Advanced Higher Physics grade boundaries 2026: A at 107, C at 72

Advanced Higher Physics grade boundaries 2026

The workbook Grade boundaries 2026 is the source, and the 2026 course report for Advanced Higher Physics shows the same minimum marks.

The course report calls the paper "more demanding than intended" and lists the questions that caused it: 2(b)(ii), 4(b)(ii), 5(b), 7(a)(i)(ii), 10(a)(ii), 15(a)(iii)(b)(c) and 16(c)(ii)(B). The boundaries were adjusted to reflect them. The relationships you can use are in our relationships sheet guide, and the whole course is in the Advanced Higher Physics guide.

Change from 2025

The upper A line fell by 4 and the rest by 3. A candidate on 74 would have had a D in 2025 (C started at 75) and got a C in 2026 (C started at 72). Because boundaries are set after marking, the same raw mark is worth more in a harder year.

Worked example with the new lines

1. Add the exam mark and the project mark: 72 in total.
2. 72 equals the C boundary, so it is a C.
3. It is 17 marks short of a B, since B is 89, and 35 short of an A.
4. In shares, 72 is 45% of 160 and the A line is 67%.

Advanced Higher Physics boundaries 2022 to 2026

The A boundary as a share of the maximum went 66%, 66%, 69%, 69% and 67% across 2022 to 2026, so 2026 sits 2 points below the last two years.

The project in 2026

The report says the project performed as expected, and several sections improved on earlier years: the abstract, the underlying physics, the procedures and the discussion. Many candidates gained the quality mark for a competent, well worked project. Presentation was mostly good, though a small number were penalised for exceeding the word limit by more than 10%.

• Raw data. Some candidates left out data such as the distance across 20 fringes or the original length of a spring, and lost the data mark.
• Graphs. Software graphs were sometimes too small, had no minor gridlines or had points too large to check the plotting.
• Evaluation. Remarks like "the experiment worked well" or "human error contributed" were too general for Advanced Higher.
• Uncertainties. Many handled scale reading and random uncertainty but fewer found the calibration uncertainty.

Entries and results in 2026

The report records 2,060 resulted entries, against 2,117 in 2025. Its statistics are collected before appeals are complete.

The A rate went up from 26.8% to 27.3% and No Award fell from 10.7% to 9.7%, so results held steady.

Looking ahead to 2027

The specification valid from session 2026 to 27 lists a question paper of 130 marks and a project of 30 marks scaled to 44, which adds to 174, not 160. Expect a different maximum and new boundaries, and do not carry over the 160-mark figures.

Check yourself with today's paper

Today's Advanced Higher Physics paper is a short timed paper of 8 questions, 25 to 35 marks. Work out your percentage and compare it with 67% for the A line and 45% for C. It has no project, so the real total includes extra marks you do not get here.

Read next

Scotland · Advanced HigherAdvanced Higher Physics grade boundaries 2025: A to DSQA's 2025 Advanced Higher Physics grade boundaries out of 160: A at 110, C at 75. Full table, the change from 2024 and the report's notes on the project.