CCEA GCSE Combined Science (Double Award) grade boundaries 2026
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CCEA GCSE Double Award Science grade boundaries 2026
The tables copy CCEA's Raw to Uniform Mark Boundaries for GCSE Double Award Science (G9824), Summer 2026, loaded on 20 August 2026. The course has seven units. Biology, Chemistry and Physics each have a Unit 1 (B1, C1, P1) and a Unit 2 (B2, C2, P2), and Unit 7 is a single practical skills unit shared by all three sciences. Every unit has a Foundation and a Higher entry. The unit codes in CCEA's tables are GDW1 to GDW7.
Unit 1: Biology, Chemistry and Physics (raw marks)
| Unit grade | Biology B1, Foundation | Biology B1, Higher | Chemistry C1, Foundation | Chemistry C1, Higher | Physics P1, Foundation | Physics P1, Higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Out of | 60 | 70 | 60 | 70 | 60 | 70 |
| a | - | 51 | - | 46 | - | 57 |
| b | - | 44 | - | 39 | - | 49 |
| c* | 37 | 37 | 38 | 32 | 43 | 41 |
| c | 32 | 31 | 31 | 25 | 36 | 34 |
| d | 27 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 30 | 27 |
| e | 23 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 25 | 23 |
| f | 19 | - | 15 | - | 20 | - |
| g | 15 | - | 10 | - | 15 | - |
Unit 2: Biology, Chemistry and Physics (raw marks)
| Unit grade | Biology B2, Foundation | Biology B2, Higher | Chemistry C2, Foundation | Chemistry C2, Higher | Physics P2, Foundation | Physics P2, Higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Out of | 70 | 80 | 70 | 80 | 70 | 80 |
| a | - | 66 | - | 60 | - | 62 |
| b | - | 60 | - | 51 | - | 54 |
| c* | 40 | 55 | 39 | 43 | 43 | 47 |
| c | 34 | 50 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 40 |
| d | 29 | 45 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 33 |
| e | 24 | 42 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 29 |
| f | 20 | - | 15 | - | 15 | - |
| g | 16 | - | 10 | - | 9 | - |
Unit 7: practical skills (raw marks)
| Unit grade | Practical unit 7, Foundation | Practical unit 7, Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Out of | 150 | 150 |
| a | - | 106 |
| b | - | 86 |
| c* | 62 | 67 |
| c | 50 | 48 |
| d | 41 | 29 |
| e | 32 | 19 |
| f | 23 | - |
| g | 14 | - |
The pairs of subject grades, Summer 2026
| Pair of grades | Summer 2026, out of 600 |
|---|---|
| A*A* | 541 |
| A*A | 510 |
| AA | 480 |
| AB | 462 |
| BB | 438 |
| BC* | 420 |
| C*C* | 402 |
| C*C | 378 |
| CC | 360 |
| CD | 330 |
| DD | 300 |
| DE | 270 |
| EE | 240 |
| EF | 210 |
| FF | 180 |
| FG | 150 |
| GG | 120 |
How the pair is worked out
There is no second exam to sit for the second grade. The same total of up to 600 uniform marks yields both. The pair is a band: a total of 480 to 509 is AA, 462 to 479 is AB, and so on down to 120 for GG. The marks per unit are small, because there are seven of them. Unit 1 on Higher is worth up to 66 uniform marks for each science, Unit 2 up to 84, and the practical Unit 7 up to 150. These add to 600: three times 66, three times 84, plus 150. Foundation entries earn at most 436 (three times 48, three times 61 and 109), which sits in the BC* band, so a student on Foundation cannot reach the BB line of 438.
A worked example
Take a Foundation student with exactly the grade c raw mark in every unit: 32, 31, 36, 34, 32, 35, 50. They convert to 40 + 40 + 40 + 51 + 51 + 51 + 90 = 363 uniform marks, which is a CC (360 to 377). A Higher student on the grade a raw marks, 51, 46, 57, 66, 60, 62, 106, earns 53 + 53 + 53 + 68 + 68 + 68 + 120 = 483, which is an AA at the line of 480.
How 2026 compares with 2025
| Unit and grade | Summer 2024 | Summer 2025 | Summer 2026 | Change in last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Higher, c | 32 | 39 | 31 | −8 |
| C1 Foundation, c | 30 | 36 | 31 | −5 |
| B2 Higher, c* | 50 | 50 | 55 | +5 |
| C2 Higher, a | 54 | 57 | 60 | +3 |
| P2 Higher, c | 39 | 42 | 40 | −2 |
| Practical Foundation, c | 45 | 53 | 50 | −3 |
| Practical Higher, c* | 63 | 71 | 67 | −4 |
The written units moved in different directions by science. B1 Higher grade c fell eight marks, from 39 to 31, while B2 Higher grade c* rose five, from 50 to 55, and C2 Higher grade a rose three, to 60. The practical Unit 7 eased a little on both tiers: the Foundation grade c from 53 to 50. At subject level the A*A* line was 544 in 2025 and 541 in 2026, and the A*A line was 512 then 510.
Double Award and Single Award
CCEA also offers Single Award Science, worth one GCSE with a single grade from A* to G out of 400. Its A* boundary was 360 in 2024, 367 in 2025 and 362 in 2026. Most schools teach one or the other, so check which you are entered for before reading a table. Our CCEA GCSE Combined Science guide describes the papers.
Try today's Foundation or Higher Combined Science paper as a timed check. It has 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks, written by us and not by CCEA, so it shows weak topics rather than a grade.
Common questions
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UK · GCSECCEA GCSE Combined Science grade boundaries 2025CCEA GCSE Double Award Science grade boundaries for Summer 2025: raw marks by unit, the 600 mark grade pairs, compared with 2024.