GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries 2026: AQA, Edexcel and OCR

How many marks do you need for a grade 4, 5 or 9 in GCSE Physics? The answer depends on your exam board and your tier. The same grade can need very different marks from one board to the next, so a number from a friend's paper may not match yours.

For example, in 2026 a grade 9 on Higher tier needed 163 out of 200 marks with Edexcel, but 157 out of 200 with AQA. OCR marks its papers out of 180, which changes the numbers again, and OCR offers two different Physics GCSEs with their own boundaries.

This guide gives you the 2026 GCSE Physics grade boundaries for AQA, Edexcel and OCR, with 2025 and 2024 for comparison. It also shows you how to use the numbers in your revision, without stress. These figures are for separate Physics (Triple Science), not Combined Science.

Key Takeaways

• Boundaries are the lowest mark for each grade. They are set after the exams are marked, so they change every year.

• Grade 9 on Higher tier needed 141 to 163 marks in 2026, depending on the board and course (out of 200, or out of 180 for OCR).

• Grade 4 on Higher tier needed 67 to 80 marks, while on Foundation tier it needed 106 to 126 marks.

• Higher grade 4 needs a low percentage and Foundation grade 4 needs a high one. It is the same standard of grade.

• Do not copy another board's numbers. Always check your own board, tier and year.

What Are GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries?

A grade boundary is the lowest total mark that earns a grade. If the grade 5 boundary is 87, then 87 marks is a grade 5 and 86 marks is a grade 4. Your total comes from adding up your marks across both Physics papers.

Boundaries move because papers change. A harder paper gets lower boundaries and an easier paper gets higher ones, so a grade always shows the same standard. You can read the full process in our guide on how GCSE grade boundaries are decided, and see how this year compares in our post on whether grade boundaries are lower this year.

GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries at a Glance (2026)

Higher tier (grades 9 to 4)

Board	Grade 9	Grade 7	Grade 5	Grade 4
AQA (8463, out of 200)	157	128	87	67
Edexcel (1PH0, out of 200)	163	134	92	71
OCR Physics A, Gateway (J249, out of 180)	152	131	97	80
OCR Physics B, Twenty First Century (J259, out of 180)	141	119	87	71

Foundation tier (grades 5 to 3)

Board	Grade 5	Grade 4	Grade 3
AQA (out of 200)	141	126	92
Edexcel (out of 200)	135	118	88
OCR Physics A (out of 180)	123	108	80
OCR Physics B (out of 180)	121	106	84

Foundation tier only goes up to grade 5, and Higher tier covers grades 9 to 4, with an allowed grade 3 on some boards. Eduqas also offers GCSE Physics, but we could not confirm its recent boundaries. Please check the Eduqas website.

Not sure which board you are on? Read our guide on how to find your GCSE exam board before you use any table below.

AQA GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries

AQA GCSE Physics (8463) has two papers, with a total of 200 marks. It is offered at Foundation and Higher tier. You can see how the papers are laid out in our guide to free AQA GCSE Physics past papers.

Higher Tier (out of 200)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 9	157	152	151
Grade 8	142	139	136
Grade 7	128	126	122
Grade 6	107	107	103
Grade 5	87	88	85
Grade 4	67	70	67
Grade 3	57	61	58

Foundation Tier (out of 200)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 5	141	144	136
Grade 4	126	131	122
Grade 3	92	95	89
Grade 2	58	59	56
Grade 1	24	24	24

AQA's top grades have crept up. The grade 9 boundary rose from 151 in 2024 to 152 in 2025 and 157 in 2026. In percentage terms, a 2026 grade 9 was about 79% (157 out of 200) and a Higher grade 4 was about 34% (67 out of 200). On Foundation tier, a grade 4 needed about 63% (126 out of 200). Foundation boundaries fell in 2026 compared with 2025, so you can see why you cannot rely on last year's numbers.

You can practise with real papers on our GCSE Physics past papers page and check your total against these tables.

Edexcel GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries

Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0) is also marked out of 200 across two papers. Both Foundation and Higher tiers are available.

Higher Tier (out of 200)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 9	163	161	161
Grade 8	148	145	146
Grade 7	134	130	131
Grade 6	113	110	109
Grade 5	92	90	87
Grade 4	71	71	66
Grade 3	60	61	55

Foundation Tier (out of 200)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 5	135	131	135
Grade 4	118	114	119
Grade 3	88	86	90
Grade 2	59	58	62
Grade 1	30	30	34

Edexcel's grade 9 boundary was 163 out of 200 in 2026 (about 82%), higher than AQA's 157. Its Higher grade 4 stayed at 71 in both 2025 and 2026 but was 66 in 2024. On Foundation tier, a grade 4 was about 59% (118 out of 200) in 2026, which is lower than AQA's 63%. That is why a score that earns a Foundation grade 4 with one board might not earn it with another.

OCR GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries

OCR publishes two separate Physics GCSEs. Physics A (Gateway Science, J249) and Physics B (Twenty First Century Science, J259) are each marked out of 180, using two papers worth 90 marks each. Their boundaries are different, so check which one your school teaches.

