Higher Human Biology grade boundaries 2025: A, B, C, D

Higher Human Biology grade boundaries 2025

The table is the Human Biology row of the Higher sheet in the SQA's Grade boundaries 2025 (release 25GB, 5 August 2025); the grade counts are from the SQA's 2025 course report.

An A took 69.3% of the marks, a C 47.3% and a D 36%. See the Higher Human Biology guide.

What the 150 marks are made of

In 2025 the course was two question papers and an assignment. Paper 1 was 25 multiple-choice marks in 40 minutes and Paper 2 was 95 marks in 2 hours 20 minutes, 120 marks in all and 80% of the grade. The assignment, 20 marks, is scaled by 1.5 to 30, so the total is 150. The improving assessment paper gives these figures as the arrangements before the 2027 change to one paper.

How many candidates got each grade in 2025

The A share, 26.2% or 1,916 candidates, was the lowest of the Higher science courses in 2025, and No Award was 13.5%, 991 candidates. B, C and D were 21.4%, 20.9% and 18.0%. Entries were 7,318, down slightly from 7,451.

Turning a mark into a grade

A candidate scores 17 on Paper 1 and 60 on Paper 2, which is 77 of 120, and 16 of 20 on the assignment, scaled to 24. The total is 101. That is above B at 87 and 3 below A at 104, so it is a B. The upper A line is 126.

B and D are calculated from A and C. With a gap of 33 (104 − 71), B = 71 + ⌊67 ÷ 4⌋ = 71 + 16 = 87 and D = 71 − ⌈65 ÷ 4⌉ = 71 − 17 = 54.

2025 against earlier years

In 2024 the lines were A 102, B 85, C 68 and D 51. In 2025 they were 104, 87, 71 and 54, so each rose by 2 or 3 marks. In 2019 the A was 104 of 150 and C was 72, so the A line is identical to 2019 and C is 1 lower. The 2022 and 2023 columns are out of 120.

What the SQA said about the 2025 papers

The report says Paper 1 performed as expected, and that numeracy questions did better than expected while some straightforward knowledge and experimental design questions did worse. Paper 2 was fair and well balanced, but some questions were more demanding than intended, and this was considered when setting the boundaries. The assignment performed as expected. The report also notes a notable improvement in attainment in the question papers and in the assignment.

It lists questions on Paper 1 that were intended to be grade A and that most candidates answered well, such as the concentration of a drug remaining in the blood at five hours (question 20). Only some candidates identified the types of RNA found in the cytoplasm (question 4), worked out the minutes needed to produce 128 copies of a DNA section (6, also intended as grade A), analysed a line graph (12, intended grade A), judged validity and reliability (13), or identified the inheritance type from a sickle cell family diagram (15).

What the 2025 numbers mean for you

The report is mixed. Candidates did well on many numeracy questions, but only some managed two of the questions it labels intended grade A, the DNA copy-number calculation and the line graph. The other weak spots were straightforward knowledge and experimental design, which are quick to revise from the specification. For the physiology questions, try the Cardiac Output Calculator.

The next series is Higher Human Biology grade boundaries 2026. For every course see SQA grade boundaries 2025.

Check yourself with today's paper

We do not have a Higher Human Biology paper. The nearest is the Higher Biology daily paper, a short timed paper of 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks written by us, which uses the same skills of reading data from graphs and tables and writing short biological explanations. A mark of 21 out of 30 is 70%, a little above the 69.3% an A took in 2025, and 15 out of 30 is 50%, above the C share of 47.3%.

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Scotland · HigherHigher Human Biology: 2027 exam, boundaries, practiceHigher Human Biology explained: the 2027 single paper, the assignment, what the three areas cover, 2026 boundaries, where marks are lost, and practice.