Higher Chemistry grade boundaries 2026: A, B, C, D marks

Higher Chemistry grade boundaries 2026

The table is the Chemistry row of the Higher sheet in Grade boundaries 2026 (release 26GB, 4 August 2026); the counts are from the 2026 course report.

An A took 70.0% of the marks, a B 58.0%, a C 46.7% and a D 34.7%. That A is exactly the 70% starting point, while the C of 70 is 5 below the 75 the starting point would give. See the Higher Chemistry guide.

What the 150 marks are made of

This is the last year of two papers: Paper 1, 25 multiple-choice marks in 40 minutes, and Paper 2, 95 marks in 2 hours 20 minutes. The papers' 120 marks count for 80% and the 20-mark assignment, scaled to 30, for 20%. In 2027 they merge into a single paper with two sections and a new total of 125, so these numbers are for the old format only.

How many candidates got each grade in 2026

Of 9,991 candidates, 3,285 got an A, 32.9%, up from 32.0%, and 941 got No Award, 9.4%, down from 10.6%. B was 24.2%, C 18.8% and D 14.7%. Entries slipped from 10,120 in 2025.

Turning a mark into a grade

Suppose a candidate scores 18 on Paper 1 and 60 on Paper 2, which is 78 of 120, and 16 on the assignment, which scales to 24. The total is 102. That is above B at 87 and 3 marks short of A at 105, so it is a B. Three more marks anywhere would make it an A.

The A boundary of 105 is exactly 70% of 150, so the 2026 awarding meeting left A where the notional mark puts it. The C boundary was set 5 marks lower than the notional 75, at 70, and the report ties the adjustments to Paper 2 being slightly more demanding than intended.

2026 against earlier years

After the 2025 jump, every line came down: A from 108 to 105, B from 92 to 87, C from 77 to 70, D from 61 to 52, and the upper A from 129 to 127. The C line has gone 65, 77, 70 over three series. Compared with 2024, A is 4 marks higher and C 5 higher.

What Qualifications Scotland said about the 2026 papers

The report says the multiple-choice paper performed as intended and Paper 2 proved slightly more demanding than intended, so the grade boundaries were adjusted down. The assignment performed as intended.

Marks were lost on explanations. Few gained both marks for explaining fully how London dispersion forces form (Paper 2, question 2(a)), why water is polar (2(c)) or how catalysts increase the number of successful collisions (4(b)). Few identified the free radical (4(d)(ii)), few explained why increasing pressure shifts an equilibrium to the right (7(a)(iii)B), few completed the labelled apparatus for preparing and collecting ethene (7(c)(i)) and few explained why proteins with disulfide bonds resist heat (8(c)). On the multiple-choice paper only some identified a redox reaction (5) or the catalyst ion (16).

What the 2026 boundaries mean for you

Higher Chemistry's drop from 77 to 70 at C is larger than for any other science course we cover, but the paper was harder, not the grade easier. The report says to practise full-sentence explanations: state the idea, then what follows from it, so that an answer on catalysts links the lower activation energy to more successful collisions. Check equilibrium and rates ideas with the Rates and Equilibrium tool.

The previous series is Higher Chemistry grade boundaries 2025. Every course is in SQA grade boundaries 2026.

Check yourself with today's paper

Our Higher Chemistry daily paper is a short timed paper of 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks, written by us, with no assignment. Divide your mark: 21 out of 30 is 70%, equal to the A share of 70.0%, and 14 out of 30 is 46.7%, equal to the C share of 46.7%. Treat the comparison as a guide.

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Scotland · HigherHigher Chemistry grade boundaries 2025: A, B, C, D marksHigher Chemistry grade boundaries 2025 from the SQA: A needed 108 of 150, B 92, C 77 and D 61, a big rise on 2024, with 32.0% getting an A.