Grading
How is an A* in Biology or Chemistry awarded?
A-levels in England are linear: you sit every written paper in the same May/June series at the end of Year 13, and AS results no longer count towards the A-level. Your paper marks are added into one subject-level total, and that total is compared with the grade boundaries for your exam series. Individual papers are not graded.
Ofqual’s explanation of the A* is simple: the exam board sets one subject-level boundary, and students who reach that mark or higher get an A*. It does not matter how the marks are split between papers. Three things follow from that.
A weaker paper can be rescued
Only the total counts, so marks dropped on one paper can be made up on another. OCR calls its paper-level boundaries “notional”, and Ofqual says they are only a guide.
There is no fixed percentage
Pearson says the A* boundary is set during awarding, at subject level, “using statistical and technical evidence”. Aim to bank every mark, not to hit last year’s number.
Year 12 still counts in June
Every board has at least one paper that can examine content from across the whole course, so Year 12 topics come up again in your final exams.
Know your papers
How are the exams structured on each board?
Each specification below has three written papers plus the separately reported Practical Endorsement. What differs is how long each paper is, how much it is worth and what it can ask about. Ask your teacher which specification you are taking, find its card, and download the full specification from your board’s website: it is the definitive list of what can be examined.
A-level Biology
- AQA 7402
A-level Biology
AQA 7402 A-level Biology: written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Paper 1Topics 1–4 and relevant practical skills 2 h 91 35% Paper 2Topics 5–8 and relevant practical skills 2 h 91 35% Paper 3Topics 1–8, including one essay from a choice of two titles 2 h 78 30% Total 6 h 260 100% Practical work: 12 required practicals, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
Paper 3 includes a 25-mark essay chosen from two titles.
- OCR H420
Biology A
OCR H420 Biology A: written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Biological processes (01)Modules 1, 2, 3 and 5; 15 multiple-choice marks 2 h 15 min 100 37% Biological diversity (02)Modules 1, 2, 4 and 6; 15 multiple-choice marks 2 h 15 min 100 37% Unified biology (03)All modules (1–6) 1 h 30 min 70 26% Total 6 h 270 100% Practical work: At least 12 assessed practical activities, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
OCR says stretch-and-challenge questions are there to support the award of A*.
- OCR H422
Biology B (Advancing Biology)
OCR H422 Biology B (Advancing Biology): written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Fundamentals of biology (01)All modules; 30 multiple-choice marks 2 h 15 min 110 41% Scientific literacy in biology (02)All modules; includes a pre-release Advance Notice article worth 20–25 marks 2 h 15 min 100 37% Practical skills in biology (03)All modules, with an emphasis on practical skills 1 h 30 min 60 22% Total 6 h 270 100% Practical work: At least 12 assessed practical activities, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
- Pearson Edexcel 9BN0
Biology A (Salters-Nuffield)
Pearson Edexcel 9BN0 Biology A (Salters-Nuffield): written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Paper 1: The Natural Environment and Species SurvivalTopics 1–6 2 h 100 33⅓% Paper 2: Energy, Exercise and Co-ordinationTopics 1–4, 7 and 8 2 h 100 33⅓% Paper 3: General and Practical Applications in BiologyTopics 1–8, with one section built on a pre-released scientific article 2 h 100 33⅓% Total 6 h 300 100% Practical work: 18 core practicals, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
The scientific article for Paper 3 is released on Pearson’s website 8 weeks before the exam.
- Pearson Edexcel 9BI0
Biology B
Pearson Edexcel 9BI0 Biology B: written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Paper 1: Advanced Biochemistry, Microbiology and GeneticsTopics 1–7 1 h 45 min 90 30% Paper 2: Advanced Physiology, Evolution and EcologyTopics 1–4 and 8–10 1 h 45 min 90 30% Paper 3: General and Practical Principles in BiologyTopics 1–10, including synoptic questions 2 h 30 min 120 40% Total 6 h 300 100% Practical work: 16 core practicals, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
A-level Chemistry
- AQA 7405
A-level Chemistry
AQA 7405 A-level Chemistry: written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Paper 1Relevant physical chemistry, all inorganic chemistry, practical skills 2 h 105 35% Paper 2Relevant physical chemistry, all organic chemistry, practical skills 2 h 105 35% Paper 3Any content and any practical skills; includes 30 multiple-choice marks 2 h 90 30% Total 6 h 300 100% Practical work: 12 required practicals, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
Paper 3 has 40 marks on practical techniques and data analysis.
