AQA GCSE grade boundaries 2026: the marks for every grade
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AQA GCSE grade boundaries June 2026
Every figure in these tables comes from AQA's document Grade boundaries, June 2026 exams: GCSE (version 1.0, published 20 August 2026). Each number is the lowest total mark that earns that grade, out of the total shown for the subject. A dash means the tier does not award that grade. Higher papers award grades 9 to 3. Foundation papers award grades 5 to 1.
GCSE grade boundaries 2026: Higher tier
| Higher tier, June 2026 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths 8300, out of 240 | 219 | 192 | 166 | 131 | 97 | 63 | 46 |
| Biology 8461, out of 200 | 133 | 120 | 107 | 88 | 70 | 52 | 43 |
| Chemistry 8462, out of 200 | 155 | 137 | 120 | 94 | 68 | 43 | 30 |
| Physics 8463, out of 200 | 157 | 142 | 128 | 107 | 87 | 67 | 57 |
These boundaries apply to your total across all the papers in the subject: three papers of 80 marks in Maths, two papers of 100 marks in each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. For more on each subject, see our guides to GCSE Maths, GCSE Biology, GCSE Chemistry and GCSE Physics.
GCSE grade boundaries 2026: Foundation tier
| Foundation tier, June 2026 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths 8300, out of 240 | 187 | 154 | 115 | 76 | 38 |
| Biology 8461, out of 200 | 144 | 127 | 91 | 55 | 19 |
| Chemistry 8462, out of 200 | 132 | 110 | 81 | 52 | 24 |
| Physics 8463, out of 200 | 141 | 126 | 92 | 58 | 24 |
Foundation tops out at grade 5, so a Foundation entry cannot lead to a 6 or above. That is a good reason to talk to your teacher about the tier well before the exam.
GCSE Combined Science grade boundaries 2026
Combined Science is worth two GCSEs, so it is graded with double grades such as 7-6, and its total is out of 420 for Trilogy (8464) and 400 for Synergy (8465). Our GCSE Combined Science guide covers the papers.
| Grade | Trilogy Foundation, out of 420 | Trilogy Higher, out of 420 | Synergy Foundation, out of 400 | Synergy Higher, out of 400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-9 | - | 298 | - | 267 |
| 9-8 | - | 280 | - | 251 |
| 8-8 | - | 262 | - | 235 |
| 8-7 | - | 245 | - | 219 |
| 7-7 | - | 228 | - | 203 |
| 7-6 | - | 208 | - | 184 |
| 6-6 | - | 188 | - | 165 |
| 6-5 | - | 168 | - | 146 |
| 5-5 | 276 | 149 | 252 | 127 |
| 5-4 | 257 | 130 | 233 | 108 |
| 4-4 | 238 | 111 | 215 | 90 |
| 4-3 | 208 | 101 | 189 | 81 |
| 3-3 | 178 | - | 163 | - |
| 3-2 | 149 | - | 137 | - |
| 2-2 | 120 | - | 111 | - |
| 2-1 | 91 | - | 85 | - |
| 1-1 | 62 | - | 60 | - |
GCSE Computer Science grade boundaries 2026
Computer Science (8525) has one tier and is out of 180. The boundaries are the same for all three programming options (C#, Python and VB.NET). The 2025 column is there for comparison. Our GCSE Computer Science guide covers the papers.
| Grade | June 2026 | June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 160 | 155 |
| 8 | 148 | 142 |
| 7 | 136 | 130 |
| 6 | 114 | 111 |
| 5 | 93 | 92 |
| 4 | 72 | 74 |
| 3 | 54 | 55 |
| 2 | 37 | 36 |
| 1 | 20 | 18 |
How marks become a grade
Add up your marks from every paper in the subject, then find the highest boundary your total reaches. These three examples use made-up totals.
- Physics, Higher. 64 on Paper 1 and 69 on Paper 2 is 133 out of 200. That is above 128 (grade 7) and below 142 (grade 8), so it is a grade 7, 9 marks short of an 8.
- Maths, Foundation. 49, 52 and 49 on the three papers is 150 out of 240. That is above 115 (grade 3) and below 154 (grade 4), so it is a grade 3, 4 marks short of a 4.
- Combined Science Trilogy, Higher. A total of 215 out of 420 is above 208 (7-6) and below 228 (7-7), so it is a 7-6, 13 marks short of a 7-7.
The boundary is the lowest mark for the grade, so a total that equals a boundary gets that grade, not the one below.
How 2026 compares with 2025
AQA published the June 2025 boundaries on 21 August 2025 in its 2025 document. Here is grade 4 (or 4-4 in Combined Science) in both years:
| Subject and tier | Out of | 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2026 as a share of the total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths Foundation | 240 | 160 | 154 | −6 | 64% |
| Maths Higher | 240 | 63 | 63 | 0 | 26% |
| Biology Foundation | 200 | 121 | 127 | +6 | 64% |
| Biology Higher | 200 | 56 | 52 | −4 | 26% |
| Chemistry Foundation | 200 | 109 | 110 | +1 | 55% |
| Chemistry Higher | 200 | 42 | 43 | +1 | 22% |
| Physics Foundation | 200 | 131 | 126 | −5 | 63% |
| Physics Higher | 200 | 70 | 67 | −3 | 34% |
| Computer Science | 180 | 74 | 72 | −2 | 40% |
| Combined Science Trilogy Foundation, 4-4 | 420 | 231 | 238 | +7 | 57% |
| Combined Science Trilogy Higher, 4-4 | 420 | 96 | 111 | +15 | 26% |
| Combined Science Synergy Foundation, 4-4 | 400 | 214 | 215 | +1 | 54% |
| Combined Science Synergy Higher, 4-4 | 400 | 93 | 90 | −3 | 23% |
The movements are a few marks each, and they go both ways. Maths Higher grade 4 stayed at 63, while Maths Foundation grade 4 fell from 160 to 154. In Combined Science Trilogy Higher, 4-4 rose from 96 to 111.
