British (UK)

This page covers grading in schools that follow the English National Curriculum, in the UK and in British international schools. It lists every common scale, from the Early Years Foundation Stage to A-level, and then shows how to build them in MarkBook. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ in places; the GCSE and A-level scales below are the English ones.

The year

Most schools have three terms: Autumn, Spring and Summer. Many secondary schools split each term into two half terms (Term 1A, Term 1B and so on) and take a "data drop" at the end of each one. That gives six checkpoints a year.

The scales

GCSE (England, since 2017): 9 to 1

Grade	Meaning	Old letter (approximate)
9	Highest grade	A* (top)
8		A*
7		A
6		B
5	Strong pass	B / C (top of C)
4	Standard pass	C
3		D / E
2		E / F
1	Lowest pass grade	F / G
U	Ungraded (no grade awarded)	U

The fixed points are: the bottom of grade 7 is the bottom of the old A, the bottom of grade 4 is the bottom of the old C, and the bottom of grade 1 is the bottom of the old G. Grade boundaries in raw marks change every exam series and are set by the exam board.

Legacy GCSE: A* to G

Still used for some international qualifications and older records: A*, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, then U. C was the "pass".

IGCSE

• Cambridge IGCSE: A* to G (U ungraded). In some countries Cambridge also offers a 9–1 version.
• Pearson Edexcel International GCSE: 9 to 1 (U ungraded), the same as the English GCSE.

Check which board and which version each subject uses. A school can run both in the same year.

A-level and AS-level: A* to E

Grade	Notes
A*	A-level only, not AS
A
B
C
D
E	Lowest pass
U	Ungraded

For university entry these grades also carry UCAS tariff points (A-level: A* 56, A 48, B 40, C 32, D 24, E 16).

Key Stage 2 (end of primary, Year 6)

Tests (SATs) in reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling give a scaled score from 80 to 120.

Scaled score	Meaning
80–99	Not met the expected standard
100–109	Met the expected standard
110–120	Met the expected standard with a high score

Teacher assessment (writing, and science) uses three standards:

Code	Meaning
WTS	Working towards the expected standard
EXS	Working at the expected standard
GDS	Working at greater depth within the expected standard

Pupils below WTS are assessed against the pre-key stage standards. Key Stage 1 used the same three codes; KS1 assessment has been optional since 2023–24. Other statutory checks are the Year 1 phonics screening check and the Year 4 multiplication tables check (scored out of 25).

Many schools also use these words in every primary year, often as Below / Expected / Above expected for the age.

EYFS (end of Reception)

Each child is judged against 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs) in 7 areas of learning. For each goal there are only two judgements:

Judgement	Meaning
Expected	Meeting the level of development expected at the end of Reception
Emerging	Not yet reaching the expected level

A child has a Good Level of Development when they reach the expected level in the ELGs of the three prime areas and of literacy and mathematics. During the year many settings track progress with their own scale, for example Emerging, Developing, Secure, Mastery.

Effort and attitude

There is no national scale. Common choices:

Scale	Values
1–4	1 Excellent, 2 Good, 3 Satisfactory, 4 Poor (some schools reverse it, 4 = best)
A–D	A Excellent … D Cause for concern
Words	Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Poor

Working-at, target, predicted and value added

Secondary schools track several grades per subject, all on the same scale:

Grade	What it says	When
Target grade	The grade the pupil should reach, often from prior attainment data (for example FFT estimates)	Set once a year
Working-at / current grade	The grade the pupil works at now	Every data drop
Predicted grade	The grade the teacher expects at the final exam	Every data drop, mainly Years 10–13
Value added	Current or report grade minus target grade, in grade steps	Worked out each data drop

A value added of +1 means one grade above target; −2 means two grades below.

Setting it up in MarkBook: a GCSE secondary school

1. Run the setup wizard

Open the Setup Wizard and pick British secondary. It installs:

• terms: Three terms, each split in two (Term 1A … Term 3B);
• the attainment scale British A–U* (A* 8, A 7, B 6, C 5, D 4, E 3, U 1);
• the judgement scales Effort — Excellent to Poor and Progress — Below / Expected / Above;
• the columns Target Grade, Personalised Target, Current Grade, Report Grade, Effort Grade, VA Grade, Teacher Comment and End of Year Grade.