- OCR H432
Chemistry A
OCR H432 Chemistry A: written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Periodic table, elements and physical chemistry (01)Modules 1, 2, 3 and 5; 15 multiple-choice marks 2 h 15 min 100 37% Synthesis and analytical techniques (02)Modules 1, 2, 4 and 6; 15 multiple-choice marks 2 h 15 min 100 37% Unified chemistry (03)All modules (1–6) 1 h 30 min 70 26% Total 6 h 270 100% Practical work: At least 12 assessed practical activities, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
- OCR H433
Chemistry B (Salters)
OCR H433 Chemistry B (Salters): written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Fundamentals of chemistry (01)All modules; 30 multiple-choice marks 2 h 15 min 110 41% Scientific literacy in chemistry (02)All modules; includes a pre-release Advance Notice article worth 20–25 marks 2 h 15 min 100 37% Practical skills in chemistry (03)All modules, with an emphasis on practical skills 1 h 30 min 60 22% Total 6 h 270 100% Practical work: At least 12 assessed practical activities, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
Taught through ten storylines, one of which is “What’s in a medicine?”.
- Pearson Edexcel 9CH0
Chemistry
Pearson Edexcel 9CH0 Chemistry: written papers, length, marks and share of the A-level Paper Time Marks Weight Paper 1: Advanced Inorganic and Physical ChemistryTopics 1–5, 8, 10 and 11–15 1 h 45 min 90 30% Paper 2: Advanced Organic and Physical ChemistryTopics 2, 3, 5–7, 9 and 16–19 1 h 45 min 90 30% Paper 3: General and Practical Principles in ChemistryAny topic (1–19), including synoptic and practical questions 2 h 30 min 120 40% Total 6 h 300 100% Practical work: 16 core practicals, linked to the separately reported Practical Endorsement.
What earns the marks
What do examiners reward at A*?
A-level Biology and Chemistry are assessed against the same three assessment objectives, and Ofqual sets the range of marks each must carry across the A-level. Knowledge and understanding (AO1) is capped at 35%, so roughly two-thirds of the marks go to using what you know: in unfamiliar contexts, on data, and in practical settings.
| Objective | What you have to do | Share of marks |
|---|---|---|
| AO1 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures. | 30–35% |
| AO2 | Apply that knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context, in a practical context, and when handling qualitative and quantitative data. | 40–45% |
| AO3 | Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence to make judgements, reach conclusions, and develop and refine practical design and procedures. | 25–30% |
So an A* depends on using knowledge, not just having it. OCR says its stretch-and-challenge questions are there to support the award of A*, and its Chemistry B specification says plainly that questions will be set in unfamiliar contexts. That might be an organism you have not studied, a reaction you have not met or a data set with an anomaly — the marks go to applying the principle to the context in front of you.
Read the command word first
The command word tells you what kind of answer earns the marks. Pearson Edexcel prints its definitions in an appendix to each of its specifications, and the four below show why a description alone falls short on an “explain” or “evaluate” question. On another board, ask your teacher for the definitions it uses.
| Command word | Pearson Edexcel’s definition |
|---|---|
| Describe | To give an account of something. Statements in the response need to be developed as they are often linked but do not need to include a justification or reason. |
| Explain | An explanation requires a justification/exemplification of a point. The answer must contain some element of reasoning/justification, this can include mathematical explanations. |
| Evaluate | Review information then bring it together to form a conclusion, drawing on evidence including strengths, weaknesses, alternative actions, relevant data or information. Come to a supported judgement of a subject’s qualities and relation to its context. |
| Calculate | Obtain a numerical answer, showing relevant working. If the answer has a unit, this must be included. |
Practise the long answers and pre-release material
Long answers are worth planning for. AQA Biology’s Paper 3 includes a 25-mark essay chosen from two titles — 9.6% of all the marks in the A-level, so plan and write practice essays well before the spring of Year 13. Three specifications also give you reading in advance: Pearson’s Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) releases a scientific article eight weeks before Paper 3, and OCR’s Biology B and Chemistry B (Salters) include a pre-release Advance Notice article worth 20–25 marks in their scientific literacy paper. Read it early, look up every unfamiliar term, and predict the questions.
