AQA A-level Biology grade boundaries 2026: what each grade needed

AQA A-level Biology grade boundaries June 2026

From the Biology Adv row of AQA's A-level grade boundaries for June 2026 (version 1.0, published 13 August 2026). AQA Biology (7402) is three papers: Paper 1 and Paper 2 are 91 marks each, and Paper 3 is 78 marks, which includes an essay worth 25 marks. They add to 260, so every boundary below is out of 260, not 300.

The 2025 column is from AQA's 2025 document. Our guides to A-level Biology and AQA A-level Biology cover the content.

The top moved, the bottom did not

A* rose by 7 marks, A by 9, B by 7 and C by 5. D rose by 2 and E by 0, so it stayed at 63. After a flat 2025, this is the first clear rise at the top since 2024 for Biology, and 199 is the highest A* of the four summers from 2023.

Boundaries are set after marking, so a rise reflects the marks scored on the 2026 papers. It does not mean the standard changed.

Worked example: 2026 against 2025

A candidate scores 50 on Paper 1, 49 on Paper 2 and 45 on Paper 3, a total of 144 out of 260. The 2026 B boundary is 146, so 144 is a C, 2 marks short of a B. In 2025 the B boundary was 139, so the same 144 would have been a B.

At the pass line it is different. A total of 63 is exactly the E boundary of 63 in 2026 and was exactly the E boundary in 2025, so it is an E both years.

AQA's paper-level figures for 2026

Notional boundaries for each paper, "for illustrative purposes only":

Paper 1's notional A* went from 66 to 70, the largest change of the three papers, while Paper 2 went from 69 to 70 and Paper 3 from 57 to 59.

Using the 2026 numbers

• An A* is 77%. 199 marks, 61 below full marks.
• An A is 67%. 174 marks.
• A C is 45%. 118 marks.

Use today's paper to estimate your grade

Open Biology Paper 1 or Paper 2 from today. Each is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, written by us and not by AQA. Mark it, turn it into a share, and compare. 18 out of 30 is 60%, which is above the B share of 56% and below the A share of 67%. A week of results averaged gives a steadier answer.

Mistakes to avoid

• Using the 2025 B boundary. It was 7 marks lower.
• Expecting the pass mark to rise. E stayed at 63.
• Dividing by 300. Biology is out of 260.

Read next

UK · A-levelAQA A-level grade boundaries 2026: every grade, by subjectAQA's official June 2026 A-level grade boundaries for Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science, against 2025.