National 5 Chemistry grade boundaries 2025: A, B, C, D marks
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National 5 Chemistry grade boundaries 2025
The table is the Chemistry row of the National 5 sheet in the SQA's Grade boundaries 2025 (release 25GB, 5 August 2025); the grade counts are from the SQA's 2025 course report.
| Upper A | A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest mark, out of 125 | 108 | 89 | 75 | 62 | 48 |
| Share of the total | 86.4% | 71.2% | 60.0% | 49.6% | 38.4% |
An A needed 71.2% of the marks, a C 49.6% and a D 38.4%. Read the National 5 Chemistry guide for the course content.
What the 125 marks are made of
In 2025 the course was a question paper and an assignment. The paper had Section 1, an objective test of 25 marks, and Section 2, 75 marks of written answers, 100 in all, in 2 hours 30 minutes. The assignment was 20 marks. With weightings of 80% and 20% the totals are 100 and 25, which is why the course is out of 125. The marks and timings are in the improving assessment paper, which lists them as the arrangements before the 2027 change.
The assignment is an investigation you carry out and write up: in 2025 the topics included rates of reaction, conductivity and electrochemical cells, and alcohols as fuels was much less common than before, according to the course report.
How many candidates got each grade in 2025
| Grade | Lowest mark | Candidates | Share | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 89 | 6,894 | 45.3% | 45.3% |
| B | 75 | 3,020 | 19.9% | 65.2% |
| C | 62 | 2,203 | 14.5% | 79.7% |
| D | 48 | 1,781 | 11.7% | 91.4% |
| No Award | Below 48 | 1,313 | 8.6% | 100% |
Chemistry's A rate beat Physics and Biology. 6,894 candidates, 45.3%, got an A, and only 8.6%, 1,313 candidates, got No Award. Entries fell from 15,894 in 2024 to 15,211.
Turning a mark into a grade
A candidate scores 15 on Section 1 and 40 on Section 2, so 55 out of 100 on the paper, and 12 out of 20 on the assignment, which scales to 15 out of 25. The total is 70. That is above the C line of 62 and 5 below B at 75, so it is a C.
A stronger example: 20 plus 55 gives 75 on the paper, and 16 of 20 on the assignment gives 20 of 25, for 95. That is an A (89 and above), and 13 short of the upper A at 108. The B boundary itself follows from A and C by the SQA's formula: with A at 89 and C at 62 the gap is 27, so B = 62 + ⌊55 ÷ 4⌋ = 62 + 13 = 75.
2025 against earlier years
| Year | Out of | Upper A | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 125 | 108 | 89 | 75 | 62 | 48 |
| 2024 | 125 | 106 | 86 | 73 | 60 | 47 |
| 2023 | 100 | 85 | 69 | 57 | 46 | 34 |
| 2022 | 100 | 85 | 70 | 58 | 46 | 34 |
| 2019 | 125 | 109 | 89 | 74 | 59 | 44 |
The A boundary was 86 in 2024 and 89 in 2025, a 3-mark rise, and C went from 60 to 62, B from 73 to 75 and D from 47 to 48. The 2022 and 2023 totals were 100, with A at 70 and 69, so use shares: A was 70.0% then 69.0%, against 71.2% in 2025. In 2019 the A was 89 of 125, the same 71.2%.
What the SQA said about the 2025 papers
The report says Section 1 performed as intended, and Section 2 was less demanding than intended for stronger candidates, which was considered when setting the boundaries. That fits the rise at A. The assignment performed as expected, and candidates could reach the full range of marks.
The marks that went: in Section 1, only some candidates identified bonding and structure never found in elements (question 4), some did not spot a reaction that was not redox (19). In Section 2, few predicted the volume with hydrochloric acid in place of sulfuric (1(b)(iii)), many did not draw two bonding pairs in oxygen (2(a)), and many did not make clear that bromine, not the hydrocarbon, is decolourised (5(b)(ii)). Few gained all 3 marks on the fertilisers question (6), and many labelled a half-life graph axis "years" without "time" (7(d)(ii)).
What the 2025 numbers mean for you
Most of the lost marks the report names are about careful wording: name the substance that changes colour, label axes with the quantity and the unit, and draw the dot-and-cross correctly. A C needed only 49.6%, but the A at 71.2% needs those marks. Practise moles questions with the Moles Calculator.
For the next series see National 5 Chemistry grade boundaries 2026. For all courses, SQA grade boundaries 2025.
Check yourself with today's paper
Sit today's National 5 Chemistry paper, a short timed paper of 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks written by us, with no assignment. Divide your mark by the total: 22 out of 30 is 73.3%, above the A share of 71.2%, and 14 out of 30 is 46.7%, a little under the C share of 49.6%.
Common questions
What were the National 5 Chemistry grade boundaries in 2025?
What percentage got an A in National 5 Chemistry 2025?
What mark is a C in National 5 Chemistry 2025?
Why is it out of 125?
Did the A boundary rise in 2025?
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Scotland · National 5National 5 Chemistry grade boundaries 2026: A, B, C, D marksNational 5 Chemistry grade boundaries 2026 from Qualifications Scotland: A needed 86 of 125, B 73, C 61 and D 48, with 44.0% getting an A.