OCR GCSE Combined Science A (J250 Gateway Science): papers, marks and grades

OCR GCSE Combined Science at a glance

OCR has two combined science specifications: Combined Science A (Gateway Science, J250) and Combined Science B (Twenty First Century Science, J260). This guide covers Combined Science A. It is a Double Award, so the one qualification is worth two GCSEs, and you receive a pair of grades such as 5-4. It is linear, with every paper sat in the May and June series at the end of the course.

That is 360 marks. Foundation covers grades 5-5 to 1-1 and Higher covers 9-9 to 4-4, and you must take the same tier for all six papers. Papers 2, 4 and 6 (and 8, 10 and 12 at Higher) include synoptic questions and assume knowledge of the first half of each science.

What each paper looks like

Every paper has Section A of 10 multiple choice marks and Section B of 50 marks of short answer questions (practical, maths and structured questions), including a six mark Level of Response extended answer. Each paper is on one science only.

• Biology: B1 cell level systems, B2 scaling up, B3 organism level systems, B4 community level systems, B5 genes, inheritance and selection, B6 global challenges.
• Chemistry: C1 particles, C2 elements, compounds and mixtures, C3 chemical reactions, C4 predicting and identifying reactions and products, C5 monitoring and controlling chemical reactions, C6 global challenges.
• Physics: P1 matter, P2 forces, P3 electricity and magnetism, P4 waves and radioactivity, P5 energy, P6 global challenges.

Practical skills (CS7) are examined within the papers of all three sciences.

Calculator and maths in OCR Combined Science

OCR permits a scientific or graphical calculator in all twelve papers, subject to the JCQ rules. Because each paper is only 60 marks in 70 minutes, speed matters: write the equation, substitute with units and move on.

Worked examples in OCR style

Biology: percentage change

A potato cylinder has a mass of 12.0 g at the start of an osmosis experiment and 10.2 g at the end.

The mass fell by 15%. A negative sign shows a loss, and the water moved out of the potato by osmosis because the surrounding solution was more concentrated.

Chemistry: reacting masses

Heating 20 g of limestone (pure calcium carbonate) splits it into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. Work out the mass of calcium oxide left. The relative formula masses are 100 for calcium carbonate and 56 for calcium oxide, and the equation shows one mole of each.

Physics: energy and power

A 2400 W kettle runs for 150 seconds.

Use joules and seconds with watts. Practise related skills in our Electricity course:

Grades and June 2026 grade boundaries

OCR adds the marks from your six papers into a total out of 360 and compares it with the boundaries for your tier. The table is from OCR’s document published on 25 September 2026 for the June 2026 series. Boundaries change each year, and OCR also publishes boundaries for each paper, but these are for analysis only. The overall grade is what counts.

Worked through: a Higher student with 160 marks out of 360 is above the 5-5 boundary of 154 and below the 6-5 boundary of 171, so the grade is 5-5.

Using the daily paper as a short timed mock

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on both the Combined Science Foundation and Combined Science Higher tracks, with a new one every day. Each is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, marked instantly with worked answers, and it mixes biology, chemistry and physics. It is not an OCR paper, and it is not a separate 60 mark subject paper.

• Foundation covers: atoms and the periodic table, chemical reactions, cells and organisation, health and disease, ecology, forces, electricity, waves and energy.
• Higher covers: atomic structure and radiation, inheritance and evolution, quantitative chemistry, forces and momentum, electricity and magnetism, organic chemistry, energy changes and rates, cell biology and bioenergetics.

For more on mocks, see our GCSE mocks guide, the GCSE Combined Science guide and the GCSE Combined Science mock paper page.

Exam answers

Uni-Sine does not publish official answers or mark schemes for OCR GCSE Combined Science papers. The answers and a worked mark scheme for each question come with today’s paper once you have submitted it and it has been marked, so you can see where every mark was won or lost.

Common mistakes in OCR GCSE Combined Science

• Revising one science less. Each of biology, chemistry and physics is a third of the marks.
• Running out of time. 60 marks in 70 minutes is about a minute a mark, so do not stall on one question.
• Missing units and equations in calculations.
• Thinking the grade is per subject. You get one pair of grades from the total of all six papers.
• Skipping the practical questions. Planning, variables and graphs appear in every science.

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UK · GCSEOCR GCSE Combined Science grade boundaries 2025OCR GCSE Combined Science June 2025 grade boundaries for Gateway A and Twenty First Century B, every double grade, with 2024 for comparison.