Cambridge IGCSE grade boundaries June 2026: how to read them

What a Cambridge grade threshold table shows

Every Cambridge threshold table has two parts. The first, component grade thresholds, gives the maximum raw mark of each paper and the lowest raw mark that earned each grade on that paper. Grade A* never appears in this part: Cambridge states that A* does not exist at the level of an individual component.

The second part, syllabus grade thresholds, is the one that decides the certificate grade. It lists every combination of components a candidate could sit (Core or Extended, practical or Alternative to Practical, and each variant), the maximum weighted mark for that combination, and the minimum weighted mark for each grade from A* down. Where more than one route is possible, Cambridge awards the best grade available from the components taken.

Thresholds differ from variant to variant because papers differ slightly in difficulty. That is why the same grade can need a different total in Zone 3 and Zone 4, or in the 1 and 2 variants of the same syllabus.

How to find the right numbers in five steps

1. Get the component codes from your child's statement of entry or the school. For June 2026, Cambridge's Zone 4 timetable (UAE, Oman) and Zone 3 timetable (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain) both had Maths 0580 on variant 2 (components 22 and 42). For the sciences, Zone 4 sat variant 2 (22, 42 and 52 or 62) and Zone 3 sat variant 1 (21, 41 and 51 or 61).
2. Open the syllabus page on cambridgeinternational.org and download the grade threshold table for June 2026.
3. In the syllabus grade thresholds section, find the row that matches the combination, for example "22, 42" for Extended Maths or "22, 42, 62" for a science with Alternative to Practical.
4. Ask the school for the component marks. They are on Cambridge International Direct and the component mark report. The statement of results itself shows a percentage uniform mark, which Cambridge says cannot be used with threshold tables.
5. Weight the marks if needed (see below), add them, and compare with the row.

June 2026 syllabus thresholds, Extended route (verified examples)

Source: Cambridge grade threshold tables, June 2026, for 0580, 0610, 0620 and 0625; variants from the June 2026 Zone 3 and Zone 4 timetables. Checked 6 October 2026. Rows with the practical paper (52 or 51) have slightly different thresholds in the same tables.

Weighting: why 160 raw marks become 200

In Maths 0580 the two Extended papers are each out of 100, so the weighted total is simply the raw total. Components 22 and 42 needed 75 and 79 raw marks for an A; together that is 154, exactly the syllabus A threshold.

In the sciences the raw papers add up to 160 (multiple choice 40, theory 80, practical or Alternative to Practical 40), but the syllabus thresholds are out of 200. Multiplying the multiple-choice mark by 1.5 and the theory mark by 1.25, and leaving the practical mark as it is, reproduces Cambridge's own figures. In Biology 22, 42, 62, the component A thresholds were 31, 48 and 34: 31 x 1.5 + 48 x 1.25 + 34 = 140.5, against a published syllabus A threshold of 141.

Do the sum with your child's actual component marks and you will see how far they were from the next grade, and on which paper the marks went.

How tutoring uses threshold tables

Threshold tables are most useful before the exam, not after. A tutor marks a full past paper, converts it with the thresholds for that same series and variant, and tells your child honestly which grade the paper would have earned. Repeating that every few weeks shows whether the gap is closing.

LiveTutor lessons are one to one and 60 minutes long, with tutors who teach the Cambridge syllabus your child sits.