Guides21 guides · last updated 23 Oct 2026

Understand how your university grades work.

Plain-English guides to UK degree classifications, weighted averages, credits and year weighting, so you always know where you stand and what you need.

Why these guides exist

Most students only learn how their degree is calculated when the results arrive, and by then there is nothing left to plan. Each guide takes one part of the system, works through it with real numbers, and points you to the regulations that decide how your own university does it.

Riley JordanFounder of UniGrade · BSc Software Engineering, Bournemouth University
A warm-lit old library with tall wooden bookshelves and hanging bulbs

In this reading room

Foundations
13
Planning
8
Reading time, all
86 min
Start here

Three guides that explain the core of it.

New to how UK degrees are graded? Read these in order. Everything else in the library builds on them.

01FoundationsUK degree classifications explained: First, 2:1, 2:2 and ThirdThe four honours classes, the marks behind them, and how your overall average becomes a degree result.3 min read · 17 Jun 2026Read guide 02FoundationsHow to calculate your weighted average university gradeMarks alone do not give you your grade: credits do. Here is the weighted-average method with a full worked example.3 min read · 17 Jun 2026Read guide 03PlanningWhat grade do I need for a 2:1? (with worked examples)Stop guessing. Here is the simple back-calculation that tells you the average you need on everything that is left.3 min read · 17 Jun 2026Read guide
The library

Every guide

Foundations explain how the system works. Planning guides help you decide what to do about it.

Showing all 21 guides

These guides describe common UK practice. Your university’s classification regulations are always the final word.

0101FoundationsUK degree classifications explained: First, 2:1, 2:2 and ThirdThe four honours classes, the marks behind them, and how your overall average becomes a degree result.3 min read · 17 Jun 20263 min readUpdated 17 Jun 20260202FoundationsHow to calculate your weighted average university gradeMarks alone do not give you your grade: credits do. Here is the weighted-average method with a full worked example.3 min read · 17 Jun 20263 min readUpdated 17 Jun 20260303PlanningWhat grade do I need for a 2:1? (with worked examples)Stop guessing. Here is the simple back-calculation that tells you the average you need on everything that is left.3 min read · 17 Jun 20263 min readUpdated 17 Jun 20260404FoundationsHow university credits work (CATS, ECTS and module weighting)Credits measure study volume and decide how much each module pulls on your average. Here is how the system works.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20260505PlanningHow year weighting affects your final degree classificationFirst year, second year, final year: they rarely count equally. Here is how the weightings work and why they matter.3 min read · 17 Jun 20263 min readUpdated 17 Jun 20260606PlanningBorderline degree classifications: rounding, preponderance and discretionA 69 is not always a 2:1. Here is how universities handle borderline averages and the rules that can nudge you up a class.3 min read · 17 Jun 20263 min readUpdated 17 Jun 20260707PlanningCoursework vs exams: where your marks actually come fromA 40/60 split is a strategy problem, not just a number. Here is how to read assessment weighting and spend effort well.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20260808FoundationsWhat happens if you fail a module at university?Condonement, capped resits, repeats and when a fail actually touches your classification, and what to do in the first week after a bad result.6 min read · 2 Jul 20266 min readUpdated 2 Jul 20260909FoundationsResits and capped marks explained: how reassessment really worksPass the resit and you get 40, usually no matter how well you do. Here is why marks are capped, when they are not, and what a cap costs you.5 min read · 2 Jul 20265 min readUpdated 2 Jul 20261010FoundationsWhat is the pass mark at university? 40% and module rules explainedPassing a module is usually 40% overall, but some exams must pass on their own and some fails still earn the credits. Here is how to tell which rules are yours.9 min read · 23 Oct 20269 min readUpdated 23 Oct 20261111PlanningHow much is your exam worth? Its share of your module, year and degreeA 60% exam sounds huge. In a 20-credit second-year module it is about 3% of your degree. Here is the arithmetic.5 min read · 23 Oct 20265 min readUpdated 23 Oct 20261212PlanningHow to plan your revision around assessment weightsMost revision plans allocate time by anxiety. A better plan allocates it by weight. Here is the method, with a worked week.6 min read · 23 Oct 20266 min readUpdated 23 Oct 20261313PlanningStudy streaks and habits: why consistency beats crammingAll-nighters feel productive and fade fast. Here is why spaced, daily study wins, and how to use streaks and goals honestly.6 min read · 2 Jul 20266 min readUpdated 2 Jul 20261414FoundationsDissertations and final-year projects: how much do they really count?A dissertation is often a fifth of your entire classification hiding in one module. Here is the maths, and what it means for planning.5 min read · 2 Jul 20265 min readUpdated 2 Jul 20261515Foundations“First year doesn’t count”: what the myth gets right and wrongOften true for classification, false for almost everything else. What first year actually decides, with a worked example.5 min read · 2 Jul 20265 min readUpdated 2 Jul 20261616FoundationsConverting a US GPA to a UK degree classification (and back)There is no official formula between a GPA and a First/2:1/2:2. Here is the approximate mapping people actually use, and where to get it done properly.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20261717FoundationsReading your university transcript: what the codes and abbreviations meanTranscripts are dense with shorthand. Here is what the common codes actually mean, so you can read your own record without guessing.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20261818FoundationsExtenuating circumstances and mitigation: how they actually affect your marksMitigation rarely changes a mark directly. Here is what extenuating circumstances processes actually do, and what evidence they usually need.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20261919FoundationsIntermitting or withdrawing from university: what happens to your degree classificationA leave of absence does not erase what you have already done. Here is how intermitting and withdrawing actually affect your record.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20262020PlanningDo graduate schemes still require a 2:1?The blanket 2:1 filter has loosened at a number of large employers over the past decade. Here is what is actually true, and what to do if your classification is below it.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 20262121FoundationsPlacement years and sandwich degrees: how they affect your final classificationA placement year usually is not weighted into your classification average directly, but it still shows up on your record, and the details vary by institution.3 min read · 16 Aug 20263 min readUpdated 16 Aug 2026

These guides describe common UK practice. Your university’s classification regulations are always the final word.

Rules for your university

The guides explain how classification works in general. These pages give one university's actual rules, from its regulations.

These are estimates using the published rules. Your exam board makes the final decision.

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