OCR GCSE grade boundaries 2026: the mark for each grade
GCSE Maths Higher
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OCR GCSE grade boundaries 2026: what changed
Two headlines stand out in OCR's 2026 figures. Maths Higher rose at every grade: grade 4 went from 47 to 57, a jump of 10 marks on a total of 300. In Twenty First Century Biology B, the Higher boundaries went the other way and grade 4 fell from 60 to 53 out of 180. Both are in the tables further down, which copy OCR's GCSE (9-1) qualification and notional component raw mark grade boundaries for the June 2026 series.
Check the version number if you compare with a copy you saved earlier. The document we used is labelled version 1.1 and published 25 September 2026, and OCR may reissue it.
GCSE boundaries 2026 by tier
Higher tier
Grades 9 to 3 are awarded on Higher papers. The total is out of 300 for Maths and 180 for each science.
| Higher tier, June 2026 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths (J560), out of 300 | 264 | 217 | 170 | 132 | 94 | 57 | 38 |
| Biology A (J247), out of 180 | 141 | 131 | 121 | 103 | 86 | 69 | 60 |
| Biology B (J257), out of 180 | 138 | 124 | 110 | 91 | 72 | 53 | 43 |
| Chemistry A (J248), out of 180 | 163 | 151 | 139 | 118 | 97 | 76 | 65 |
| Chemistry B (J258), out of 180 | 138 | 124 | 111 | 93 | 75 | 57 | 48 |
| Physics A (J249), out of 180 | 152 | 141 | 131 | 114 | 97 | 80 | 71 |
| Physics B (J259), out of 180 | 141 | 130 | 119 | 103 | 87 | 71 | 63 |
Foundation tier
Foundation papers award grades 5 to 1, so the top grade is a 5.
| Foundation tier, June 2026 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths (J560), out of 300 | 183 | 133 | 96 | 59 | 23 |
| Biology A (J247), out of 180 | 112 | 93 | 68 | 43 | 18 |
| Biology B (J257), out of 180 | 112 | 91 | 71 | 52 | 33 |
| Chemistry A (J248), out of 180 | 120 | 100 | 76 | 52 | 29 |
| Chemistry B (J258), out of 180 | 107 | 87 | 66 | 45 | 24 |
| Physics A (J249), out of 180 | 123 | 108 | 80 | 53 | 26 |
| Physics B (J259), out of 180 | 121 | 106 | 84 | 62 | 40 |
Each science has two suites, Gateway (A) and Twenty First Century (B), so match the code on your entry. Subject guides: Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics.
Combined Science and Computer Science 2026
Combined Science is out of 360 in both suites and gives two grades, from 9-9 down to 1-1. The Combined Science guide has the papers. A student on Gateway A Higher who needed a 4-4 required 121 marks, while a student on Twenty First Century B Higher needed 107.
| Grade | Gateway A Foundation | Gateway A Higher | Twenty First Century B Foundation | Twenty First Century B Higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-9 | - | 275 | - | 257 |
| 9-8 | - | 261 | - | 244 |
| 8-8 | - | 248 | - | 231 |
| 8-7 | - | 235 | - | 218 |
| 7-7 | - | 222 | - | 206 |
| 7-6 | - | 205 | - | 189 |
| 6-6 | - | 188 | - | 172 |
| 6-5 | - | 171 | - | 155 |
| 5-5 | 209 | 154 | 218 | 139 |
| 5-4 | 191 | 137 | 203 | 123 |
| 4-4 | 174 | 121 | 189 | 107 |
| 4-3 | 153 | 113 | 166 | 99 |
| 3-3 | 132 | - | 143 | - |
| 3-2 | 111 | - | 120 | - |
| 2-2 | 90 | - | 97 | - |
| 2-1 | 69 | - | 74 | - |
| 1-1 | 48 | - | 51 | - |
Computer Science has one tier. Its grade 4 moved from 78 to 77 and its grade 7 from 123 to 124. See the Computer Science guide for the two papers.
| Computer Science (J277), out of 160 | June 2026 | June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 141 | 141 |
| Grade 8 | 132 | 132 |
| Grade 7 | 124 | 123 |
| Grade 6 | 108 | 108 |
| Grade 5 | 92 | 93 |
| Grade 4 | 77 | 78 |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 58 |
| Grade 2 | 35 | 39 |
| Grade 1 | 14 | 20 |
How 2026 compares with 2025
Here is the grade 4 on Higher entries, and the grade 5 on Foundation entries, in both years. Grade 5 is the Foundation ceiling, so it is the one to watch there.
