What are the OCR GCSE Biology grade boundaries?

Higher tier boundaries - June 2025 (out of 180 marks)

Each row is the minimum total raw mark across every paper in the qualification (specification J247). A mark exactly on the boundary earns the grade.

Foundation tier boundaries - June 2025 (out of 180 marks)

Each row is the minimum total raw mark across every paper in the qualification (specification J247). A mark exactly on the boundary earns the grade.

Which option you sat matters

OCR examines GCSE Biology as 2 different option combinations, and each gets its own boundaries. In June 2025 the options differed by up to 21 marks at a single grade, so the table above shows the middle of the range - the median across the published options. Your school's exams officer can tell you the exact option code you sat, and the board's own document (linked below) lists every option's row.

Will the next series use the same boundaries?

No - and that is the system working. OCR 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.