AQA GCSE Biology specification
The specification (8461) is AQA's own description of the Biology course: what you can be examined on, how the exams are set out and how they are marked. The link below opens the board's PDF on filestore.aqa.org.uk, so you always get its current version.
Open the 8461 specification (PDF) (opens filestore.aqa.org.uk in a new tab)Everything for AQA GCSE Biology, with the past papers, grade boundaries and the notes and flashcards people have shared.
How AQA GCSE Biology is examined
From AQA's grade boundaries for June 2026. Some boards list every optional paper or time-zone variant, so you sit only the ones for your route; the specification says which.
| Paper | Marks | Time | Next exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology Paper 1 (Foundation)8461/1F | 100 | 1 hour 45 minutes | Tuesday 11 May 2027, morning |
| Biology Paper 1 (Higher)8461/1H | 100 | 1 hour 45 minutes | Tuesday 11 May 2027, morning |
| Biology Paper 2 (Foundation)8461/2F | 100 | 1 hour 45 minutes | Thursday 10 June 2027, morning |
| Biology Paper 2 (Higher)8461/2H | 100 | 1 hour 45 minutes | Thursday 10 June 2027, morning |
In June 2026, the Foundation tier gave grades 1 to 5 and the Higher tier gave grades 3 to 9, so a student entered for Foundation could not get above 5. Foundation or higher?
Turn a mark into a grade · AQA GCSE exam dates · Extra time and access arrangements
Revising from the Biology specification
Work through the specification's content list and mark what you are unsure of, then practise those parts with AQA's past papers and read your marks against the same year’s grade boundaries.
Common questions
Where can I find the AQA GCSE Biology specification?
The link on this page opens AQA's own copy of the Biology specification (8461), a PDF on its website, so you always get the current version. We link to it rather than keep a copy.
What is in the Biology specification?
A specification is the board's own description of the course: the content you can be examined on, how the exams are set out and how they are marked. It is the most useful single document to revise from, because every exam question has to come from it.
How is AQA GCSE Biology examined?
According to AQA's grade boundaries for June 2026, the course is examined in 2 papers on each of the Foundation and Higher tiers, of 100 marks each. The specification has the full details, and the past papers show what the questions look like.
Can I make practice questions from the specification?
Yes. cookie can make exam-style questions from a specification and mark your answers, so you can practise the parts you are least sure of once you run out of past papers.
More specifications: every GCSE specification we link.
cookie is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any exam board. Every paper here is a link to the board's own copy on its own website, and the papers belong to the boards that set them. If a link has stopped working, the board's own past paper page is linked on each course.