GCSE
AQA GCSE Combined Science Grade Boundaries: How the Double Grade Works
In summer 2026, AQA Combined Science Trilogy Higher tier needed 298 out of 420 for a 9-9, 228 for a 7-7 and 111 for a 4-4. Foundation needed 276 for a 5-5 and 238 for a 4-4. Combined Science awards two grades, and boundaries change every year.
AQA published the summer 2026 grade boundaries for Combined Science Trilogy (8464) on results day, 20 August 2026, and every number here comes from that official document. Combined Science is the version most students sit, it is worth two GCSEs, and it uses a double-grade scale from 9-9 down to 1-1 that confuses almost everyone the first time they see it. Six papers of 70 marks each make a total of 420, and one overall boundary table decides both grades at once. Boundaries are reset after marking every year, so the 2026 figures below are a guide to the territory, not a promise about 2027.
How the double grade actually works
Combined Science gives you two grades because it counts as two GCSEs, but you do not get separate grades for biology, chemistry and physics. All six papers, two per science, feed one total out of 420, and that single total is looked up in one boundary table. The scale runs 9-9, 9-8, 8-8, 8-7, 7-7 and so on down to 1-1, seventeen steps in all. The two grades are always identical or adjacent: you can get an 8-7 but never an 8-5, and there is no mechanism for a brilliant physicist to pull a 9 in physics while sitting on a 5 in biology, because the qualification never separates them. Higher tier covers 9-9 down to 4-4, with 4-3 as an allowed safety-net grade just below. Foundation covers 5-5 down to 1-1. On results day you see something like 5-4, which counts as two grades, a 5 and a 4, when sixth forms and colleges add up your results.
Summer 2026 Higher tier boundaries, and how they moved
Out of 420: 9-9 needed 298 marks, 9-8 needed 280, 8-8 needed 262, 8-7 needed 245, 7-7 needed 228, 7-6 needed 208, 6-6 needed 188, 6-5 needed 168, 5-5 needed 149, 5-4 needed 130, 4-4 needed 111 and the allowed 4-3 needed 101. In percentages, a 9-9 was about 71 percent, a 7-7 about 54 percent, a 5-5 about 35 percent and a 4-4 about 26 percent. Compared with summer 2025, the top barely moved: 9-9 was 299 then, and 7-7 was exactly 228 in both years. The bottom rose sharply, though. The 4-4 jumped from 96 to 111 and the 5-5 from 140 to 149, which usually means the papers were more accessible at the lower end. If you are a borderline Higher student, note that trend, because the pass that cost 23 percent in 2025 cost 26 percent in 2026, and it may drift again next summer.
Summer 2026 Foundation tier boundaries
Out of 420: the top available grade, 5-5, needed 276 marks, 5-4 needed 257, 4-4 needed 238, 4-3 needed 208, 3-3 needed 178, 3-2 needed 149, 2-2 needed 120, 2-1 needed 91 and 1-1 needed 62. In percentages, a 5-5 took about 66 percent, a 4-4 about 57 percent and a 3-3 about 42 percent. Against 2025 everything nudged up a little: 5-5 rose from 271, 4-4 from 231 and 3-3 from 173. Movements of five to seven marks out of 420 are small, under two percent, so Foundation difficulty was essentially stable. The number worth staring at is 238 for a 4-4: to bank the double standard pass on Foundation you need well over half the marks, whereas on Higher the same 4-4 sat at 26 percent. That is not a trick, it reflects how much harder the Higher papers are, but it should shape which tier you enter.
Foundation or Higher: honest strategy
The tier decision matters more in Combined Science than almost anywhere else because it covers two GCSEs at once: get it wrong and both grades suffer. Foundation caps you at 5-5, so if a sixth form course wants 6s in science, Foundation cannot deliver them no matter how well you perform. Higher's floor is the allowed 4-3, 101 marks in 2026; fall below that and the result is unclassified, where the same performance on Foundation would have earned solid grades. A sensible test from the 2026 numbers: if your timed mocks on Higher papers sit reliably above roughly 30 percent, you had margin over the 4-4 line with room for a bad day. If you are scraping 25 percent, you are betting two GCSEs on the boundary staying put, and 2026 proved it can rise by fifteen marks in a year. Sit real past papers under exam conditions, mark them harshly, and let that evidence pick the tier. And remember these boundaries reset every summer.
Stuck on a different question?
Paste or photograph it and get the full working, free — no account needed.
Solve my question →Quiz me on this topicQuestions students ask
What does a 4-3 mean in GCSE Combined Science?
It is two grades, a 4 and a 3, across the two GCSE slots. On Higher tier, 4-3 is the allowed safety-net grade for students who narrowly miss 4-4; in summer 2026 it sat at 101 marks out of 420.
What percentage is a 9-9 in AQA Combined Science?
In summer 2026, 298 out of 420 on Higher tier, which is about 71 percent. That is lower than the grade 9 threshold in many single subjects, but the boundary changes each series, so do not treat it as fixed.
Can you get different grades in biology, chemistry and physics?
Not independently. All six papers feed one total and one boundary table, so the two grades are always equal or adjacent, like 6-6 or 6-5. If you want a separate grade for each science, you need Triple Science instead.
Does Combined Science count as two GCSEs?
Yes. A 6-6 counts as two GCSEs at grade 6, and a 5-4 counts as one 5 and one 4 when colleges add up your results for entry requirements.
Are the 2026 boundaries a safe target for 2027?
No. AQA sets boundaries after marking each summer. The Higher 4-4 rose from 96 to 111 marks between 2025 and 2026, so build a margin above the most recent numbers rather than aiming exactly at them.