Quantitative skills
How much maths is in A-level Biology and Chemistry?
The Department for Education’s subject content for the sciences sets the rule:
“The assessment of quantitative skills will include at least 10% level 2 or above mathematical skills for biology and psychology, 20% for chemistry and 40% for physics, these skills will be applied in the context of the relevant science A level.”
In practice, at least 10% of the marks in Biology and 20% in Chemistry go to maths at Level 2 or above. AQA describes that level as “at least the standard of higher tier GCSE mathematics”, and OCR spells out what does, and does not, count:
Counts as Level 2 maths
- Questions where you have to choose which data or which equation to use.
- Problem solving that combines different areas of maths and needs you to decide how to proceed.
- A-level maths content, such as logarithmic equations.
Does not count towards it
- Simple substitution with little choice of equation or data.
- Structured questions that only use GCSE maths.
In other words, the Level 2 marks reward setting up a calculation, not just finishing one that has been laid out for you. These skills are worth drilling until they are automatic. Examples from AQA’s specifications (the MS codes are AQA’s):
Biology
- Choosing and using the right statistical test: chi-squared, Student’s t-test or a correlation coefficient (MS 1.9).
- Calculating a standard deviation, and explaining why it can be a more useful measure of spread than the range — for example when there is an outlier (MS 1.10).
- Using and rearranging the magnification formula, and making order-of-magnitude estimates (MS 1.8).
Chemistry
- pH and pKa calculations with logarithms, including buffer approximations (MS 0.4).
- Changing the subject of an equation — for example, finding a rate constant from a rate equation (MS 2.2) — and Hess’s law calculations (MS 2.4).
- Reporting to the right number of significant figures, because a result can only be as precise as the least accurate measurement (MS 1.1).
- Working out the uncertainty in a titre from two burette readings (MS 1.3).
Practical work
Required practicals and the Practical Endorsement
Practical work is assessed in two separate ways, and you need both.
In the written papers
Ofqual expects at least 15% of the exam marks to test practical skills indirectly — commenting on experimental design, identifying variables, plotting and interpreting graphs, and evaluating results with reference to uncertainty. Questions can draw on your required practicals or range beyond them, so know the method, the variables and the likely errors for each one.
The Practical Endorsement
Your teachers assess you directly across at least 12 practical activities. The result is not part of your grade: it appears separately on your certificate as Pass, or Not Classified if you do not meet the standard or do not take it (unless you are exempt on grounds of disability).
| Competency | What you have to show |
|---|---|
| 1. Follows written procedures | Correctly follows written instructions to carry out experimental techniques or procedures. |
| 2. Applies investigative approaches and methods when using instruments and equipment | Uses apparatus correctly with minimal prompting, works methodically, controls significant variables and chooses equipment and measurement strategies that give suitably accurate results. |
| 3. Safely uses a range of practical equipment and materials | Identifies hazards, assesses the risks and uses appropriate safety equipment and approaches with minimal prompting. |
| 4. Makes and records observations | Makes accurate observations and records accurate, precise and sufficient data methodically, with appropriate units and conventions. |
| 5. Researches, references and reports | Uses software or tools to process data and report findings, and cites sources to support planning and conclusions. |
To pass, you have to meet every competency “consistently and routinely” by the end of the course, and keep a record of your practical work. That record is a requirement, not an extra, so keep a careful, dated lab book: write up each practical on the day, with units, uncertainties and any references you used.
Does the endorsement matter for medicine and dentistry?
