National 5 Biology grade boundaries 2026: A, B, C, D marks

National 5 Biology grade boundaries 2026

The table is the Biology row of the National 5 sheet in Grade boundaries 2026 (release 26GB, 4 August 2026); the grade counts are from the 2026 course report. The figures match the 2025 row of the same workbook line for line.

That is an A at 68.8%, a B at 59.2%, a C at 49.6% and a D at 40%. The National 5 Biology guide covers the 2027 format.

What the 125 marks are made of

The 2026 paper is the last of the 100-mark format: Section 1 with 25 multiple-choice marks, Section 2 with 75 written marks, 2 hours 30 minutes. The assignment, 20 marks, is scaled to 25. From 2027 both are shorter, Section 1 falling to 20 marks and Section 2 to 60, so boundaries from here on will be on a different scale.

How many candidates got each grade in 2026

More candidates reached an A than the year before: 7,402, which is 33.2% against 28.8%. B fell to 17.4%, C to 16.5% and D to 15.1%, and No Award rose to 17.8%, 3,969 candidates, from 16.6%. Entries were 22,283, up from 22,092.

Turning a mark into a grade

A candidate who scores 60 out of 100 on the paper and a full 20 out of 20 on the assignment, which becomes 25, has 85. That is a B, and one mark short of the A boundary of 86. It shows why the exact boundary matters more than a rounded percentage.

The lines are consistent with the SQA's formulas: A is 86 and C is 62, so B = 62 + ⌊49 ÷ 4⌋ = 74 and D = 62 − ⌈47 ÷ 4⌉ = 50. Because A and C did not move, neither did B or D.

2026 against earlier years

Every boundary is the same as in 2025: the awarding meeting left A, C and upper A where they were. Between 2024 and 2025 B, C and D had risen 2, 4 and 6 marks. Over three series on the 125 scale the A line went 86, 86, 86. The A rate nevertheless climbed 4.4 percentage points.

What Qualifications Scotland said about the 2026 papers

The report says the question paper performed as intended and was fair and balanced, with a spread of marks across the course. The assignment also performed as intended. Since no adjustment is noted, the 2026 lines stayed where they were.

The marks that went: few candidates identified the structures present at a stage of mitosis (Section 1, question 7), few picked the correct statement about plant species from a table (20), and many did not read the rate of water gain from a graph (13). In Section 2, few explained a model cell investigation, and many wrongly said iodine moved by osmosis (2(a)(ii)). Few explained why a mutation changes a protein's shape and function (3(d)(ii)), few explained why a clear area appears around a well on a plate (4(b)(ii)), and few described how a message passes between neurons (7(b)(ii)). Many did not define "mutation" (9(b)(i)).

What the 2026 numbers mean for you

Since the lines did not move, the rise in A is down to candidates. If you aim for 86, bank the data marks: read graphs carefully, calculate percentage and rate, and write the unit. Biology's wording marks are the other half: define mutation, explain how a mutation changes protein shape and function, and say that iodine moved by diffusion, not osmosis. Work through monohybrid crosses in the Genetics Cross tool for the genetics questions.

The previous series is National 5 Biology grade boundaries 2025, and every course is in SQA grade boundaries 2026.

Check yourself with today's paper

Today's National 5 Biology paper is a short timed mock of 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks written by us, and has no assignment. Divide your mark by the total: 20 out of 30 is 66.7%, below the A share of 68.8% and above the B share of 59.2%. Repeat across a week.

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Scotland · National 5National 5 Biology grade boundaries 2025: A, B, C, D marksNational 5 Biology grade boundaries 2025 from the SQA: A needed 86 of 125, B 74, C 62 and D 50, with 28.8% getting an A, and 2024 and 2019 compared.