Question 1

What are Edexcel International A-Level History grade boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Edexcel International A-Level History (specification YHI01) 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.

History Units 1-4 each have four topic options (A/B/C/D). The rows above show Option A boundaries for each unit. Boundaries for other options are in the same Pearson International PDF and typically sit within 1-3 marks of Option A.

Question 2

How is A* awarded in Edexcel International A-Level History?

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 History: **International AS (XHI01)**, which combines the AS units into a 200-UMS total, and **International A Level (YHI01)**, 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 History 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 History past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/history) for every board we cover, including Edexcel International.

Question 6

Does Cognito have Edexcel International A-Level History past papers?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Our [A-Level History (Edexcel International) past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/history/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: Depth Study with Sources (option A shown; other options available)Latest	50	39	34	29	25	21
Jun 2025 · Unit 2: Breadth Study with Interpretation (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	31	28	25	22
Jun 2025 · Unit 3: Thematic Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	40	35	30	25	21
Jun 2025 · Unit 4: International Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	30	27	24	21
Jun 2024 · Unit 1: Depth Study with Sources (option A shown; other options available)	50	39	34	29	25	21
Jun 2024 · Unit 2: Breadth Study with Interpretation (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	31	28	25	22
Jun 2024 · Unit 3: Thematic Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	30	27	24	21
Jun 2024 · Unit 4: International Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	30	27	24	21
Jun 2023 · Unit 1: Depth Study with Sources (option A shown; other options available)	50	39	34	29	25	21
Jun 2023 · Unit 2: Breadth Study with Interpretation (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	31	28	25	22
Jun 2023 · Unit 3: Thematic Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	30	27	24	21
Jun 2023 · Unit 4: International Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	34	30	27	24	21
Jun 2022 · Unit 1: Depth Study with Sources (option A shown; other options available)	50	38	33	28	23	18
Jun 2022 · Unit 2: Breadth Study with Interpretation (option A shown; other options available)	50	32	28	25	22	19
Jun 2022 · Unit 3: Thematic Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	30	27	24	21	19
Jun 2022 · Unit 4: International Study (option A shown; other options available)	50	32	28	25	22	19

A-Level History Edexcel International Grade Boundaries

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