It can. Some schools make a Pass part of the offer. These 13 courses say so, in our school profiles or on the university’s own entry-requirements page — others may require it too, so check each school’s own entry requirements:
- Aston University Medicine
- Birmingham Medicine
- Cardiff Medicine
- Imperial College London Medicine
- Keele Medicine
- King's College London (KCL) Medicine
- Manchester Medicine
- Newcastle Medicine
- Oxford Medicine
- Sheffield Medicine
- Cardiff Dentistry
- King's College London (KCL) Dentistry
- Sheffield Dentistry
Taken from the university’s own page, because our school profile does not mention it: Medicine at Aston University (opens in a new tab), Medicine at Birmingham (opens in a new tab), Medicine at Keele (opens in a new tab), Medicine at Manchester (opens in a new tab), Medicine at Oxford (opens in a new tab) and Dentistry at King's College London (KCL) (opens in a new tab) (checked 27 and 28 September and 7 October 2026).
How to revise
A revision method that works
There is good evidence about how people learn, and honest limits to it. A 2013 review of ten study techniques by Dunlosky and colleagues rated only two as “high utility”: practice testing and spreading practice out over time. The Education Endowment Foundation’s 2021 review adds a caution: even promising approaches such as retrieval and spaced practice are so far supported by only a few studies in everyday classrooms. So treat what follows as well-founded advice, not a guarantee.
Retrieval practice
Use every weekRecalling information from memory — flash cards, practice tests or quizzing, mind-mapping — rather than looking at it again.
In Biology and Chemistry: Close the book and write out a specification point from memory: the stages of the Krebs cycle, a reaction mechanism, the steps of a required practical. Then check, correct and try again later.
The evidence: Practice testing was rated “high utility” in the 2013 review, and the EEF counts retrieval practice among the approaches with “indicative evidence of promise”.
Spaced practice
Use every weekSpreading learning and retrieval over a longer period of time instead of concentrating them in one “massed” block.
In Biology and Chemistry: Come back to each topic after a few days, then a couple of weeks, then a month or two: several short sessions spread out, rather than one long cram.
The evidence: Distributed practice was the other “high utility” technique in the 2013 review. The EEF notes that spacing is often combined with retrieval, as spaced retrieval practice.
Interleaving
Use once a topic is secureSwitching between different types of problem or different ideas within the same study session.
In Biology and Chemistry: Once a topic is secure, practise with mixed question sets — a genetics calculation, then an ecology data question, then an enzyme experiment — the way the synoptic papers mix them.
The evidence: Rated “moderate utility” in the 2013 review. The EEF says the promising studies are almost all in one subject, mathematics, so treat it as a sensible exam habit rather than a proven method for science.
Rereading and highlighting
Swap it for self-testingReading notes or a textbook again, and marking key lines.
In Biology and Chemistry: Use it only to check an answer you have just tried to recall — never as the revision session itself.
The evidence: Rated “low utility” in the 2013 review, because they “do not consistently boost students’ performance”; the authors suggest practice testing instead of rereading.
The weekly loop
Turn the specification into your checklist
Your board’s specification lists every point that can be examined — AQA says its content column is exactly what “can be assessed in written papers”. Copy the headings into a tracker and rate each one red, amber or green honestly.
Test yourself within a few days of each lesson
Write what you remember on a blank page or answer five short questions without notes. Mark it against your notes and fix the gaps in a different colour.
Re-test on a schedule
Keep a simple list of what to revisit and when. Anything you got wrong comes back sooner; anything easy can wait longer.
Do exam questions, mixed
Past-paper questions, not textbook exercises, once the basics are in place. Mix topics so you practise recognising what a question is really about.
Keep an error log
For every lost mark, write down why — a knowledge gap, a missed command word, a maths slip, or an answer that ignored the question’s context — and the fix. Re-read it before every paper.
Using past papers properly
- Use papers from your own specification. The structure, question styles and mark schemes differ between boards, even where the science is the same.
- Sit them in exam conditions: timed, closed book, with only what you will be allowed in the exam room.
