STEP 2017: Grade Boundaries and Practice
STEP 2017 refers to the Sixth Term Examination Paper sat in 2017, an additional mathematics examination used in conditional offers for mathematics and related degrees at the University of Cambridge and some other universities; that year it ran as three papers, STEP 1, STEP 2 and STEP 3, each marked out of 120. This page collects the official 2017 grade boundaries, explains what grades S, 1, 2 and 3 mean, sets the boundaries against those of 2016, and shows how to practise the full 2017 papers on FrontierVue.
STEP 2017 at a Glance
- Papers sat that year
- STEP 1 (9465), STEP 2 (9470) and STEP 3 (9475), each marked out of 120
- STEP 1 boundaries
- 99 for S, 72 for grade 1, 55 for grade 2, 39 for grade 3
- STEP 2 boundaries
- 101 for S, 80 for grade 1, 69 for grade 2, 34 for grade 3
- STEP 3 boundaries
- 95 for S, 69 for grade 1, 57 for grade 2, 28 for grade 3
- How hard was it
- No official difficulty rating; on the FrontierVue database view, all three papers lean hard
The boundaries come from that year's official Explanation of Results, and the paper codes and format from the official About STEP page under the pre-reform format; the last row is not an official rating but a platform-level view from the FrontierVue database.
4 sections795 words4 min read4 official sources
01
The 2017 STEP papers and the official grade boundaries
In 2017 STEP was still run as three parallel papers: STEP 1 (paper code 9465), STEP 2 (9470) and STEP 3 (9475). Nothing about the format changed that year; the reform to the question count and specification only arrived in 2019.
Questions per paper
13 questions
8 Pure Mathematics, 3 Mechanics, 2 Probability and Statistics
Duration
3 hours
Under the format in force at the time
What counts
Only the best 6 answers
Each paper is marked out of 120
Formula booklet
Provided in the exam room
Part of the pre-reform arrangements for all three papers
The official grade boundaries for each paper are below: the minimum total needed for each grade that year.
| Grade S | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEP 1 | 99 | 72 | 55 | 39 |
| STEP 2 | 101 | 80 | 69 | 34 |
| STEP 3 | 95 | 69 | 57 | 28 |
Taken from that year's official Explanation of Results, with each paper marked out of 120.
02
How to read the boundaries
What grades S, 1, 2, 3 and U mean
STEP results are reported as S (Outstanding), 1 (Very Good), 2 (Good), 3 (Satisfactory) or U (Unclassified). The numbers in the table above are the minimum totals needed for each grade that year.
How those totals are put together
The marking rules are simple: every question is worth 20 marks, a correct answer earns full marks whatever method is used, each paper is marked out of 120, and only the best 6 answers count towards the total.
Setting 2017 against 2016 makes the picture clearer: STEP 1 sat slightly lower than the year before, while STEP 2 and STEP 3 both set a higher bar than the year before.
| 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| STEP 1 · grade S | 102 | 99 |
| STEP 1 · grade 1 | 75 | 72 |
| STEP 2 · grade S | 95 | 101 |
| STEP 2 · grade 1 | 74 | 80 |
| STEP 3 · grade S | 88 | 95 |
| STEP 3 · grade 1 | 64 | 69 |
The S and grade 1 boundaries for both years, each taken from that year's official Explanation of Results.
Boundaries move every year: they reflect how hard the questions turned out to be and how the cohort performed, and there has never been a fixed pass mark. Cambridge offer conditions vary by college and by year, so always read the exact wording of the offer itself rather than treating any single year's boundaries as an admissions promise.
03
Topic focus and difficulty in 2017 (FrontierVue database view)
The statistics below describe the STEP 2017 questions held in the FrontierVue database; they are a platform-level view, not an official analysis of the papers. Each of the three papers is held in full with 13 questions, matching the official structure of the year: 8 Pure Mathematics, 3 Mechanics and 2 Probability and Statistics per paper.
| Tagged Hard | Tagged Medium | |
|---|---|---|
| STEP 1 | 12 | 1 |
| STEP 2 | 12 | 1 |
| STEP 3 | 9 | 4 |
These difficulty labels are FrontierVue platform tags, not an official difficulty rating.
On the platform's reckoning, all three papers lean hard that year, with STEP 3 holding a somewhat larger share of medium-difficulty questions.
24
Pure Mathematics
9
STEP Mechanics
7
Integration Techniques
7
Coordinate Geometry
6
STEP Probability
Those are the tags the year's questions cluster around, followed by Induction & Recursion (5 questions) and Inequalities (4). Anyone training against this year's emphasis will keep running into integration technique, coordinate geometry and induction, so those are the blocks to sharpen first.
04
Practising the 2017 papers on FrontierVue
FrontierVue holds 111 sets of past STEP papers (1987 to 2025), 1,532 questions in total, every one with a fully worked solution.
01Step 1
Try the interface for free first
The two most recent past papers in each subject are free to try, so you can test the interface at no cost before deciding whether to work back to the 2017 papers.
02Step 2
Open /papers/step and pick 2017
All of the 2017 STEP 1, STEP 2 and STEP 3 questions sit there.
03Step 3
Sit the papers in the timed interface
Each of the three papers can be sat in full in a timed interface.
04Step 4
Review the question-by-question analysis
Submission is followed by question-by-question analysis, with a fully worked solution for every question.
Preparation routes for the two papers still running
/exams/step/guides/step-2 and /exams/step/guides/step-3 map out preparation for the two papers still running today.
How to pick questions once the paper is open
/exams/step/guides/choosing-questions covers how to pick questions once the paper is open, which is itself a scoring strategy when only your best 6 answers count.
Turning a question you can do into full marks
/exams/step/guides/writing-solutions covers turning a question you can do into a full 20-mark write-up.
How the grades are used in applications
/exams/step/guides/grades explains how the grades are used in applications.
The resource library also holds the official OCR specification and STEP Support Programme materials.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How hard was STEP 2017?
There is no official difficulty rating, but two signals help. First, the official boundaries: the STEP 1 grade 1 boundary was 72 in 2017, below the 75 of 2016, while the STEP 2 and STEP 3 grade 1 boundaries were 80 and 69, above the 74 and 64 of 2016. Second, the platform view: in the FrontierVue database, STEP 1 and STEP 2 each carry 12 questions tagged Hard and STEP 3 carries 9, so the year leans hard overall.
What were the STEP 2017 grade boundaries?
From that year's official Explanation of Results, with each paper out of 120: STEP 1 required 99 for S, 72 for grade 1, 55 for grade 2 and 39 for grade 3; STEP 2 required 101, 80, 69 and 34; STEP 3 required 95, 69, 57 and 28.
Where can I sit the 2017 STEP papers in full?
The /papers/step section of FrontierVue holds all of the 2017 STEP 1, STEP 2 and STEP 3 questions, with a timed interface, question-by-question analysis and a fully worked solution for every question. The two most recent past papers in each subject are free to try before you work back to 2017.
STEP 1 existed in 2017, so why are only STEP 2 and STEP 3 left now?
STEP 1 was last actually sat in 2019: it did not run in 2020 because of the pandemic, and it was then formally discontinued from 2021, leaving only STEP 2 and STEP 3. The 2017 STEP 1 questions remain excellent foundation practice, in the same style as the two papers still running.
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.
Practise STEP 2017 online
Timed interface, worked solutions and per-question analytics. The two most recent past papers are free to try.