AQA A-Level Computer Science NEA grade boundaries

What are the grade boundaries for the AQA A-Level Computer Science NEA?

They haven't been formally released yet. But looking at past grade boundaries (before Covid!), this is a rough idea:
A* - 68 or 69, A - 63, B - 52, C - 41, D - 31, E - 21
Obviously this could be higher, or it could be lower! I wouldn't worry about it too much & focus on doing well in the papers as this only counts as 20% of your final grade!
Good Luck :smile:

Reply 2

spatel5

Say if you get a B or high C in the course work is it still possible to get an A if you do well on paper 1 and 2.

Reply 3

GonRo

Original post by spatel5

Say if you get a B or high C in the course work is it still possible to get an A if you do well on paper 1 and 2.

You'd have to weigh in the results overall, in the sense that the coursework is probably like 20% or something so mess around with a little math or something to calculate that.

Anyway I'm a Uni student now who apparently got a top of the class A* in my NEA but a C overall. No idea how that happened but take that as you will. (I'm in a good place today regardless and I'm proud of the effort and results I put in for my NEA, even if that means nothing anymore)

Reply 4

vnayak

Original post by spatel5

Say if you get a B or high C in the course work is it still possible to get an A if you do well on paper 1 and 2.

Yes. You can get an A* in Computing without doing the NEA. The whole thing is out of 375 and to get an A star, you need something like 296/375.

Now the chances of you getting that are slim because you only have 4 marks of leeway to mess up. However, if you get a B or a C in the NEA, you have more leeway over what you need.

For my firm offer (Imperial), I only need an A in Computing, which shouldn't be problematic. I reckon I've scored 40-50 on the NEA so 237 - 50 = 187.

I need to score 187/300 which works out as roughly 62%, which I think is achievable. Paper 2 is fine for me but I need to get good with Section D skeleton code. That is the stuff that's messing me up.

Reply 5

vnayak

Original post by spatel5

Say if you get a B or high C in the course work is it still possible to get an A if you do well on paper 1 and 2.

I actually got 63/75 (pre exam board moderation so could change but school tends to be more strict than the exam board so it's only possible for it to go up) so only need 58% for an A now 💪

Reply 6

spatel18

Original post by vnayak

Yes. You can get an A* in Computing without doing the NEA. The whole thing is out of 375 and to get an A star, you need something like 296/375.
Now the chances of you getting that are slim because you only have 4 marks of leeway to mess up. However, if you get a B or a C in the NEA, you have more leeway over what you need.
For my firm offer (Imperial), I only need an A in Computing, which shouldn't be problematic. I reckon I've scored 40-50 on the NEA so 237 - 50 = 187.
I need to score 187/300 which works out as roughly 62%, which I think is achievable. Paper 2 is fine for me but I need to get good with Section D skeleton code. That is the stuff that's messing me up.

i got 54/75 do you think this is good enough to be able to get an A overall.??

Reply 7

vnayak

Original post by spatel18

i got 54/75 do you think this is good enough to be able to get an A overall.??

Congrats! Any ideas how the rest of your set did?

yes deffo! Looking at last year's boundaries, 237/375 was an A.

237 - 54 = 182. So you need 182/300 on Paper 1 and Paper 2 which works out as 60.67% for an A.

An A* was 296. I know you didn't ask but in case you're interested,

296 - 54 = 242.. 242/300 works out as 80.67% so it's definitely achievable as well!

Reply 8

spatel18

Original post by vnayak

Congrats! Any ideas how the rest of your set did?
yes deffo! Looking at last year's boundaries, 237/375 was an A.
237 - 54 = 182. So you need 182/300 on Paper 1 and Paper 2 which works out as 60.67% for an A.
An A* was 296. I know you didn't ask but in case you're interested,
296 - 54 = 242.. 242/300 works out as 80.67% so it's definitely achievable as well!

Ok thank you that’s great I still have a few extra things my teach mentioned that I need to add which should bump my mark up to 58 so hopefully I can get that A

Reply 9

vnayak

Original post by spatel18

Ok thank you that’s great I still have a few extra things my teach mentioned that I need to add which should bump my mark up to 58 so hopefully I can get that A

Nice!

Reply 10

iwanta*

Original post by vnayak

Nice!

what did you guys do for cw? also how did you revise theory as i need advice bc my mocks coming realll soon

Reply 11

spatel18

Original post by iwanta*

what did you guys do for cw? also how did you revise theory as i need advice bc my mocks coming realll soon

For the course work you want to keep the game simple and not to complex but still try and use high level skills ( which you kind find online just search up NEA computer science mark scheme) as what they are looking for is a completed well documented project which uses the necessary skills. In terms of theory I usually go on physics and maths tutor make all of my notes for all the topics then once you have made all the notes read through them a couple of times and then get a past paper and do an open book exam with your notes and try to answer all the questions if you get stuck refer to the markschme. Hope that helps. Good luck