Question 1

What are Edexcel International A-Level Maths grade boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Edexcel International A-Level Maths (specification YMA01) 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.

Maths students also sit two Applied units (Mechanics, Statistics, or Decision) as part of the full A-Level. The rows above show the four Pure Mathematics units only. Boundaries for Applied units are published in the same Pearson International PDF.

Question 2

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

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 480 out of 600 (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 Maths: **International AS (XMA01)**, which combines the AS units into a 300-UMS total, and **International A Level (YMA01)**, which combines all units (AS + A2) into a 600-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 Maths 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 Maths past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/maths) for every board we cover, including Edexcel International.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

Yes! Our [A-Level Maths (Edexcel International) past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/maths/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 · Pure Mathematics 1 (P1)Latest	75	55	48	41	35	29
Jun 2025 · Pure Mathematics 2 (P2)	75	53	47	41	35	29
Jun 2025 · Pure Mathematics 3 (P3)	75	57	51	45	39	34
Jun 2025 · Pure Mathematics 4 (P4)	75	56	49	42	36	30
Jun 2024 · Pure Mathematics 1 (P1)	75	55	48	42	36	30
Jun 2024 · Pure Mathematics 2 (P2)	75	48	42	37	32	27
Jun 2024 · Pure Mathematics 3 (P3)	75	62	56	50	44	38
Jun 2024 · Pure Mathematics 4 (P4)	75	53	47	41	35	29
Jun 2023 · Pure Mathematics 1 (P1)	75	49	42	36	30	24
Jun 2023 · Pure Mathematics 2 (P2)	75	51	44	37	30	24
Jun 2023 · Pure Mathematics 3 (P3)	75	61	54	47	40	34
Jun 2023 · Pure Mathematics 4 (P4)	75	54	47	40	33	26
Jun 2022 · Pure Mathematics 1 (P1)	75	41	34	27	21	15
Jun 2022 · Pure Mathematics 2 (P2)	75	42	35	28	21	14
Jun 2022 · Pure Mathematics 3 (P3)	75	47	39	31	23	16
Jun 2022 · Pure Mathematics 4 (P4)	75	48	39	30	22	14

A-Level Maths Edexcel International Grade Boundaries

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