GCSE Combined Science grade calculator
AQA Combined Science: Trilogy Higher
Enter your paper marks
Questions people ask
Is Combined Science two GCSEs?
Yes. It is one double award shown as two numbers, such as 6-5, and it counts as two GCSEs. The two numbers are never more than one grade apart.
What is 9-9 in Combined Science?
The top pair. In June 2026 Higher tier 9-9 needed 298 of 420 for AQA Trilogy, 282 of 360 for Pearson Edexcel and 275 of 360 for OCR Gateway.
Do I get a grade for Biology, Chemistry and Physics?
Not in Combined Science. The board adds every paper and awards one pair. The papers are labelled by science, but only the total counts.
What is the highest grade on Foundation?
5-5. In June 2026 it needed 276 of 420 for AQA Trilogy and 231 of 360 for Pearson Edexcel.
More free tools
Keep going
How we work this out
What it does
Add up every Combined Science paper and read your paired grade, such as 6-5, from the board's own table.
GCSE Combined Science double awards: AQA Trilogy (8464, 420 marks, six papers) and Synergy (8465, 400 marks, four papers), Pearson Edexcel (1SC0, 360 marks, six papers), OCR Gateway A (J250, 360 marks, six papers) and OCR Twenty First Century B (J260, 360 marks, four papers). Higher and Foundation.
Method
- Add every paper's mark: the board awards one grade on the total.
- Read the total against the double-award table for the series: the highest pair whose boundary you reach.
- With papers left blank, we show the marks the rest must bring in for 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7 and 9-9 under that series' boundaries.
Published figures
June 2026 Combined Science boundaries
Total marks for the equal pairs. The in-between pairs (such as 6-5) sit between them; the tool above uses every pair.
| Specification and tier | Max | 9-9 | 8-8 | 7-7 | 6-6 | 5-5 | 4-4 | 3-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA Combined Science: Trilogy Higher (8464) | 420 | 298 | 262 | 228 | 188 | 149 | 111 | – |
| AQA Combined Science: Synergy Higher (8465) | 400 | 267 | 235 | 203 | 165 | 127 | 90 | – |
| AQA Combined Science: Trilogy Foundation (8464) | 420 | – | – | – | – | 276 | 238 | 178 |
| AQA Combined Science: Synergy Foundation (8465) | 400 | – | – | – | – | 252 | 215 | 163 |
| Edexcel Combined Science Higher (1SC0) | 360 | 282 | 251 | 221 | 183 | 145 | 108 | – |
| Edexcel Combined Science Foundation (1SC0) | 360 | – | – | – | – | 231 | 194 | 142 |
| OCR Combined Science A (Gateway) Higher (J250) | 360 | 275 | 248 | 222 | 188 | 154 | 121 | – |
| OCR Combined Science B (Twenty First Century) Higher (J260) | 360 | 257 | 231 | 206 | 172 | 139 | 107 | – |
| OCR Combined Science A (Gateway) Foundation (J250) | 360 | – | – | – | – | 209 | 174 | 132 |
| OCR Combined Science B (Twenty First Century) Foundation (J260) | 360 | – | – | – | – | 218 | 189 | 143 |
Papers: 8464 has 6 papers (70 marks each); 8465 has 4 papers (100 marks each); 1SC0 has 6 papers (60 marks each); J250 has 6 papers (60 marks each); J260 has 4 papers (95 or 75 marks each).