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AQA GCSE Physics grade boundaries 2026: marks for each grade

Published 12 Nov 20265 min read

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AQA GCSE Physics grade boundaries June 2026

Copied from the Physics Tier H and Tier F rows of AQA's GCSE grade boundaries for June 2026 (version 1.0, published 20 August 2026). Lowest total out of 200 for each grade; a dash means the tier does not award it.

Grade	Higher tier, out of 200	Foundation tier, out of 200
9	157	-
8	142	-
7	128	-
6	107	-
5	87	141
4	67	126
3	57	92
2	-	58
1	-	24

Two papers of 100 marks make the total. The GCSE Physics guide and AQA GCSE Physics guide cover what the two papers test, and the equation sheet guide shows what you are given.

The 2026 pattern: up at the top, down at the bottom

Against AQA's June 2025 figures:

Grade	Higher 2025	Higher 2026	Change	Foundation 2025	Foundation 2026	Change
9	152	157	+5	-	-	-
8	139	142	+3	-	-	-
7	126	128	+2	-	-	-
6	107	107	0	-	-	-
5	88	87	−1	144	141	−3
4	70	67	−3	131	126	−5
3	61	57	−4	95	92	−3

On the Higher tier, grade 9 rose by 5 marks and grade 8 by 3, while grade 4 fell by 3 and grade 3 by 4. Grade 6 did not move at all, at 107. On Foundation every boundary fell or stayed level, with grade 4 down 5 to 126.

A spread like that means the top students scored higher while the middle and lower ones scored a little lower, so the examiners' grade-setting moved the ends apart. Treat it as a feature of 2026's papers.

A worked 2026 example

A Higher candidate scores 82 and 73. The total of 155 is above the grade 8 boundary of 142 and 2 marks short of the grade 9 boundary of 157, so it is an 8. In 2025 the same total would have been a grade 9, because grade 9 needed 152. A Foundation candidate with 126 matches the grade 4 boundary of 126 and is a 4, where a 2025 total of 126 would have been a grade 3 (grade 4 needed 131).

The gap between a 7 and an 8 is 14 marks in 2026, and between an 8 and a 9 it is 15.

Revision targets from the 2026 numbers

Aim at 64% for a 7. That is 128 marks, 64% of the total.
For a 9, think 79%. 157 is the highest Higher grade 9 boundary of the four summers from 2023 to 2026.
Foundation grade 5 is 71%. 141 marks, so Foundation candidates can still lose about 59 marks and hold a 5.

Use today's paper to estimate your grade

Sit today's Foundation paper or Higher paper, a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks written by us. Convert your mark to a share of the paper's total, then compare it with 34% (Higher grade 4), 64% (grade 7) and 79% (grade 9). 20 out of 31 is 65%, just above the grade 7 share and below the grade 8 share of 71%. Use the Mean, Median and Mode Calculator for a run of days.

Mistakes to avoid

Planning from 2025. Higher grade 9 moved 5 marks, so use this year's table.
Thinking the Higher tier got harder to pass. Higher grade 4 fell to 67, which is lower than in 2025.
Forgetting Combined Science. Combined Science Physics is not graded on this table.

Common questions

What were the AQA GCSE Physics grade boundaries in 2026?

Higher: 9 at 157, 8 at 142, 7 at 128, 6 at 107, 5 at 87, 4 at 67, 3 at 57. Foundation: 5 at 141, 4 at 126, 3 at 92, 2 at 58, 1 at 24. All out of 200.

What mark is a grade 4 in AQA GCSE Physics 2026?

67 out of 200 on Higher, 126 on Foundation.

What mark is a grade 7 in AQA GCSE Physics 2026?

128 out of 200.

Did Physics boundaries rise in 2026?

At the top of Higher, yes: grade 9 rose from 152 to 157. At grade 4 they fell from 70 to 67.

When were the 2026 boundaries published?

20 August 2026.

Revision cards

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