Grades & grade boundaries

What are the AQA GCSE Biology grade boundaries?

AQA sets fresh GCSE Biology boundaries after marking each series, so there is no fixed mark per grade. In the last published series (June 2025), Higher tier needed 56 of 200 marks for a grade 4, 113 for a 7 and 141 for a 9. On Foundation tier a grade 4 took 121 of 200 marks and a grade 5 took 140. Full tables below, with percentages.

Last updated 23 August 2026 · Written and fact-checked by the GCSEwiz team

Higher tier boundaries - June 2025 (out of 200 marks)

Each row is the minimum total raw mark across every paper in the qualification (specification 8461H). A mark exactly on the boundary earns the grade.

GradeMinimum mark (out of 200)As a percentage
914171%
812764%
711356%
69447%
57538%
45628%
34623%

Foundation tier boundaries - June 2025 (out of 200 marks)

Each row is the minimum total raw mark across every paper in the qualification (specification 8461F). A mark exactly on the boundary earns the grade.

GradeMinimum mark (out of 200)As a percentage
514070%
412161%
38744%
25327%
11910%

Will the next series use the same boundaries?

No - and that is the system working. AQA sets boundaries at awarding meetings after every script is marked, so a harder paper gets lower boundaries and a gentler one gets higher ones, and a grade means the same standard each year. The June 2025 marks above are the most recent the board has published, which makes them the best available planning anchor - just not a promise about your own series.

How to use these numbers in your revision

Score your past papers against the table and you turn a raw mark into a grade signal - that is exactly what our grade calculator below does for you, including the marks between you and the next grade up. Then aim a comfortable margin above the boundary you want: boundaries move, and marks in the bank beat marks at the line.

Keep the units straight when you do it: the marks above are totals across the whole qualification, not per paper. If you sat one past paper, compare percentages rather than raw marks.

Turn the boundaries into a plan for Biology

GCSEwiz pairs these published boundaries with your own practice, topic by topic, into an estimated readiness for AQA GCSE Biology - so you can see which topics are holding your total back and close the gap with adaptive questions. Start a free trial - no card needed.

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