- Mark strictly against the mark scheme: give yourself a mark only where your answer clearly makes the point the scheme credits.
- Read the examiners’ report for that paper. Eduqas’s, for example, is written by its principal examiners after marking and sets out how candidates performed, the characteristics of successful answers and the questions that proved challenging.
- Redo the questions you dropped a week later, from memory, then log the lesson in your error log.
A two-year plan
Year 12, autumn to spring
Build the habits: weekly retrieval, a careful lab book for the Practical Endorsement, and the maths skills while the content is new.
Year 12, summer term
Revise the whole of Year 12 for any end-of-year exams. UCAS advises teachers to consider past performance, internal assessments and current work when they set predicted grades.
Year 13, autumn
UCAS’s 15 October (18:00 UK time) equal consideration date applies to most medicine and dentistry courses, so your application goes in early in Year 13. Keep spaced retrieval of Year 12 topics running alongside new content.
Year 13, spring
Shift to full past papers under timed conditions, mixed topics and the long-answer questions. Read the examiners’ reports.
Exam season
On AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and Eduqas, every written paper is sat in the same May/June series at the end of the course. Keep revising Year 12 content: every board has at least one paper that can examine the whole course.
Medicine and dentistry
Why these grades matter for medicine and dentistry
Every one of the 57 UK medicine and dentistry courses with a published school-leaver A-level offer in our school profiles names Biology or Chemistry in its A-level requirements, as a required subject or one of a set of options. For Newcastle (opens in a new tab), that comes from the school’s own admissions document, because our profile does not say so. Our A-level choices guide sets out the rules school by school.
The grades matter too. UCAS says universities use your predicted grades in different ways, along with other information, to help them understand your potential, and a conditional offer means you still need to meet its conditions, usually your exam results. If you are in Year 13 and applying for 2027 entry, UCAS’s equal consideration date for most medicine and dentistry courses is 15 October 2026 (18:00 UK time). Your application goes in with predicted grades, and your results from the May/June 2027 exams decide whether you meet a conditional offer.
Of those 57 courses, 13 ask for at least one A* as standard, and 3 more publish a range that can go as high as A*AA. Some of the 13 also accept AAA plus an extra qualification in place of the A*, Keele and Queen's University Belfast (QUB) among them. Some say which subject the A* must be in, so read each offer in full.
| School | Course | Offer | What the offer says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston University | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA at A-level (A* must be in Chemistry or Biology) |
| Barts and The London (Queen Mary) | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years |
| Cambridge | Medicine | A*A*A | A*A*A (Cambridge’s minimum offer level), with Chemistry and one or two other science or mathematics subjects from Mathematics, Biology or Human Biology, Physics and Further Mathematics, depending on the college. Colleges usually require A* in Chemistry.Wording from University of Cambridge, Medicine (2027 entry) (opens in a new tab), checked 27 September 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
| Exeter | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology |
| Imperial College London | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA including A* and A in Biology and Chemistry (A* in either) plus A in a third subject. All qualifications must be taken in the same sitting; General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required. |
| Keele | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA at A-level (or AAA + grade A in EPQ as alternative) |
| King's College London (KCL) | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA including grade A in Biology and Chemistry. General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required. The EPQ is not considered at any point in the assessment process. |
| Leicester | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology - A* must be in one of the sciences |
| Oxford | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA in three A-levels (excluding Critical Thinking and General Studies) taken in one academic year, with at least grade A in both Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics.Wording from University of Oxford, Medicine: requirements (opens in a new tab), checked 27 September 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
| Queen's University Belfast (QUB) | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA or AAA + A in a fourth AS-level. A*AA must include Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology, or Chemistry and either Mathematics or Physics plus AS-level Biology at grade B. AAA must include Chemistry plus at least one of Biology/Human Biology, Mathematics or Physics; if Biology/Human Biology is not taken at A-level, it is needed as the fourth AS-level at grade A (or a fifth at grade B). Grade A in the EPQ or Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate, or grade B in a fourth A-level, is acceptable in lieu of the fourth AS-level.Wording from Queen’s University Belfast, Medicine (2027/28 entry) (opens in a new tab), checked 7 October 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