| Entry | Out of | Grade 4 (Higher) or 5 (Foundation) in 2025 | Same grade in 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths Higher | 300 | 47 | 57 | +10 |
| Maths Foundation | 300 | 182 | 183 | +1 |
| Biology A Higher | 180 | 66 | 69 | +3 |
| Biology A Foundation | 180 | 109 | 112 | +3 |
| Biology B Higher | 180 | 60 | 53 | −7 |
| Biology B Foundation | 180 | 116 | 112 | −4 |
| Chemistry A Higher | 180 | 73 | 76 | +3 |
| Chemistry A Foundation | 180 | 113 | 120 | +7 |
| Chemistry B Higher | 180 | 56 | 57 | +1 |
| Chemistry B Foundation | 180 | 115 | 107 | −8 |
| Physics A Higher | 180 | 75 | 80 | +5 |
| Physics A Foundation | 180 | 114 | 123 | +9 |
| Physics B Higher | 180 | 74 | 71 | −3 |
| Physics B Foundation | 180 | 121 | 121 | 0 |
Maths Higher added 10 marks at grade 4, and Maths Foundation grade 5 moved by 1 mark. Chemistry A Higher grade 4 rose by 3 to 76. Physics A Foundation grade 5 went from 114 to 123.
| Higher tier | 7 in 2025 | 7 in 2026 | Change | 9 in 2025 | 9 in 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maths | 166 | 170 | +4 | 258 | 264 | +6 |
| Biology A | 117 | 121 | +4 | 139 | 141 | +2 |
| Biology B | 118 | 110 | −8 | 141 | 138 | −3 |
| Chemistry A | 132 | 139 | +7 | 158 | 163 | +5 |
| Chemistry B | 114 | 111 | −3 | 141 | 138 | −3 |
| Physics A | 127 | 131 | +4 | 150 | 152 | +2 |
| Physics B | 123 | 119 | −4 | 147 | 141 | −6 |
Maths Higher grade 9 reached 264, which is 88% of the total. Ofqual explains that senior examiners recommend the boundaries after marking is nearly complete and that they vary to reflect the difficulty of each paper. It also says the bottom of a grade 4 is comparable to the bottom of the old grade C. A boundary that goes up in one year is not a promise that it will go up in the next.
A worked example from the 2026 table
A Maths Foundation candidate scores 38, 33 and 36 on Papers 1, 2 and 3, each out of 100. The total is 107 out of 300. The 2026 Foundation boundaries are 183 for a 5, 133 for a 4 and 96 for a 3. 107 is above 96 and below 133, so the grade is a 3, and the candidate was 26 marks short of a 4. A total of exactly 133 would have been a 4, because the boundary mark itself earns the grade.
OCR explains the arithmetic in How do we calculate your GCSE grade?: component marks are added (with weighting factors where a component counts for more), and the total is checked against the qualification boundaries. Component boundaries are published for information only.
Using the numbers well
- Use shares, not raw marks, to compare subjects. A Higher grade 4 is 19% of the total in Maths, 44% in Physics A and 48% in Computer Science.
- Do not plan on a last-mark margin. Aim for a total that clears the boundary you want by a clear gap.
- Pick the right tier early. A Foundation entry cannot reach grade 6 or above, whatever the total.
- Check which suite you sit. The A and B boundaries in the same science can differ by 20 marks or more.
Sit today's paper and read off a grade
Pick your subject on our GCSE papers and mark today's paper against the worked scheme. It is a short paper of 8 questions, and it is not an OCR paper, so treat the result as an indicator. Work out your percentage, then look across the shares in the tables above. A mark of 20 out of 30 is 67 per cent, so on Maths Higher in 2026 it would sit between the 57% for a grade 7 and the 72% for a grade 8, but on Physics A Higher it would sit between the 63% for a 6 and the 73% for a 7.
The tracks are Maths Higher, Maths Foundation, Combined Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science.
Common questions
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UK · GCSEOCR GCSE Computer Science grade boundaries 2026OCR GCSE Computer Science (J277) June 2026 boundaries for grades 9 to 1, with Paper 1 and Paper 2 figures and three years side by side.