered slightly so that students are not unfairly penalised.
Looking at the AQA AS grade boundaries for previous years can help you get an idea of the marks you need in 2022 to achieve the grade you want. With this information and your AQA AS past paper scores, you can get an idea of the grade you are currently working at. You will be able to see how many marks you would have needed to get the higher grade. Armed with this information and an effective revision process, you can successfully work to increase your grade.
A word of caution. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the AQA AS grade boundaries were lowered to minimise the disadvantage faced by students who missed school due to lockdowns. Therefore, the grade boundaries for the AQA AS years 2020 to 2022 will not be representative of other years.
AQA AS grade boundaries from other years
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