| UCL | Medicine | A*AA | A*AA including A*A in Chemistry and Biology in either order. The third subject is your own choice, other than General Studies or Critical Thinking. |
| King's College London (KCL) | Dentistry | A*AA | A*AA, including grade A in Biology or Chemistry and grade A in one of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology.Wording from King’s College London, Dentistry BDS entry requirements (opens in a new tab), checked 27 September 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
| Queen Mary (QMUL) | Dentistry | A*AA | A*AA (results must be achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years), including Biology or Chemistry and a second science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Mathematics).Wording from Queen Mary University of London, Dentistry BDS (2027 entry) (opens in a new tab), checked 28 September 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
| School | Course | Offer | What the offer says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peninsula (Plymouth) | Medicine | A*AA–AAB | The typical offer is A*AA - AAB, including grade A in Biology and grade A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology. The third A-level can be in any subject; General Studies is not accepted. For AAB offers, Plymouth points to its widening access section.Wording from University of Plymouth, BMBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (opens in a new tab), checked 28 September 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
| St George's | Medicine | A*AA or AAA | A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology. |
| Plymouth | Dentistry | A*AA–AAB | The typical offer is A*AA – AAB, including grade A in Biology and grade A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Psychology. The third A-level can be from any subject area and does not need to be science based; General Studies is not accepted.Wording from University of Plymouth, BDS Dental Surgery (opens in a new tab), checked 27 September 2026. It differs from our school profile. |
For every school’s full offer — including the AAA and AAB offers — see the medical school and dental school entry requirements tables. If you are weighing up a resit, the A-level resit policy table shows which medical schools accept one and on what terms.
FAQ
A* in Biology and Chemistry: common questions
Sources
Sources (accessed 27 and 28 September and 7 October 2026)
Every fact on this page comes from one of these documents, from our own school profiles, or from the university pages linked beside individual schools, checked on the dates shown. Study advice is marked as advice. Specifications are updated from time to time — check your board’s current version before you rely on a detail.
- AQA — AS and A-level Biology (7401/7402) specification, version 1.6 (July 2026) (opens in a new tab) — Biology paper lengths, marks and weightings; assessment objective weightings; 10% maths; 15% practical; 12 required practicals; the CPAC criteria; statistical tests and standard deviation; re-sits allowed as many times as students wish within the shelf life.
- AQA — AS and A-level Chemistry (7404/7405) specification, version 1.2 (July 2026) (opens in a new tab) — Chemistry paper lengths, marks and weightings; 20% maths at higher-tier GCSE standard or above; maths skills such as pH, logarithms and significant figures.
- OCR — A Level Biology A (H420) specification, version 4.1 (April 2026) (opens in a new tab) — Biology A papers; stretch-and-challenge questions for A*; what counts as Level 2 maths; Practical Endorsement reported as Pass or Not Classified.
- OCR — A Level Chemistry A (H432) specification, version 3.1 (May 2026) (opens in a new tab) — Chemistry A papers, marks and weightings; 20% Level 2 maths.
- OCR — A Level Biology B (Advancing Biology) (H422) specification, version 3.2 (April 2026), and qualification page (opens in a new tab) — Biology B papers; withdrawal (last first teaching September 2026, final A-level exams June 2028, no resit opportunity).
- OCR — A Level Chemistry B (Salters) (H433) specification, version 4.1 (May 2026) (opens in a new tab) — Chemistry B papers, marks, weightings and pre-release Advance Notice article; ten storylines; questions set in unfamiliar contexts.
- Pearson Edexcel — A level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) (9BN0) specification, issue 4 (opens in a new tab) — Biology A papers; 18 core practicals; pre-released article 8 weeks before Paper 3; Not Classified outcome.
- Pearson Edexcel — A level Biology B (9BI0) specification, issue 4 (opens in a new tab) — Biology B papers, marks and weightings; 16 core practicals.
- Pearson Edexcel — A level Chemistry (9CH0) specification, issue 3 (February 2024) (opens in a new tab) — Chemistry papers; 16 core practicals; grades from the total subject mark; command word definitions.
