GCSE Science Grade Boundaries
This page is for AQA GCSE Science teachers who want quick access to recent grade boundaries and result statistics.
AQA GCSE Biology
In 2025, the Biology foundation paper grade boundaries are slightly higher than some earlier years, showing a continued trend in modest rise compared with the lower boundaries seen around 2018–2021 in the early years of this specification.
For Biology higher in 2025, a Grade 4 required 56 marks, while a Grade 9 was awarded at 141 marks out of 200. This places the top boundary just below the highest levels seen in 2024, keeping expectations for Grade 9 very demanding.
In 2025, 12.7% of Biology entries achieved Grade 9, at least 43% achieved Grade 7, and at least 89.2% achieved Grade 4. These figures are closely aligned with the outcomes in 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024, suggesting that this grade distribution will stay around this ball park going forward.
AQA GCSE Chemistry
The 2025 Chemistry foundation paper placed Grade 1 at 24 marks and Grade 5 at 132 marks out of 200. These boundaries are broadly in line with earlier years, showing little shift at the pass threshold.
In Chemistry higher, 2025 thresholds were 42 marks for Grade 4 and 150 marks for Grade 9 out of 200. The Grade 9 requirement is slightly higher than some recent series, but still within the range set across earlier years.
Results show 14.9% of Chemistry candidates achieved Grade 9, 45.8% achieved at least Grade 7, and at least 91.7% achieved Grade 4 in 2025. Unlike Biology, this remains about 2% higher for each grade than pre-pandemic levels. More students achieve high grades in Chemistry than Biology, despite higher grade boundaries.
AQA GCSE Physics
For Physics foundation in 2025, the Grade 1 boundary was 24 marks and Grade 5 was 144 marks out of 200. This Grade 5 threshold is higher than previous series, 8 marks higher than 2024 and 21 marks higher than in 2018.
The Physics higher tier in 2025 required 70 marks for Grade 4 and 152 marks for Grade 9 out of 200; the highest of the three single sciences this year. Similarly to the foundation paper, the grade boundaries are consistently going up.
AQA GCSE Combined Science
In 2025, Combined Science foundation boundaries placed Grade 1 at 61 marks and Grade 5 at 271 marks out of 420. This continues the slightly higher grade boundaries seen post-pandemic.
For Combined Science higher tier, Grade 4 was awarded at 85 marks, and Grade 9 at 299 marks out of 420. The changes since 2018 follow the same trend as the foundation paper.
Results for Combined Science in 2025 show that 1.1% of entries achieved Grade 99, 43% achieved at least Grade 7–7, and 89.2% achieved at least Grade 4–4. These proportions are in line with recent years, indicating stable grade outcomes over time. However, the percentage of pupils accessing the very top grades is notably lower than in the separate sciences, reflecting the different entry routes and grade structures.
Entries
We will continue to add to this page overtime to help you further with understanding grade boundaries and result statistics overtime and between different courses. However, we have produced a helpful xls. file containing grade boundaries and results for AQA, Edexcel and OCR A and B since 2018 which you are welcome to explore.
