OCR GCSE Physics grade boundaries 2025: Gateway A and Twenty First Century B
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OCR GCSE Physics grade boundaries 2025
OCR offers two Physics GCSEs and publishes a separate row for each. The numbers come from OCR's June 2025 GCSE grade boundaries (version 1.0, 21 August 2025). In both suites you sit two papers of 90 marks, so the total is 180, and you are entered for Foundation (grades 5 to 1) or Higher (9 to 3).
| Grade, June 2025 | 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 | 150 | - | 147 | - |
| 8 | 138 | - | 135 | - |
| 7 | 127 | - | 123 | - |
| 6 | 109 | - | 106 | - |
| 5 | 92 | 114 | 90 | 121 |
| 4 | 75 | 101 | 74 | 108 |
| 3 | 66 | 77 | 66 | 85 |
| 2 | - | 54 | - | 62 |
| 1 | - | 31 | - | 40 |
A dash means the tier does not award that grade. Physics A is covered in our OCR GCSE Physics guide. The other subjects sit in the board-wide 2025 OCR GCSE boundaries.
Physics A paper by paper, 2025
In Physics A, Papers 1 and 3 test topics P1 to P4 and P9, and Papers 2 and 4 test P5 to P8 and P9. The notional boundaries for each paper in 2025 show a striking difference between the two Higher papers.
| Physics A Foundation papers, 2025 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 01: Paper 1, out of 90 | 64 | 57 | 44 | 32 | 20 |
| Paper 02: Paper 2, out of 90 | 50 | 44 | 33 | 22 | 11 |
| Physics A Higher papers, 2025 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 03: Paper 3, out of 90 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 62 | 54 | 46 | 42 |
| Paper 04: Paper 4, out of 90 | 70 | 63 | 56 | 47 | 38 | 29 | 24 |
Higher Paper 3 needed 80 out of 90 for a notional 9, but Paper 4 needed only 70. Paper 3's boundaries sit about 10 marks above Paper 4's at the top and about 17 marks above at grade 4. That points to Paper 4 being the harder paper to score on. For Foundation, Paper 1 needed null for a 5 against null on Paper 2. These are for information only, since the grade is decided on the total of both papers.
How 2025 compares with 2024
| Physics boundaries | 2024 | 2025 | Change, 2024 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway A Higher, grade 7 | 123 | 127 | +4 |
| Gateway A Higher, grade 4 | 66 | 75 | +9 |
| Gateway A Foundation, grade 5 | 115 | 114 | −1 |
| Gateway A Foundation, grade 4 | 102 | 101 | −1 |
| Twenty First Century B Higher, grade 7 | 118 | 123 | +5 |
| Twenty First Century B Higher, grade 4 | 70 | 74 | +4 |
| Twenty First Century B Foundation, grade 5 | 113 | 121 | +8 |
| Twenty First Century B Foundation, grade 4 | 99 | 108 | +9 |
Physics A Higher moved up almost everywhere. Grade 4 rose from 66 to 75, grade 5 from 85 to 92 and grade 3 from 56 to 66, a 10 mark rise at the bottom. The Twenty First Century Higher boundaries rose more gently. One of the biggest shifts in the whole table is on Foundation B, where grade 5 moved from 113 to 121 and grade 4 from 99 to 108. The 2024 figures are from OCR's document of 13 March 2025.
Ofqual explains that boundaries vary from year to year to reflect the difficulty of each paper. When a Foundation boundary jumps by 8 marks, it is a signal that the papers were easier, not that the grade got harder.
Two examples: from paper marks to a grade
- Physics A Higher. A candidate scores 62 on Paper 3 and 51 on Paper 4, so 113 out of 180. That is above 109 (grade 6) and below 127 (grade 7), so the grade is a 6, 14 marks short of a 7.
- Physics B Foundation. A candidate scores 55 on the first paper and 50 on the second, so 105. The 2025 boundaries were 108 for a 4 and 85 for a 3. 105 is above 85 and 3 short of 108, so it is a grade 3.
Add both papers first. OCR's GCSE grade guide says the grade is set on the total and that component grades do not add up automatically.
Physics-specific advice
- Do not leave the second paper to chance. In Physics A, Paper 4 carries P5 to P8, which include waves, radioactivity, energy and global challenges, and it also assumes the first half of the course.
- Bank the multiple choice. Each Physics A paper has 15 multiple choice marks, so 30 of the 180 marks are quick to collect.
- Practise equations with units. A calculator is allowed in every paper, but you still need to write the equation and the unit.
- Find your suite. A Higher grade 4 was 75 in Physics A and 74 in Physics B. Check the J number on your entry.
Practise with today's Physics paper
Try Physics Higher or Physics Foundation. Each daily paper has 8 questions, so it is a timed check on method, not an OCR paper. Mark it, then compare the percentage with the 2025 shares: 42% for a Physics A Higher grade 4, 61% for a 6 and 71% for a 7.
Common questions
What were the OCR GCSE Physics grade boundaries in 2025?
What mark is a grade 4 in OCR GCSE Physics in 2025?
What is a grade 9 in OCR GCSE Physics A in 2025?
Is Physics A harder than Physics B?
Did the grade boundaries go up in 2025?
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UK · GCSEOCR GCSE Physics grade boundaries 2026: every gradeOCR GCSE Physics June 2026 boundaries for Gateway A and Twenty First Century B, per paper, with 2024 and 2025 alongside.