- Eduqas — GCE A Level Biology specification, version 2 (January 2019) (opens in a new tab) — Eduqas Biology paper lengths, marks and weightings; practical competency reported separately.
- Eduqas — GCE A Level Chemistry specification, version 2 (January 2019) (opens in a new tab) — Eduqas Chemistry paper lengths, marks and weightings; practical competency reported separately.
- WJEC — GCE AS/A Level Biology (Wales) specification, version 3 (October 2023) (opens in a new tab) — Wales: unitised AS and A2 units, AS units worth 40% of the A level, A2 Unit 5 practical unit worth 10%.
- WJEC — GCE AS/A Level Chemistry (Wales) specification, version 3 (October 2023) (opens in a new tab) — Wales: AS Units 1 and 2 worth 20% each of the A level; A2 Unit 5 practical examination worth 10%.
- CCEA — GCE Biology (2016) specification, version 2 (April 2017) (opens in a new tab) — Northern Ireland: AS worth 40% and A2 worth 60% of the A level.
- CCEA — GCE Chemistry (2016) specification (opens in a new tab) — Northern Ireland: AS worth 40% and A2 worth 60% of the A level.
- Department for Education — GCE AS and A level subject content for biology, chemistry, physics and psychology (April 2014) (opens in a new tab) — Maths requirement, quoted (at least 10% Level 2 or above for biology, 20% for chemistry); minimum of 12 practical activities towards the Practical Endorsement.
- Ofqual — GCE Subject Level Conditions and Requirements for Science (May 2016) (opens in a new tab) — Assessment objective weightings (AO1 30–35%, AO2 40–45%, AO3 25–30%); maths minimums; Pass or Not Classified on the certificate.
- Ofqual — GCE Subject Level Guidance for Science (July 2015) (opens in a new tab) — At least 15% of written-exam marks indirectly assess practical skills.
- Ofqual — Setting A* in the new A levels (31 March 2017) (opens in a new tab) — A* set as one subject-level boundary on the total mark; paper-level boundaries only a guide.
- Pearson — Understanding A level marks and grades (opens in a new tab) — AS results no longer count towards a linear A level; A* set at subject level using statistical and technical evidence.
- OCR — Grade boundaries (opens in a new tab) — Boundaries set at qualification level; component boundaries published as notional.
- AQA — Assessment materials: what’s available when? (opens in a new tab) — Past papers, mark schemes and reports on the exam kept on the public website for three years; summer 2026 materials published there on 9 July 2027.
- Pearson — Past papers (opens in a new tab) — Past papers and mark schemes free to students; most recent 12 months for teachers only.
- Eduqas — GCE A Level Biology Examiners’ Report, Summer 2024 (opens in a new tab) — What an examiners’ report contains: how candidates performed on each component, what proved challenging and why.
- Education Endowment Foundation — Cognitive science approaches in the classroom: a review of the evidence (2021) (opens in a new tab) — Definitions of retrieval practice, spaced learning and interleaving; strength and limits of the classroom evidence.
- Dunlosky et al. — Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques, Psychological Science in the Public Interest 14(1), 2013 (opens in a new tab) — Practice testing and distributed practice rated high utility; interleaving moderate; rereading and highlighting low.
- UCAS — Predicted grades: what you need to know (opens in a new tab) — What predicted grades are and how universities use them.
- UCAS — Dates and deadlines for uni applications (opens in a new tab) — For 2027 entry, 15 October 2026 (18:00 UK time) is the equal consideration date for most courses in medicine and dentistry.
- UCAS — University offers: conditional, unconditional, unsuccessful and withdrawn (opens in a new tab) — A conditional offer means you still need to meet the requirements, usually exam results.
- Kent and Medway Medical School — Entry Requirements 2027 (opens in a new tab) — A-level resits accepted only through the extenuating circumstances policy.
- University of Glasgow — Medicine MBChB (entry in 2027) (opens in a new tab) — Resits or additional time to sit qualifications not permitted.