STEP 2019: Grade Boundaries, the Reformed Papers, and Practice
STEP 2019, that year's sitting of the Sixth Term Examination Paper (the additional mathematics test used in conditional offers for mathematics and related degrees at Cambridge and some other UK universities), was sat across three papers: STEP 1, STEP 2 and STEP 3, each marked out of 120. It was a doubly unusual year: the first sitting of the reformed specification (11 questions on STEP 1, 12 on STEP 2 and STEP 3, and no more formula booklet) and the last time STEP 1 was ever sat. This page collects the official grade boundaries for all three papers, what the reform changed, how the year leans by topic and difficulty in FrontierVue's database, and how to practise the 2019 papers under timed conditions on FrontierVue.
01
The papers sat in 2019 and the official grade boundaries
Three papers were sat in June 2019: STEP 1 (code 9465), STEP 2 (code 9470) and STEP 3 (code 9475). Each paper lasted 3 hours, was marked out of 120, and counted only a candidate's best 6 questions. The official grade boundaries, published in the Explanation of Results for STEP 2019, were:
| Paper | S | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEP 1 (9465) | 105 | 76 | 52 | 30 |
| STEP 2 (9470) | 90 | 68 | 55 | 30 |
| STEP 3 (9475) | 77 | 57 | 48 | 27 |
(Each paper is marked out of 120. Source: the official Explanation of Results for STEP 2019.)
2019 was the first sitting of the reformed specification, announced as "Changes to STEP from 2019". The syllabus was updated to match the reformed A Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics in England, and the papers got shorter: STEP 1 moved from 13 questions to 11 (8 pure plus 3 applied), while STEP 2 and STEP 3 moved to 12 questions each (8 pure, 2 mechanics, 2 probability and statistics). The formula booklet was withdrawn from this year onwards. The style of the questions, the 20 marks per question and the best-6 scoring rule all stayed the same.
The year carries one more distinction: STEP 1 was never sat again. The 2020 sitting of STEP 1 was cancelled in the pandemic, and the paper was formally discontinued from 2021, leaving only STEP 2 and STEP 3.
02
How to read the grade boundaries
STEP results are reported on five grades: S (Outstanding), 1 (Very Good), 2 (Good), 3 (Satisfactory) and U (Unclassified). The scoring rule matters more than anything else on the page: every question is worth 20 marks, the paper is marked out of 120, and only your best 6 questions count. A correct answer earns full marks whatever method you use, so depth on 6 questions beats breadth across the whole paper.
Against 2018, the 2019 boundaries did not move in one direction. STEP 1 rose: the S boundary went from 100 in 2018 to 105 in 2019, and grade 1 from 72 to 76. STEP 2 sat noticeably lower: grade 1 moved from 77 to 68, and grade 2 from 65 to 55. STEP 3 also came down, with S moving from 87 to 77 and grade 1 from 59 to 57.
Boundaries float every year because they are set after marking, calibrated to that year's paper difficulty and cohort performance; there is no fixed pass mark. Nor is there an official "safe score" or "Cambridge line": Cambridge's offer conditions vary by college and by year, so the offer letter itself is the only authority.
03
Topic emphasis and difficulty in 2019 (FrontierVue database view)
The figures below come from FrontierVue's own tagging of the questions it hosts. They describe the platform's database, not an official analysis of the papers.
FrontierVue hosts all three 2019 papers in full: 11 questions on STEP 1 and 12 each on STEP 2 and STEP 3. By the platform's difficulty labels, STEP 1 carries 9 questions rated Hard and 2 rated Medium; STEP 2 and STEP 3 each carry 9 Hard and 3 Medium. All three papers are dominated by Hard questions, consistent with a reform year that trimmed the question count while keeping the character of the questions.
By the platform's subject grouping, each paper has 8 pure mathematics questions; STEP 1 adds 2 mechanics and 1 probability and statistics, while STEP 2 and STEP 3 each add 2 mechanics and 2 probability and statistics. Across the three papers, the most frequent topic tags in FrontierVue's index are pure mathematics core (24), coordinate geometry (7), mechanics (6), integration techniques (5), probability (5), curve sketching (4), inequalities (4), differential equations (3), induction and recursion (2) and complex numbers (1). Coordinate geometry ranks unusually high this year, so a warm-up on it pays off before you sit the papers.
04
How to practise the 2019 papers on FrontierVue
On FrontierVue, head to /papers/step and pick the year to open the three 2019 papers. Each runs in a timed interface that mirrors a real sitting, with question-by-question analysis after submission and a full worked solution for every question. The library holds 111 STEP past papers from 1987 to 2025, 1,532 questions in total, and the two most recent past papers in each subject are free to try.
For the reading around the practice: start with /exams/step/guides/grades to understand grades and boundaries, then move to the paper-specific guides at /exams/step/guides/step-2 and /exams/step/guides/step-3. While you practise, /exams/step/guides/choosing-questions covers question selection (only your best 6 count, so choosing well is half the exam) and /exams/step/guides/writing-solutions covers writing answers examiners can reward. The resource library also carries the official OCR specification and STEP Support Programme materials for checking your preparation against the official line.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Was STEP 2019 hard?
There is no official difficulty rating; the closest official signal is the boundaries. In 2019 most boundaries on STEP 2 and STEP 3 sat below their 2018 levels (grade 1 on STEP 2 moved from 77 to 68, and S on STEP 3 from 87 to 77), while STEP 1's boundaries rose (S went from 100 to 105). In FrontierVue's own tagging of the hosted questions, Hard dominates all three papers: 9 questions on STEP 1 and 9 each on STEP 2 and STEP 3.
What were the STEP 2019 grade boundaries?
Out of 120 per paper: STEP 1 required 105 for S, 76 for grade 1, 52 for grade 2 and 30 for grade 3; STEP 2 required 90, 68, 55 and 30; STEP 3 required 77, 57, 48 and 27. The source is the official Explanation of Results for STEP 2019.
What changed in the 2019 STEP reform?
The syllabus was aligned with the reformed A Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics in England, and the papers got shorter: STEP 1 went to 11 questions (8 pure plus 3 applied) and STEP 2 and STEP 3 to 12 each (8 pure, 2 mechanics, 2 probability and statistics). The formula booklet was withdrawn. The question style, the 20 marks per question and the best-6 scoring were unchanged. 2019 also turned out to be the final sitting of STEP 1, which was discontinued from 2021.
Where can I practise the STEP 2019 papers?
FrontierVue's /papers/step library holds 111 STEP past papers from 1987 to 2025, 1,532 questions in total, including all three 2019 papers, each with a timed interface, question-by-question analysis and a full worked solution per question. The two most recent past papers in each subject are free to try.
Sources
Official sources
By year
Other STEP years
FrontierVUE is an independent practice platform. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by UAT-UK, Pearson, OCR, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, or any official admissions-test owner.
FrontierVUE 是独立的备考练习平台，与 UAT-UK、Pearson、OCR、剑桥大学、 帝国理工学院或任何官方入学考试主办方均无隶属或背书关系。
Practise STEP 2019 online
Timed interface, worked solutions and per-question analytics. The two most recent past papers are free to try.