In October 2020, an A* in Edexcel A Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) (9BN0) needed 193 marks out of 300 (64%), an A needed 163 (54%) and a pass at E needed 55 (18%). At AS (8BN0), an A needed 97 out of 160 (61%).
All marks below are raw marks from Pearson's published grade boundaries. Your grade comes from your total across the papers; the boundaries for each paper are Pearson's notional component boundaries, a guide to how you did on that paper rather than a separate grade.
There were no summer exams in 2020. Pearson ran an autumn series in October 2020 for students who wanted to sit the papers.
A level (9BN0) grade boundaries, October 2020
| Grade | Marks out of 300 | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| A* | 193 | 64% |
| A | 163 | 54% |
| B | 136 | 45% |
| C | 109 | 36% |
| D | 82 | 27% |
| E | 55 | 18% |
9BN0 grade boundaries by paper, October 2020
| Paper | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (9BN0/01, out of 100) | 70 | 59 | 49 | 39 | 30 | 21 |
| Paper 2 (9BN0/02, out of 100) | 66 | 56 | 46 | 37 | 28 | 19 |
| Paper 3 (9BN0/03, out of 100) | 57 | 48 | 39 | 31 | 23 | 15 |
AS (8BN0) grade boundaries, October 2020
| Grade | Marks out of 160 | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| A | 97 | 61% |
| B | 84 | 52% |
| C | 71 | 44% |
| D | 58 | 36% |
| E | 46 | 29% |
8BN0 grade boundaries by paper, October 2020
| Paper | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (8BN0/01, out of 80) | 49 | 42 | 35 | 29 | 23 |
| Paper 2 (8BN0/02, out of 80) | 48 | 41 | 35 | 29 | 23 |
How to use these grade boundaries
- Sit the October 2020 paper timed, then mark it strictly with the mark scheme.
- Check your raw mark against the boundaries for that paper above to see roughly where you are.
- Read the examiners' report for every question where you dropped marks.
Boundaries move from year to year as papers get harder or easier. See how they compare across every year.
Practise with this series
- Edexcel SNAB past papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports
- Edexcel SNAB grade boundaries for every year
Source: Pearson, grade boundaries, October 2020 (PDF) and notional component grade boundaries, October 2020 (PDF).