CCEA A-level Physics grade boundaries 2026: raw marks by unit

CCEA A-level Physics grade boundaries 2026

The tables copy CCEA's Raw to Uniform Mark Boundaries for GCE Physics (A1214), Summer 2026, dated 13 August 2026. A-level Physics has six units: AS 1 Forces, Energy and Electricity; AS 2 Waves, Photons and Astronomy; AS 3 Practical Techniques and Data Analysis; A2 1 Deformation of Solids, Thermal Physics, Circular Motion, Oscillations and Atomic and Nuclear Physics; A2 2 Fields, Capacitors and Particle Physics; and A2 3, the A2 practical unit. The AS units weigh 40% of the A-level and the A2 units 60%.

Uniform marks at each boundary

Subject lines for AS and A-level

Every AS unit fell in 2026

Each AS unit needed fewer raw marks in 2026 than in 2025: AS 2 grade a fell nine marks, from 79 to 70, AS 1 six and AS 3 six. At A2 the pattern was mixed. A2 1 rose seven, from 79 to 86, and A2 3 rose four, while A2 2 fell two, to 78. A2 2 Fields, Capacitors and Particle Physics has now fallen in each of the last two series at grade a, from 88 in 2024 to 80 and then 78, and at grade e, from 55 to 45 to 43. A lower raw boundary is not a lower standard: the uniform mark stays at 116 for a grade a.

A worked example at grade d

A candidate on the grade d raw boundary in every unit scores 53, 52, 42, 67, 51, 57. These convert to 48 + 48 + 24 + 72 + 72 + 36 = 300 uniform marks, which is exactly the D line of 300. The A2 part of that total is 180 of 360. For an A* it would need to be 324, so the A2 requirement is a long way off at that level.

For comparison, a candidate on the grade a boundary in all six units earns 77 + 77 + 39 + 116 + 116 + 58 = 483, an A at 480, with an A2 total of 290. That is 34 short of the 324 that the A* rule asks for in the A2 units.

Why the practical units matter

AS 3 and A2 3 are practical units, 8% and 12% of the A-level. They are small in raw marks (90 each) and carry little in uniform marks (48 and 72), but the grade boundaries are still tight: a grade a in AS 3 needed 66 out of 90, which is 73%. Those units depend on the practical work you do in class, and no amount of last-minute revision replaces it.

Using the table

• Add up uniform marks, not raw. A2 1 and A2 2 are worth 144 each, the most of any unit.
• The AS units count for 40%. If you are doing the full A-level, the AS results are not final: they are cashed in with your A2 units.
• Check the CCEA Physics data sheet to see which equations you are given.

Try today's Year 1 or Year 2 Physics paper as a timed check. It is 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, written by us and not by CCEA. See also our A-level Physics guide.

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