Physics A, Higher Tier (out of 180)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 9	152	150	147
Grade 8	141	138	135
Grade 7	131	127	123
Grade 6	114	109	104
Grade 5	97	92	85
Grade 4	80	75	66
Grade 3	71	66	56

Physics A, Foundation Tier (out of 180)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 5	123	114	115
Grade 4	108	101	102
Grade 3	80	77	77
Grade 2	53	54	52
Grade 1	26	31	28

Physics B, Higher Tier (out of 180)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 9	141	147	144
Grade 8	130	135	131
Grade 7	119	123	118
Grade 6	103	106	102
Grade 5	87	90	86
Grade 4	71	74	70
Grade 3	63	66	62

Physics B, Foundation Tier (out of 180)

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade 5	121	121	113
Grade 4	106	108	99
Grade 3	84	85	76
Grade 2	62	62	53
Grade 1	40	40	30

OCR shows some of the biggest year to year swings. On Physics A Higher tier, the grade 4 boundary climbed from 66 in 2024 to 75 in 2025 and 80 in 2026, a rise of 14 marks in two years. In 2026 that was about 44% of 180. Physics B moved the other way, with its Higher grade 9 falling from 147 to 141 in 2026. Two courses from the same board, going in different directions, is a clear sign that boundaries depend on the individual papers.

What About Eduqas and WJEC GCSE Physics?

Eduqas (England) and WJEC (Wales) also offer GCSE Physics. We could not confirm their recent raw mark boundaries, and WJEC reports results on a uniform mark scale rather than a single raw total. If you take one of these, please check your board's website or ask your school's exams officer for the exact numbers.

How Many Students Get Each Grade in GCSE Physics?

Here is the bigger picture. These are the national results for GCSE Physics, from all boards and all candidates, as shown below:

Grade	2026	2025	2024
Grade Entries	160,986	163,955	174,722
Grade Grade 9	13.8%	14.0%	13.5%
Grade Grade 7 and above	45.9%	45.3%	44.1%
Grade Grade 4 and above	91.5%	90.8%	90.2%

Physics students are a strong group, since most take it as part of Triple Science. That is one reason a grade 4 in Physics sits at a lower percentage than you might expect.

How to Use GCSE Physics Grade Boundaries in Your Revision

1. Confirm your board and course. Check the front of your exam paper. For OCR, make sure you know if you take Physics A or Physics B.

2. Mark a full set of papers. Do both papers under timed conditions and mark them strictly with the official mark scheme. Our GCSE Physics past papers page is a good place to start.

3. Add up your total. Combine the marks from both papers, because the grade comes from the total, not from one paper.

4. Compare it with the tables above. Find the closest boundary for your board and tier, then see how far you are from your target.

5. Build a safety margin. Boundaries move each year, so aim for at least 10 marks above the boundary you want.

6. Find where you lose marks. Sort mistakes into topics, such as forces, electricity or waves, and fix the biggest group first. Our guide on how to pass GCSE Physics shows how.

7. Test again. Sit another paper a few weeks later and check that your total has risen. A GCSE mock exam is a great way to do this under real conditions.

Why Is a Grade 4 So Low on Higher Tier?

Look back at the tables. A Higher grade 4 needed only 67 to 80 marks in 2026, which is about 34% to 44%. A Foundation grade 4 needed 106 to 126 marks, which is about 59% to 63%. This looks odd, but it makes sense. Higher papers have many very hard questions, so most students score fewer marks overall. Foundation papers are easier, so students score more.

The grade means the same on both tiers. Higher tier is not a shortcut to a grade 4, because a student on the edge has to answer much harder questions. Use your mock results and your teacher's advice to choose a tier. Our guide on the difference between Higher and Foundation will help, and our post on what percentage a grade 4 is in GCSE goes deeper.

What If You Take Combined Science Instead?

If you take Combined Science, you do not get a separate Physics grade. Combined Science gives a double grade, such as 5 5 or 6 5, covering Biology, Chemistry and Physics together, and its boundaries are different from the ones above. The tables in this guide only apply to separate Physics (Triple Science). If you are taking Combined Science, our guide on how to pass GCSE Science is a better place to start.

Turn Your Physics Knowledge Into Results

Grade boundaries tell you the target. Preparation gets you there. At Pass My GCSEs, our GCSE tutors teach one to one, find the topics costing you marks and give you exam practice that matches your board. Our GCSE mock exams show you where you stand, our GCSE revision courses cover the full syllabus in order, and our GCSE Physics past papers give you real questions to practise. If you are planning ahead, see our guide on whether GCSE 2027 will be hard, and compare with our GCSE Maths grade boundaries and GCSE Chemistry grade boundaries.

< h2>Conclusion

GCSE Physics grade boundaries change every year and differ by board, course and tier. In 2026, a Higher grade 9 needed between 141 and 163 marks, a Higher grade 4 needed between 67 and 80, and a Foundation grade 4 needed between 106 and 126, out of 200 for AQA and Edexcel and out of 180 for OCR. Use the tables for your own board as a guide, and never rely on another board's numbers. Mark full papers strictly, build a safety margin of at least 10 marks and focus on the topics that cost you the most. Steady, honest practice beats guessing the boundary every time.