OCR GCSE Computer Science grade boundaries 2026: grades 9 to 1

OCR GCSE Computer Science grade boundaries 2026

Figures from OCR's June 2026 GCSE boundaries PDF. The qualification is Paper 1 (Computer systems) plus Paper 2 (Computational thinking, algorithms and programming), 80 marks each, and every candidate sits the same papers.

See the OCR GCSE Computer Science guide for the papers and the OCR GCSE boundaries for 2026 for the other subjects.

A steady year at the top, a drop at the bottom

After the rise of 2025, the top of the scale held: grade 9 stayed at 141, grade 8 at 132 and grade 7 moved from 123 to 124. The middle slipped by a mark, with grade 5 at 92 and grade 4 at 77. The lower grades moved further: grade 3 fell from 58 to 56, grade 2 from 39 to 35, and grade 1 from 20 to 14, a drop of 6 marks. Against 2024, though, the whole scale is still higher: grade 4 is 5 marks above 72.

Ofqual says senior examiners recommend boundaries after marking, and they vary to reflect the difficulty of each paper. A drop at grades 1 and 2 means those marks were easier to reach this year. The earlier documents are OCR's 2025 and 2024 releases.

Paper 1 against Paper 2 in 2026

The papers changed places. In 2025 Paper 2 needed 71 for a notional 9 against 70 on Paper 1. In 2026 Paper 1 needed 72 and Paper 2 needed 69. By grade 4 Paper 1 still led, 41 to 36. These are information only: OCR awards the grade on the total of the two.

Marks to grade, 2026 and 2025 compared

A candidate scores 45 on Paper 1 and 37 on Paper 2, so 82. The 2026 boundaries are 77 for a 4 and 92 for a 5, which makes this a grade 4 and 10 marks short of a 5. In 2025 the same total of 82 sat 4 marks above a 4 line of 78, and 11 short of the 5 line of 93.

The arithmetic is described in OCR's guide to GCSE grades.

What to do with the 2026 numbers

• Plan for the middle of the scale. Grades 4 to 7 sit between 48% and 78% of the total, so a steady half of the marks on each paper is a pass.
• Treat grade 9 as near-perfect. 141 out of 160 is 88%, which leaves room for only about 19 lost marks.
• Keep the programming practice going. Paper 2 carries the code questions, and Paper 1 carries the theory, so each is worth half.
• Revise units and number systems. They come up as short, reliable marks on a paper without a calculator.

Sit today's Computer Science paper

Try Computer Science, mark it with the worked scheme, and compare your percentage with the shares above. It is a short paper of 8 questions and not an OCR paper. Scoring 68% would match the 2026 grade 6.

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UK · GCSEOCR GCSE Computer Science grade boundaries 2025OCR GCSE Computer Science (J277) June 2025 grade boundaries for every grade 9 to 1, paper by paper, with 2024 for comparison.