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Where to find grade boundaries for BPhO Intermediate?

Where could I find all the past grade boundaries, for the BPhO Intermediate Physics Challenge Competition?

Thank you very much in advance!

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Original post by const_zzz
Where could I find all the past grade boundaries, for the BPhO Intermediate Physics Challenge Competition?

Thank you very much in advance!

See here for the BPhO write-up of the Intermediate Physics Challenge - January 2022. Boundaries appear at the top of page 4.
See here for the same for March 2021, with grade boundaries at the bottom of page 2.

You say you're looking for "all the past grade boundaries". There are none other than the above on the BPhO web site, and I can't find any further afield either. :frown:

Are you sure they published them prior to 2021?
I was looking for the grade boundaries as well...

Grade boundaries are available in some of the earlier papers' mark schemes, e.g. https://www.bpho.org.uk/user/pages/06.past-papers/05.physics-challenge-gcse/_general/20190819141757-BPhO_PC_2013_MS.pdf and they seem to consistently use 38+ as the gold threshold? So I'm assuming that might be roughly true now as well.
Reply 3
Original post by DataVenia
See here for the BPhO write-up of the Intermediate Physics Challenge - January 2022. Boundaries appear at the top of page 4.
See here for the same for March 2021, with grade boundaries at the bottom of page 2.

You say you're looking for "all the past grade boundaries". There are none other than the above on the BPhO web site, and I can't find any further afield either. :frown:

Are you sure they published them prior to 2021?

Late reply, but these are the grade boundaries for the online challenge, not the proper paper one (hence scoring out of 40 and not 50)
Reply 4
Original post by Chloeddw
I was looking for the grade boundaries as well...

Grade boundaries are available in some of the earlier papers' mark schemes, e.g. https://www.bpho.org.uk/user/pages/06.past-papers/05.physics-challenge-gcse/_general/20190819141757-BPhO_PC_2013_MS.pdf and they seem to consistently use 38+ as the gold threshold? So I'm assuming that might be roughly true now as well.

Also this may be true for the older papers but I would bear in mind that the boundaries fluctuate a lot depending on the difficulty of the paper that year - one set of grade boundaries I was shown set gold as low as the high 20s.
Original post by KWad
Also this may be true for the older papers but I would bear in mind that the boundaries fluctuate a lot depending on the difficulty of the paper that year - one set of grade boundaries I was shown set gold as low as the high 20s.


That's reassuring to know... I found this year's paper so hard there's no way I will get high thirties
Reply 6
My prediction is that the grade boundary will be in the low 30s (29-33?) for a gold this year but don't quote me on that
Original post by KWad
My prediction is that the grade boundary will be in the low 30s (29-33?) for a gold this year but don't quote me on that


Seems reasonable
Did you do this year's paper? How did you find it? (I know we can't explicitly talk about questions)
Reply 8
Original post by Chloeddw
Seems reasonable
Did you do this year's paper? How did you find it? (I know we can't explicitly talk about questions)

I had hoped to do a bit better but I got 28 which is a decent score all things considered. Depending on how hard everyone found it this year it could either be a silver or a gold so idk. Imo though the paper wasn't horrible although it was a bit tougher than other papers I have done, especially near the end. My teacher only reminded me the day before so I didn't get to revise as much as I would have liked to, but it is what it is ig.
Original post by KWad
I had hoped to do a bit better but I got 28 which is a decent score all things considered. Depending on how hard everyone found it this year it could either be a silver or a gold so idk. Imo though the paper wasn't horrible although it was a bit tougher than other papers I have done, especially near the end. My teacher only reminded me the day before so I didn't get to revise as much as I would have liked to, but it is what it is ig.

That sounds good! I haven't been told my score yet, any idea when boundaries will come out?
Reply 10
Original post by Chloeddw
That sounds good! I haven't been told my score yet, any idea when boundaries will come out?

I've been told it's sometime this week or early next week but idk for sure
Reply 11
Got my result back - I got a gold.

The paper must have been pretty hard then this year if 28 was a gold but I'll take it :biggrin:

How did you guys do?
Original post by KWad
Got my result back - I got a gold.

The paper must have been pretty hard then this year if 28 was a gold but I'll take it :biggrin:

How did you guys do?

Congratulations! Could you share the grade boundaries please? I haven't heard back from my teacher yet
For future reference: this year gold was 26+/50, silver 20+, bronze 1 15+ and bronze 2 5+
Original post by Chloeddw
For future reference: this year gold was 26+/50, silver 20+, bronze 1 15+ and bronze 2 5+


don't tell me bronze 2 is the participation award 💀💀

also, how much did you get?
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by iiLumiinatez
don't tell me bronze 2 is the participation award 💀💀

also, how much did you get?


I think there is 'commendation' below bronze 2 as well...

I got 32, wbu?
Original post by Chloeddw
I think there is 'commendation' below bronze 2 as well...

I got 32, wbu?


me and my goofy friend got a 9 and an 11 😭
Original post by Chloeddw
I think there is 'commendation' below bronze 2 as well...

I got 32, wbu?


Wait, how did you ig revise for the ipc? and for how long
Original post by iiLumiinatez
Wait, how did you ig revise for the ipc? and for how long


I didn't really revise for the ipc this time but I have done a lot of ipc past papers last year for sixth form entrance exams.

At least for me, I found this year's paper's longer questions noticeably harder though, like I remember getting venus' speed as faster than the speed of light and feeling like laughing and crying at the same time
Reply 19
I aint even revise and I got a gold 😭💀

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