OCR GCSE Chemistry grade boundaries 2026: Higher and Foundation
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OCR GCSE Chemistry grade boundaries 2026
The table copies OCR's June 2026 GCSE boundaries document. Two papers of 90 marks give 180 in either suite. Choose Gateway A (J248) or Twenty First Century B (J258) to match your entry.
| Grade, June 2026 | Gateway A Higher, out of 180 | Gateway A Foundation, out of 180 | Twenty First Century B Higher, out of 180 | Twenty First Century B Foundation, out of 180 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 163 | - | 138 | - |
| 8 | 151 | - | 124 | - |
| 7 | 139 | - | 111 | - |
| 6 | 118 | - | 93 | - |
| 5 | 97 | 120 | 75 | 107 |
| 4 | 76 | 100 | 57 | 87 |
| 3 | 65 | 76 | 48 | 66 |
| 2 | - | 52 | - | 45 |
| 1 | - | 29 | - | 24 |
Chemistry A has risen two years running
| Chemistry boundaries | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Change, 2025 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway A Higher, grade 7 | 127 | 132 | 139 | +7 |
| Gateway A Higher, grade 4 | 68 | 73 | 76 | +3 |
| Gateway A Foundation, grade 5 | 114 | 113 | 120 | +7 |
| Gateway A Foundation, grade 4 | 100 | 97 | 100 | +3 |
| Twenty First Century B Higher, grade 7 | 100 | 114 | 111 | −3 |
| Twenty First Century B Higher, grade 4 | 45 | 56 | 57 | +1 |
| Twenty First Century B Foundation, grade 5 | 86 | 115 | 107 | −8 |
| Twenty First Century B Foundation, grade 4 | 70 | 95 | 87 | −8 |
On Gateway A Higher the grade 4 boundary has gone 68, 73, 76, and the grade 7 boundary 127, 132, 139. A grade 7 in 2026 took 12 more marks than in 2024. As a share, 139 is 77% of the total, the highest grade 7 share in any of the OCR GCSE science tables from 2024 to 2026. Twenty First Century B moved in the opposite direction at Higher, with grade 7 falling from 114 to 111, while its Foundation grade 5 dropped by 8 marks from 115 to 107.
These are movements in the papers, not in the grade itself. Ofqual notes that boundaries often vary from year to year to reflect the difficulty of each paper. The earlier years are in OCR's 2025 document and 2024 document.
Chemistry paper by paper, 2026
| Chemistry A Higher papers, 2026 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 03: Paper 3, out of 90 | 83 | 78 | 73 | 63 | 53 | 43 | 38 |
| Paper 04: Paper 4, out of 90 | 80 | 73 | 66 | 55 | 44 | 33 | 27 |
| Chemistry B Higher papers, 2026 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 03: Breadth in Chemistry, out of 90 | 68 | 61 | 54 | 45 | 36 | 27 | 22 |
| Paper 04: Depth in Chemistry, out of 90 | 70 | 63 | 57 | 48 | 39 | 30 | 26 |
| Chemistry A Foundation papers, 2026 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 01: Paper 1, out of 90 | 65 | 54 | 42 | 29 | 17 |
| Paper 02: Paper 2, out of 90 | 55 | 46 | 34 | 23 | 12 |
Chemistry A Higher Paper 3 and Paper 4 were 83 and 80 for a notional 9, a gap of 3 that is half the size of 2025's. Chemistry B Higher shows a reversal: its Depth paper (70 for a 9) needed more than its Breadth paper (68). On Foundation A, Paper 1 needed null for a 5 and Paper 2 needed null.
Marks to grade in 2026
- Chemistry A Foundation, exactly on a line. A candidate with 48 on Paper 1 and 52 on Paper 2 has 100. The 2026 boundary for a grade 4 is 100, so that total earns a 4, and one mark less would have been a 3. A grade 5 needed 120, 20 more.
- Chemistry B Higher. 62 and 58 make 120. The boundaries are 111 for a 7 and 124 for an 8, so the grade is a 7, 4 marks short of an 8.
What the Chemistry boundaries mean for you
- Gateway A Higher is a demanding target. A grade 4 at 42% is not the whole story, since a grade 6 needed 118, or 66%.
- Foundation is generous on the pass mark, strict on the top. Grade 5 took two thirds of the marks on Gateway A.
- Practise the ratio and mole questions. A calculator is allowed on all papers, and these questions reward clear working.
- Never compare across suites. The two Higher grade 4 boundaries were 76 and 57.
Today's paper as a Chemistry check
Sit Chemistry Higher or Chemistry Foundation and mark it. The paper has 8 questions and is not an OCR paper, so treat the percentage as a pointer. If you are scoring around 54%, that matches the 2026 Gateway A Higher grade 5 line, and the same share would have earned a grade 6 on Chemistry B Higher, where a 6 needed 93.
Common questions
What are the OCR GCSE Chemistry grade boundaries for 2026?
What is a grade 4 in OCR GCSE Chemistry in 2026?
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What is the Chemistry A Higher grade 9 in 2026?
Where does OCR publish them?
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UK · GCSEOCR GCSE Chemistry grade boundaries 2025: all gradesOCR GCSE Chemistry grade boundaries for June 2025: Gateway A and Twenty First Century B, Higher and Foundation, with 2024 for comparison.