CCEA A-level Biology grade boundaries 2025: raw marks by unit
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CCEA A-level Biology grade boundaries 2025, unit by unit
The figures are from CCEA's Raw to Uniform Mark Boundaries for GCE Biology, Summer 2025. Three units are at AS and three at A2; the AS units count for 40% of the A-level and the A2 units for 60%.
| Unit grade | AS 1 | AS 2 | AS 3 | A2 1 | A2 2 | A2 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Out of | 75 | 75 | 71 | 100 | 100 | 75 |
| a | 57 | 59 | 55 | 69 | 68 | 60 |
| b | 51 | 54 | 49 | 59 | 56 | 52 |
| c | 46 | 49 | 44 | 49 | 45 | 44 |
| d | 41 | 44 | 39 | 40 | 34 | 37 |
| e | 36 | 39 | 34 | 31 | 23 | 30 |
| Unit grade | AS 1 | AS 2 | AS 3 | A2 1 | A2 2 | A2 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most you can earn | 90 | 90 | 60 | 144 | 144 | 72 |
| a | 72 | 72 | 48 | 116 | 116 | 58 |
| b | 63 | 63 | 42 | 101 | 101 | 51 |
| c | 54 | 54 | 36 | 87 | 87 | 44 |
| d | 45 | 45 | 30 | 72 | 72 | 36 |
| e | 36 | 36 | 24 | 58 | 58 | 29 |
Subject lines, AS and A-level
| Grade | AS, out of 240 | A-level, out of 600 |
|---|---|---|
| A | 192 | 480 |
| B | 168 | 420 |
| C | 144 | 360 |
| D | 120 | 300 |
| E | 96 | 240 |
A worked example from 2025
A candidate on the grade a raw boundary in all six units in 2025 scored 57, 59, 55, 69, 68, 60. These convert to 72 + 72 + 48 + 116 + 116 + 58 = 482 uniform marks, an A (the line is 480). The A2 part of that was 290 out of 360. The A* rule asks for 324, so a grade A built that way is 34 A2 marks short.
2025 compared with 2024
| Unit and grade | Summer 2024 | Summer 2025 | Change in last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS 2, grade a | 54 | 59 | +5 |
| AS 2, grade e | 31 | 39 | +8 |
| AS 3, grade a | 52 | 55 | +3 |
| A2 1, grade a | 75 | 69 | −6 |
| A2 2, grade a | 73 | 68 | −5 |
| A2 2, grade e | 25 | 23 | −2 |
| A2 3, grade a | 55 | 60 | +5 |
The two big A2 written papers moved the same way. A2 1 grade a fell six marks, to 69, and A2 2 fell five, to 68. Their grade e boundaries fell too, from 34 to 31 and from 25 to 23. The practical A2 3 and the AS 2 paper rose by five at grade a. AS 1 changed by two or less. Biology's 2025 pattern is therefore a split: harder written A2 papers and easier AS 2 and practical papers. In 2026 the A2 written papers came back up to 75 and 76.
How the units are sized
Biology is marked in smaller raw totals than the sciences around it. AS 1 and AS 2 are each out of 75, AS 3 out of 71, A2 3 out of 75, and only the two A2 written papers are out of 100. The uniform marks are 90, 90, 60, 144, 144 and 72. A grade a in A2 1 in 2025 needed 69 out of 100, and in AS 1 it needed 57 out of 75 (76%).
- The A2 written papers are 48% of the A-level between them, so they decide most grades.
- Practical Skills units are 22% of the A-level (AS 3 10%, A2 3 12%).
- Plan your revision by unit weight, not by how many topics a unit has.
Sit today's Year 1 or Year 2 Biology paper as a quick timed check. It is 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks, set by us. For the subject as a whole, see our A-level Biology guide.
Common questions
What were the CCEA A-level Biology boundaries in 2025?
What was grade a in A2 1 Biology in 2025?
Which Biology units rose in 2025?
What are the Biology unit totals?
What does an A* need?
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UK · A-levelCCEA A-level Biology grade boundaries 2026: raw marksCCEA A-level Biology grade boundaries for Summer 2026: raw and uniform marks for all six units, the 600 mark lines and the A* rule.