STEP 2023: Grade Boundaries, Topic Trends and Practice

STEP 2023, that year's sitting of the Sixth Term Examination Paper (the additional mathematics exam used in conditional offers for mathematics and related degrees at the University of Cambridge and some other universities), consisted of two papers: STEP 2 and STEP 3, each marked out of 120. This page collects the official 2023 grade boundaries, explains what the S, 1, 2 and 3 grades mean, profiles the year's topics and difficulty as recorded in FrontierVUE's question database, and shows where to practise both papers online.
STEP 2023 at a Glance
Papers that ran
Two: STEP 2 (9470) and STEP 3 (9475), each marked out of 120
STEP 2 official boundaries
S at 90, grade 1 at 65, grade 2 at 50, grade 3 at 28
STEP 3 official boundaries
S at 85, grade 1 at 63, grade 2 at 54, grade 3 at 32
How marks count
Twelve questions per paper, candidates choose; only the best 6 answers count
Difficulty (FrontierVUE database view)
All 12 STEP 3 questions tagged HARD; 10 of the 12 STEP 2 questions tagged HARD

Boundaries and paper codes come from the official Explanation of Results for STEP 2023, and the marking rules from OCR's published scoring and results guidance; the difficulty line is FrontierVUE's own database tagging, a platform-side view rather than an official analysis of the papers.

4 sections762 words4 min read4 official sources
01

Which papers ran in 2023, and the official boundaries

Only two papers ran in 2023: STEP 2 (paper code 9470) and STEP 3 (paper code 9475). STEP 1 had been discontinued from 2021, so candidates in 2023 sat whichever of the two remaining papers their offer conditions required.
SGrade 1Grade 2Grade 3
STEP 2 (9470)90655028
STEP 3 (9475)85635432

Each paper is marked out of 120. Source: the Explanation of Results published for STEP 2023.

Duration

3-hour written exam

The same for both papers

Question mix

12 questions per paper

8 pure mathematics, 2 mechanics, 2 probability and statistics

What counts

Your best 6 answers

Candidates choose which questions to attempt

Delivered by

2023 was the final sitting delivered by CAAT

Delivery passed to OCR, part of the same Cambridge family, from 2024

02

How to read the boundaries

STEP results are reported on five grades: S (Outstanding), 1 (Very Good), 2 (Good), 3 (Satisfactory) and U (Unclassified). Every question is marked out of 20, each paper is out of 120, and only your best 6 questions count towards the total. A correct answer earns full marks whatever method you use. A boundary simply means: reach that total and you receive that grade.
The previous year gives useful context.
20222023
STEP 2 · S8190
STEP 2 · grade 16265
STEP 2 · grade 25250
STEP 2 · grade 33028
STEP 3 · S8285
STEP 3 · grade 16363
STEP 3 · grade 25154
STEP 3 · grade 32932

Both columns are official boundaries, each paper out of 120. Movements within a single paper did not all point the same way: on STEP 2 the S and grade 1 boundaries rose while grades 2 and 3 eased; on STEP 3 grade 1 held at 63 and the other three rose.

Boundaries move every year. They reflect how the paper played out for that cohort, a combination of question difficulty and candidate performance, and the exam board does not publish a cause-by-cause breakdown, so single-year movements should not be over-read. There is also no official 'safe score': Cambridge offer conditions vary by college and by year, so always go by the exact wording of your own offer.
03

Topics and difficulty in 2023 (FrontierVUE database view)

The statistics below come from FrontierVUE's own tagging of the STEP 2023 questions in its database. They are a platform-side view, not an official analysis of the papers.

10 of 12

STEP 2 questions in the database tagged HARD

2 of 12

STEP 2 questions in the database tagged MEDIUM

12 of 12

STEP 3 questions in the database, all tagged HARD

On difficulty, 2023 reads as an unforgiving year. Read alongside the official boundary movements (upper grades on STEP 2 rising while lower grades eased), it is best treated as a strongly differentiating year: the top grades demanded visibly higher-quality complete solutions.
The topic tags, counting both papers together, break down as follows.

Pure Mathematics

17 tags

STEP Mechanics

4 tags

STEP Probability

4 tags

Integration Techniques

3 tags

Induction & Recursion

3 tags

Coordinate Geometry

3 tags

Differential Equations

3 tags

Complex Numbers

2 tags

Curve Sketching

2 tags

Inequalities

1 tag

That sits naturally with the structure of the papers (8 pure mathematics questions, 2 mechanics and 2 probability and statistics per paper): pure technique dominates, and integration, induction, coordinate geometry and differential equations were the recurring handles of the year, which makes them sensible priorities when preparing with these papers.
04

How to practise STEP 2023 on FrontierVUE

01Step 1

Open /papers/step and find the 2023 papers by year

Both the 2023 STEP 2 and STEP 3 papers are listed there by year.
02Step 2

Sit them in the timed exam interface

The timed interface reproduces the 3-hour format.
03Step 3

Review the question-by-question breakdown

After submission you get a question-by-question breakdown showing exactly where marks were lost.

STEP past papers

111 papers

1987 to 2025

Questions in total

1,532 questions

Each with a full worked solution

Free to try

The latest two papers in each subject

Also in the resource library

The official OCR specification and STEP Support Programme materials

Preparing for STEP 2
/exams/step/guides/step-2 covers preparation for STEP 2.
Preparing for STEP 3
/exams/step/guides/step-3 covers preparation for STEP 3.
Choosing questions
/exams/step/guides/choosing-questions is about question selection, which is a core skill in an exam where only your best 6 answers count.
Writing solutions
/exams/step/guides/writing-solutions covers how to write solutions that score.
Grades and boundaries
/exams/step/guides/grades walks through the grading system, a natural companion to the 2023 numbers on this page.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How hard was STEP 2023?
There is no official difficulty rating, but two signals help. First, the official boundaries: in 2023 the grade 1 boundary was 65 on STEP 2 and 63 on STEP 3, each out of 120. Second, FrontierVUE's own database tagging: all 12 STEP 3 questions are tagged HARD, and 10 of the 12 STEP 2 questions are. Taken together, it was a demanding year that rewarded both solid technique and disciplined question choice.
What were the STEP 2023 grade boundaries?
Each paper is marked out of 120. STEP 2 (9470): S at 90, grade 1 at 65, grade 2 at 50, grade 3 at 28. STEP 3 (9475): S at 85, grade 1 at 63, grade 2 at 54, grade 3 at 32. The source is the official Explanation of Results for STEP 2023.
Why were there only STEP 2 and STEP 3 in 2023?
STEP 1 was discontinued from 2021, and every sitting since has consisted of STEP 2 and STEP 3 only, 2023 included. Separately, 2023 was the last year the exam was delivered by CAAT; from 2024, delivery moved to OCR, part of the same Cambridge family.
Where can I practise the STEP 2023 papers?
On FrontierVUE, open /papers/step and select the 2023 STEP 2 and STEP 3 papers. You can sit them in the timed exam interface and review a question-by-question breakdown afterwards. The platform hosts 111 STEP past papers (1987 to 2025) with 1,532 questions, each with a full worked solution, and the latest two papers in each subject are free to try.
Sources

Official sources

By year

Other STEP years

STEP 2025STEP 2024STEP 2022STEP 2021STEP 2020STEP 2019STEP 2018STEP 2017STEP 2016

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 2023 online

Timed interface, worked solutions and per-question analytics. The two most recent past papers are free to try.

Practise STEP papersAll STEP past papers