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SQA grade boundaries: pass marks by subject and qualification

What percentage mark did students need to pass National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher with a grade C in each subject? Tes explores this year’s grade boundaries
5th August 2025, 2:42pm

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SQA grade boundaries: pass marks by subject and qualification

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Students receiving exam results

In order to attain a C-grade pass this year, what percentage mark did students have to get?

The general expectation is that a candidate should achieve 50 per cent of the marks to attain a C. However, that cut-off point is not set in stone and grade boundaries can be adjusted if, for example, an exam is deemed too easy or too hard.

At National 5, the lowest boundary for a C grade in is 44.8 per cent (physics) and the highest is 58.0 per cent (practical cake craft).

At Higher, the lowest C-grade boundary is 46 per cent (physics) and the highest is 52.5 per cent (administration and IT).

At Advanced Higher, the lowest boundary is 43.1 per cent (biology) and the highest is 52.2 per cent (maths).

Here is what the SQA data shows as the National 5 C-grade cut-off points for 2025 by subject:

Here are the Higher C-grade cut-off points by subject this year:

Here are the Advanced Higher C-grade cut-off points by subject this year:

You can also read about headline trends in today’s SQA data and results, and in another piece, we look at requests for special arrangements during exams.

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