How Many Marks Do You Need to Pass GCSE Maths Foundation Tier?
A grade 4 in GCSE Maths Foundation has averaged 136 marks out of 240 across the last three June series, and a grade 5 has averaged 167. Here is why the boundary...
Across the last three June series, a grade 4 in GCSE Maths Foundation has taken an average of 136 marks out of 240, and a grade 5 an average of 167. That works out at roughly 57% for a standard pass and 69% for a strong pass.
Those are averages, not fixed targets. Boundaries are set after every exam sitting, so the real number shifts each year and each board. Here is why it moves, where it has actually landed, and how to check the exact figure for your child's paper.
Why there's no fixed pass mark
GCSE Maths Foundation is marked out of 240, across three papers of 80 marks each. But the number of marks needed for a grade 4 or grade 5 isn't fixed year to year. It's set after the exam, based on how the whole national cohort performed.
If a paper turns out harder than intended, the boundary drops so the grade distribution stays roughly consistent with previous years. If it's easier, the boundary rises. This is why "how many marks to pass" doesn't have one permanent answer, it depends on the exam board, the tier, and the specific year.
One thing worth knowing: grading returned to pre-pandemic standards in summer 2023. Boundaries from 2020 to 2022 were unusually generous, so any average that includes those years will read lower than what your child actually faces. Every figure on this page uses the June series from 2023 onwards for that reason.
What "pass" actually means at Foundation tier
Foundation tier covers grades 1 to 5. A grade 4 is generally treated as a "standard pass", the level most colleges and employers look for. A grade 5 is a "strong pass", and is what most sixth forms and grammar school sixth forms ask for as a minimum.
Foundation tier caps out at grade 5. If your child is capable of a 6 or above, Higher tier is the one to be sitting, since Foundation makes the top grades structurally unreachable regardless of performance.
The real average marks needed, Foundation tier
Averaging the June 2023, 2024 and 2025 series across AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas in our GCSE Maths Grade Boundaries Tool, here is where Foundation tier boundaries have actually sat out of 240 marks:
| Grade | Marks out of 240 | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 (strong pass) | 167 | 69% |
| Grade 4 (standard pass) | 136 | 57% |
| Grade 3 | 100 | 42% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 27% |
| Grade 1 | 29 | 12% |
To put that in context, in June 2025 the grade 4 boundary was 160 out of 240 on AQA and 144 on Edexcel. The spread between boards in a single year can be more than 15 marks, which is exactly why an average is a planning figure and not a promise. OCR papers are marked out of 300 rather than 240, so compare those on percentage rather than raw marks.
If your child needs the precise current boundary for their exam board, the tool lets you filter by board, year and series and see the exact number rather than an average.
And for Higher tier
If your child is on Higher tier instead, or you're weighing up whether to move them up, the same three June series average out at:
| Grade | Marks out of 240 | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 205 | 85% |
| Grade 8 | 173 | 72% |
| Grade 7 | 141 | 59% |
| Grade 6 | 109 | 45% |
| Grade 5 | 77 | 32% |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 30 | 13% |
Worth noting how much lower a grade 4 sits on Higher tier than on Foundation, 46 marks versus 136. That gap is exactly why the tier decision matters so much, and why it should be based on where your child is genuinely working, not just which tier feels safer. If your child is sitting Higher, we've gone through those numbers properly in how many marks you need to pass GCSE Maths Higher tier.
What actually matters more than the number
Chasing an exact mark count can distract from the more useful question, which topics are actually costing your child marks right now.
A child sitting a mock paper and losing 15 marks spread across five different topics needs a different plan to a child losing the same 15 marks concentrated in one weak area. Knowing the boundary tells you the finish line. It doesn't tell you where the marks are actually being lost.
This is exactly what our mock exam marking service is built for. We mark past papers and mocks and return written feedback showing precisely where marks are dropping and why, so you know whether your child is three marks or thirty marks from their target, and what to actually do about it.
If Foundation feels like a struggle right now
If your child is close to the grade 4 boundary and it feels like a stretch, our GCSE Maths Revision Guide breaks down the Foundation tier content by topic, so you can see exactly what's covered and where to focus first. Our guide to the top topics holding Foundation students back is also worth reading if you want to know where marks are most commonly lost at this tier.
Knowing the mark you need only helps once you know which topics are costing you the ones you are missing. Our Maths Mastery Lessons work through them one topic at a time, and a tutoring programme makes more sense when the shortfall is spread thinly across many topics rather than concentrated in a few.
And if you'd like someone to look at exactly where your child stands right now, rather than working from national averages, book a free consultation and we'll talk through it.
Aadam, SHLC Tutors
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