Here are grades 7 and 9 on the Higher tier:
| Subject | Out of | Grade 7, 2025 | Grade 7, 2026 | Grade 9, 2025 | Grade 9, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths Higher | 240 | 164 | 166 | 219 | 219 |
| Biology Higher | 200 | 113 | 107 | 141 | 133 |
| Chemistry Higher | 200 | 115 | 120 | 150 | 155 |
| Physics Higher | 200 | 126 | 128 | 152 | 157 |
| Computer Science | 180 | 130 | 136 | 155 | 160 |
Maths Higher grade 9 stayed at 219. Chemistry and Physics both rose at grade 9, from 150 to 155 and from 152 to 157. Biology Higher fell at every grade from 9 to 3: grade 9 went from 141 to 133.
Why grade boundaries change every year
Ofqual explains that grade boundaries are set after students have taken their assessments and marking is nearly complete, and that senior examiners recommend them for each qualification. They vary from year to year to reflect the difficulty of each paper. A boundary that rises or falls therefore tells you about the papers, not about how hard a grade is to earn. Ofqual also says that the bottom of grade 4 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade C, and the bottom of grade 7 to the bottom of the old grade A.
What the boundaries mean for you
Look at the share of the total, not the raw mark. A Higher grade 4 sits between about a fifth and a third of the marks in Maths and the three sciences, while a Foundation grade 4 needs 55% to 64%. It is the same grade on two different papers with separate boundaries. Here is each Higher boundary as a rounded share of the total:
| Share of the total, June 2026 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths Higher | 91% | 80% | 69% | 55% | 40% | 26% | 19% |
| Biology Higher | 67% | 60% | 54% | 44% | 35% | 26% | 22% |
| Chemistry Higher | 78% | 69% | 60% | 47% | 34% | 22% | 15% |
| Physics Higher | 79% | 71% | 64% | 54% | 44% | 34% | 29% |
| Computer Science | 89% | 82% | 76% | 63% | 52% | 40% | 30% |
- Use them as a range, not a prediction. This year's boundaries tell you roughly where the grades sit, and next year's will differ by a few marks either way.
- Aim a little above the grade you need. A buffer of 5 to 10 marks covers a harder paper.
- Do not use the notional component boundaries to mark one paper. AQA's document also shows boundaries for each paper, but says they are for illustration only. The grade comes from your total.
- Other boards have their own. Edexcel, OCR and the rest publish separate boundaries. For Physics we compare AQA, Edexcel and OCR in the GCSE Physics guide.
Use today's paper to estimate your grade
Sit today's paper for your subject and tier on our GCSE papers. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full AQA paper, and it is not written by AQA. Mark it, turn your mark into a share of the total, and compare that with the shares in the table above.
- Sit the paper under timed conditions with your calculator and any equation sheet you will have in the exam.
- Mark it and divide your mark by the paper's total, so 21 out of 30 is 70%.
- Find the row for your subject and the nearest share in the table. In Physics Higher, 70% is above the 64% that 128 out of 200 gives for grade 7 and below the 71% that 142 gives for grade 8.
- Do this on several days and average the results with the Mean, Median and Mode Calculator. One short paper is a rough guide, and a run of results is a better one.
The papers for the tiers we cover are Maths Foundation, Maths Higher, Combined Science Foundation, Combined Science Higher, Biology Foundation, Biology Higher, Chemistry Foundation, Chemistry Higher, Physics Foundation, Physics Higher and Computer Science.
Common mistakes with grade boundaries
- Comparing a Higher mark with a Foundation mark. The two tiers have separate boundaries, and the same grade needs a very different mark.
- Reading the boundaries as percentages. A boundary is a mark. The share of the total is a different number, and it changes when the marks change.
- Judging one paper. The boundary is for the whole qualification, so add every paper before you look anything up.
- Expecting next year's boundaries to match. They are set after marking, and they moved by several marks between 2025 and 2026.
- Forgetting the second grade in Combined Science. A 7-6 is two GCSE grades, not one.
Common questions
What are the AQA GCSE grade boundaries for 2026?
What mark do you need for a grade 7 in AQA GCSE Maths in 2026?
What mark do you need for a grade 4 in AQA GCSE Physics in 2026?
Why is a grade 4 so much lower on the Higher tier?
What does a 7-6 mean in GCSE Combined Science?
How are GCSE grade boundaries set?
When will the 2027 grade boundaries be published?
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UK · GCSEAQA GCSE Maths grade boundaries 2026: Foundation and HigherAQA's official June 2026 GCSE Maths (8300) grade boundaries for Foundation and Higher tiers, compared with June 2025.