2. Add the GCSE 9–1 scale

1. Go to Configuration → Assessment → Attainment scales and press Add new attainment scale.
2. Grading type: Label marks. Name: GCSE 9–1.
3. Under Define labels for marks, press Add mark for each row:

Grade	Description	Weight (points)
9	Exceptional	9
8		8
7		7
6		6
5	Strong pass	5
4	Standard pass	4
3		3
2		2
1		1
U	Ungraded	0

Pick a colour per grade. Save.

For A-level, make a second scale A-level A*–E: A* 6, A 5, B 4, C 3, D 2, E 1, U 0. For Cambridge IGCSE A*–G: A* 8, A 7, B 6, C 5, D 4, E 3, F 2, G 1, U 0.

Keep the points one step apart

Value added and averages are worked out in points. The wizard's British A*–U scale gives E 3 and U 1, so a pupil who drops from E to U loses two points, not one. If you keep that scale, change U to 2 or add F and G.

3. Point the grade columns at the right scale

Go to Configuration → Assessment → Markbook Templates → Columns Configurations. Edit Target Grade, Personalised Target, Current Grade, Report Grade and End of Year Grade and set Default attainment scale to GCSE 9–1.

If Key Stage 3 uses a different scale, leave the default and set the scale per subject on the KS3 template instead: open the template, Template content tab, and edit the subject.

4. Effort on a 1–4 scale

1. Configuration → Assessment → Judgement scales → Add judgement scale.
2. Name Effort 1–4, Type Effort, Value type Number.
3. Values: Label Excellent, Numeric 1; Good, 2; Satisfactory, 3; Poor, 4.
4. Edit the Effort Grade column and set Default judgement scale to Effort 1–4.

Teachers then pick 1 to 4 in the grid, and the report prints the number with the words in its legend.

5. Add a predicted grade

1. In Columns Configurations press New value type.
2. Name Predicted Grade, Short label Pred, Data type Grade label, Default attainment scale GCSE 9–1.
3. Where does this column appear? Repeated in every reporting period.
4. Open the template, Template settings tab, and add it to the Reporting period zone with Add column. Press Save value types.

6. Value added

The VA Grade column is already Report Grade minus Target Grade. It shows a signed number (+1, 0, −2). To colour it:

1. Edit VA Grade in Columns Configurations.
2. Under Appearance, turn on Colour-code this column by its value and press Use the value-added preset (−2 … +2).

If you prefer value added from the current grade, open the template, click VA Grade in the Reporting period zone and, on the Advanced tab, write CG - TG with Show as Signed (+2 / −1). See Targets, Effort & Value Added.

7. Show the old letter beside the new number (optional)

1. Create an attainment scale Legacy A*–G as in step 2.
2. Configuration → Assessment → Attainment scales → Scale conversions → New conversion. Source GCSE 9–1, target Legacy A*–G. Map 9 → A*, 8 → A*, 7 → A, 6 → B, 5 → C, 4 → C, 3 → D, 2 → E, 1 → F, U → U. (Grade 1 spans F and G; choose the one your school reports.)
3. On Report Grade, set Also show as to that conversion.

Reports and exports then print "6 (B)". In the grid, the second label appears only when a teacher switches it on in the grid view.

Setting it up for primary and EYFS

Primary (KS1–KS2). Run the wizard with British primary. It installs three terms and the scale Below – Above expected (Blw 1, Exp 2, Abv 3). For KS2 teacher assessment, add an attainment scale KS2 TA: PKS Pre-key stage 0, WTS 1, EXS 2, GDS 3.

Scaled scores do not fit a Number column

Number columns accept 0 to 100, so a scaled score of 105 is refused. Record the test outcome as a grade instead, with a scale KS2 test: NS Not met 1, EXS Met 2, HS High score 3. If you must keep the exact score, write it in a comment column.

EYFS. Run the wizard with Early Years. It makes the seven areas your subjects (called "Areas") and turns on learning outcomes. For the statutory end-of-Reception judgement, add an attainment scale ELG: Emerging 1, Expected 2. Put each Early Learning Goal in a learning outcome framework so it is judged on its own row: see Learning Outcomes Overview.

Worked example

Amira, Year 10, Mathematics, scale GCSE 9–1. Her target grade is 7.

Column	T1A	T1B	T2A
Target Grade (Target area)	7
Current Grade	5	6	6
Predicted Grade	6	7	7
Effort Grade	2	1	2
Report Grade		6
VA Grade		−1 (orange)

The VA Grade at T1B is 6 − 7 = −1: one grade below target. The report prints "6 (B)" if the conversion in step 7 is on.

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