IGCSE · Grading
IGCSE Grades Explained: 9-1 and A*-G
Two scales, both current, both on Hong Kong transcripts. Here is how they line up.
Two grading scales are in use, and Hong Kong students frequently hold both. That produces avoidable confusion, most of it in one direction: parents reading 9-1 grades as though they were percentages or as though 7 were a middling result.
The two scales
A*-G runs A*, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, plus U for ungraded. Eight classified grades.
9-1 runs 9 down to 1, plus U. Nine classified grades, with 9 the highest.
The 9-1 scale was designed to spread the top end. Where A* is one grade, 9-1 separates 7, 8 and 9, so students who would all have received A* can now be distinguished.
| 9-1 | Broadly comparable to |
|---|---|
| 9 | Above A*: awarded to the strongest candidates |
| 8 | Between A* and A |
| 7 | A |
| 6 | High B |
| 5 | Low B / high C, described as a strong pass |
| 4 | C, the standard pass |
| 3 | D / high E |
| 2 and 1 | E, F and G |
These alignments are approximate by design. The two scales are not a lookup table, and the boards do not publish an exact conversion.
What counts as a pass
Grade C, or 4, is the standard pass and the level most sixth forms and employers treat as a threshold. Grade 5 is described as a strong pass.
Worth knowing: D and E are classified grades, not failures. They appear on the certificate and are recognised results. The only unclassified outcome is U.
Selective sixth forms in Hong Kong routinely ask for more than a pass. Requirements of a 6 or 7, or a B or A, in the subject a student wants to continue are common, and higher for the IB Diploma at HL. Check the actual entry requirements of the sixth form you are aiming at rather than working to the pass mark.
Grade boundaries move every session
The mark needed for each grade is set after the papers have been sat and marked, so it changes between sessions and between syllabuses. A paper that was harder than intended gets lower boundaries.
Two practical consequences. First, comparing your child's raw percentage against last year's boundary tells you very little. Second, a student sitting a few marks below a boundary is the standard case for asking the school about a review of results, and the deadlines are short.
The revision implication matters more than either: a handful of marks can cross a boundary, and the cheapest marks are almost always in exam technique rather than in additional content. This is why we spend so much time on how answers are written.
How many IGCSEs, and how much the grades matter later
Most Hong Kong international school students sit eight to ten. More than ten is rarely worth it: universities look at A-Level or IB results, and an eleventh IGCSE costs time that the ones that matter needed.
IGCSE grades do real work in two places. They gate sixth-form subject choices, which is the immediate consequence. And a small number of competitive university courses look back at IGCSE English and Maths, so those two are worth protecting even if a student intends to drop them.
What Hong Kong parents and students say
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7 in IB Maths SL.
My daughter's IGCSE English and Maths both got an A.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 7 a good IGCSE grade?
Yes. A 7 is broadly equivalent to an A. It sounds modest against a scale that runs to 9, which is why it is the most commonly misread grade on an IGCSE transcript.
What is a pass at IGCSE?
A grade C, or 4, is the standard pass, and 5 is described as a strong pass. D and E are classified grades that appear on the certificate rather than failures. Only U is unclassified.
How many IGCSEs should a student take?
Eight to ten is the usual range in Hong Kong international schools. Beyond ten, the marginal subject costs more in time than it adds, since sixth-form and university outcomes depend on what comes next.
Do IGCSE grades matter for university?
Less than A-Level or IB results, with two exceptions. They determine which sixth-form subjects a student can take, and some competitive courses set minimum IGCSE English and Maths requirements.
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