Question 1

What are Edexcel International A-Level Business Studies grade boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Edexcel International A-Level Business Studies (specification YBS11) is a unitised qualification: you sit multiple exam units across two years, not one linear assessment at the end. Each unit has its own raw-mark boundaries per grade, published by Pearson every summer once marking is complete. Because unit UMS totals are fixed proportions of the unit maximum, Pearson publishes both a raw boundary (the actual marks you need on that paper) and a UMS boundary (the uniform-mark-scale equivalent).

The raw boundaries move a little from year to year, because every paper is a slightly different test. The UMS row stays fixed by design: it's calibrated to smooth out paper difficulty across years.

Question 2

How is A* awarded in Edexcel International A-Level Business Studies?

Accepted Answer

A* on International A-Level isn't a single fixed UMS threshold like grades A to E. It's a compound rule with two conditions you have to meet at the same time:

**1. Grade A overall.** Your combined UMS across all units must be at least 320 out of 400 (an A grade at cash-in level).

**2. 90% of UMS on your A2 units.** Your aggregated UMS across the A2 units must be at least 90% of their combined UMS maximum.

Because the second condition is measured on the A2 half only, students who did particularly well on their A2 units are more likely to lift into A*.

Question 3

What does UMS mean and why does the UMS row never change?

Accepted Answer

UMS stands for Uniform Mark Scale. Pearson uses it so that marks from different units and different exam series can be compared fairly. Each unit has a fixed UMS maximum, and the grade boundaries on the UMS row are fixed proportions of that maximum (80 percent for an A, 70 percent for a B, 60 percent for a C, 50 percent for a D, and 40 percent for an E, plus 90 percent for A* on A2 units).

What in fact varies each year is the raw-to-UMS conversion. If a paper turns out more difficult than usual, fewer raw marks convert to the same UMS score. The upshot is that your UMS score reflects your standard of achievement, not the specific paper's difficulty in that series.

Question 4

What's the 'cash-in' row at the bottom of the table?

Accepted Answer

'Cash-in' is Pearson's term for aggregating your unit UMS scores into a single qualification grade. There are two cash-ins for International A-Level Business Studies: **International AS (XBS11)**, which combines the AS units into a 200-UMS total, and **International A Level (YBS11)**, which combines all units (AS + A2) into a 400-UMS total.

The AS cash-in is a standalone qualification you can leave with after year one. The A-Level cash-in is the full qualification. The UMS thresholds at cash-in level are fixed 80/70/60/50/40 percent proportions of the maximum.

Question 5

When are the Edexcel International A-Level Business Studies grade boundaries published?

Accepted Answer

Pearson normally publishes International A-Level grade boundaries at 8am on results day for each series. International A-Level runs both a January and a June exam series each year, with separate boundaries for each. The boundaries land on Pearson's grade boundaries page in a dedicated 'International AS/A Level' PDF.

We update this page shortly after each series is released, so you can look up your unit total against the fresh boundaries and see what grade it would have earned.

Browse [A-Level Business Studies past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/business-studies) for every board we cover, including Edexcel International.

Question 6

Does Cognito have Edexcel International A-Level Business Studies past papers?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Our [A-Level Business Studies (Edexcel International) past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/business-studies/iedexcel/past-papers/by-year) collection is free and has every published unit paper and mark scheme in one place.

For revision, we'd suggest working through unit-by-unit questions in the run-up to your mocks, then saving two or three full timed papers for the last few weeks before your exam.

Series	Max	Grade A	Grade B	Grade C	Grade D	Grade E
Jun 2025 · Unit 1: Marketing and PeopleLatest	80	57	52	47	42	37
Jun 2025 · Unit 2: Managing Business Activities	80	55	50	45	40	36
Jun 2025 · Unit 3: Business Decisions and Strategy	80	45	41	37	33	29
Jun 2025 · Unit 4: Global Business	80	52	46	40	34	29
Jun 2024 · Unit 1: Marketing and People	80	54	49	44	39	35
Jun 2024 · Unit 2: Managing Business Activities	80	54	49	44	39	35
Jun 2024 · Unit 3: Business Decisions and Strategy	80	42	37	33	29	25
Jun 2024 · Unit 4: Global Business	80	48	42	37	32	27
Jun 2023 · Unit 1: Marketing and People	80	60	54	48	43	38
Jun 2023 · Unit 2: Managing Business Activities	80	45	39	34	29	24
Jun 2023 · Unit 3: Business Decisions and Strategy	80	43	38	34	30	26
Jun 2023 · Unit 4: Global Business	80	49	42	36	30	24
Jun 2022 · Unit 1: Marketing and People	80	50	44	38	32	27
Jun 2022 · Unit 2: Managing Business Activities	80	41	35	30	25	20
Jun 2022 · Unit 3: Business Decisions and Strategy	80	41	35	29	23	18
Jun 2022 · Unit 4: Global Business	80	41	35	29	23	17

A-Level Business Studies Edexcel International Grade Boundaries

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