Edexcel GCSE History Summer 2024 grade boundaries

Improving the student experience

Following the Summer 2023 exam series we carried out a comprehensive review of our assessments and introduced some minor changes to improve the exam experience for students. Whilst many of these changes come into effect for first assessment Summer 2025, we saw some notable improvements to papers this Summer:

• Removal of the Level 2 stimulus points cap in mark schemes.
• Additional review of the Summer 2024 papers to improve the clarity of questions and ensure stimulus points are as accessible as possible to a wide range of students.

Following this Summer’s exams, we ran surveys with Edexcel GCSE History teachers and students and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

• 80% of teachers surveyed either strongly agreed or agreed that overall, they were satisfied with the May/June 2024 papers.
• 87% of teachers surveyed either strongly agreed or agreed that overall, their students were satisfied with the May/June 2024 papers.
• 98% of teachers surveyed told us there were questions that provided sufficient challenge for the most able students.
• 63% of students surveyed either strongly agreed or agreed that exam questions were clear and easy to understand.
• 64% of students surveyed either strongly agreed or agreed that exam questions gave them a chance to show what they had learnt.

We will share more details from these surveys, together with in depth analysis on question performance in our Summer 2024 exam insights event this Autumn.

Our approach to grading in Summer 2024

Since 2023, exam boards have returned to pre-pandemic grading and the outcomes of the GCSE History award this Summer are in line with last year’s results. This was the required approach that all exam boards have taken and decisions about grade boundaries are made using a combination of statistical evidence and the quality of student work at key judgmental boundaries. Grade boundaries are set to reflect any differences in both the demand of the question papers and the ability of the cohort. We award different boundaries for each option which means we can adjust them for any differences in the level of demand and award grades which accurately reflect student performance.

This Summer’s question papers were found to be more accessible to students, particularly at grade 4 and on several topics across Paper 2. Mean marks were up across several options compared to Summer 2023 and it was also pleasing to see more consistent performance across all topics, reflecting the positive feedback received in post-exam surveys. When viewing grade boundaries from this Summer, teachers may therefore notice that some grade boundaries are higher in Summer 2024 compared to last year. It is important to understand that increased grade boundaries mean that students have been able to access more of the marks on a paper and, in the case of Paper 2, we are pleased to see this improved performance meaning it is more in line with the other papers.

How to find Summer 2024 grade boundaries

Summer 2024 grade boundaries are available on our website from results day. In addition to the official grade boundaries that are produced at subject level, we also provide notional grade boundaries at paper level.

This table summarises the two different types of grade boundaries documents:

Paper 2 paper codes

The Paper 2 notional boundaries are provided for each combination of period study and British depth study. The paper codes for each set of notional boundaries are as follows:

The Paper 1 and 3 codes match the specification (papers 10-13 for Paper 1 and 30-33 for Paper 3).

Paper 2 notional grade boundaries

The notional grade boundaries for paper 2 cover both the Period study and British depth study so we don’t normally provide separate notional boundaries for each Paper 2 topic eg Superpower Relations. However, in response to feedback from teachers we have decided to provide individual topic-specific notional grade boundaries for Paper 2 topics to help explain how each paper performed. The following boundaries are estimates based on the professional judgment of our senior examining team and are not displayed on official/formal results documentation.

Paper 2B British Depth Study estimated boundaries

Paper 2P Period Study estimated boundaries

Please remember that these are estimated boundaries and as with any notional grade boundaries, they do not always add up to the overall subject level boundaries because some are set arithmetically and have to be rounded to whole numbers. In addition, grade 9 boundaries are set at qualification level based on the proportion of students achieving grade 7 so these boundaries should also be treated with some caution. We are simply providing them to help you to understand how individual papers have performed and to help you mark and grade future mocks.

How do the GCSE History papers add up to make a total subject mark?

• GCSE History Paper 1 has a total raw mark of 52 and is weighted at precisely 30.9524% of the qualification.
• GCSE History Paper 2 has a total raw mark of 64 and is weighted at precisely 38.0952% of the qualification.
• GCSE History Paper 3 has a total raw mark of 52 and is weighted at precisely 30.9524% of the qualification.
• The total GCSE raw mark is therefore a mark of 168.
• Your students’ marks on GCSE Papers 1, 2 and 3 are simply added together to give the total subject mark out of 168.

The overall grade boundaries are presented as marks out of 168 and the notional boundaries are presented as marks out of 52 (Papers 1 and 3) and 64 (Paper 2). Estimated boundaries for individual Paper 2 topics are also provided.

Summer 2024 grade statistics

In addition to grade boundaries you can also download provisional statistics showing the percentage outcomes at qualification level from our website:

More detailed global statistical data can be found using ResultsPlus and we will make this available on our website in early September. We will provide you with a more in-depth analysis and explanation of grading and paper performance in our Summer 2024 exam insights event this Autumn.

Find further results day support and guidance

Access key information and guidance for the Summer 2024 results period for GCSE, International GCSE and A level History, including key dates, details of post-results services and grade boundaries.

Thank you for your support

On behalf of the Pearson Edexcel History team, we want to thank everyone in schools and colleges for your dedication in supporting students and helping to make sure they achieve the grades they deserve. We hope you and your students have enjoyed well-deserved break and wish you success on results day. If you have any further questions, please email our History Subject Advisor, Mark Battye, at teachinghistory@pearson.com