Edexcel GCSE Physics revision guides and grade boundaries
Four free PDF handbooks for Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0), the separate or triple science course, 48 pages in all, written for Foundation and Higher. Together they cover all 15 topics and the eight core practicals, the equations and how to choose them, the mistakes that cost marks, and five years of official grade boundaries.
These are not past papers or practice books. They are the reference set that sits beside them: use them to decide what to revise, check a method before practising it, and turn a mock score into a realistic grade target.
Free to download. No sign up, no email required. Independent resources aligned to Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics 1PH0, not produced, approved or endorsed by Pearson.
Which revision guides can I download?
Four handbooks, each covering both tiers. Use them alongside our Edexcel Physics books: Edexcel Foundation resources and Edexcel Higher resources have the learning books and exam practice workbooks.
Specification and core practicals reference
Covers all 15 topics, from key concepts to forces and matter, each with its paper, core scope, the main diagnostic risk, what secure performance looks like and Foundation and Higher audit questions, plus the eight core practicals and the command words.
Download the specification and core practicals referenceEquations handbook
Covers the current equation sheet position and a five-move selection method, then 32 equation cards from distance and speed to liquid pressure, each with its tier, specification reference, conditions, a worked example and a common trap, plus the maths for every core practical.
Download the equations handbookCommon mistakes handbook
Covers 30 mistakes from unit conversion to extended answers, each with its tier, the typical error, a repair routine and a rapid retest, labelled by evidence: four are supported by Pearson’s June 2023 Higher Paper 2 examiners’ report and 26 are risks drawn from the specification.
Download the common mistakes handbookGrade boundary handbook
Covers the official June 2022 to 2026 subject boundaries out of 200 for both tiers, five-year ranges and medians, the notional boundaries for Papers 1F, 2F, 1H and 2H, a worked grade calculator and a marks-needed planner.
Download the grade boundary handbookHow do the four guides work together?
Each guide answers one revision question: what is on the course, which equation to use, why marks are being lost, and what grade a score is worth. Used in that order, they turn a vague plan into a list of named topics to fix.
A revision loop using all four guides
- Audit: go through the specification reference and mark each topic red, amber or green
- Prepare: before practising a red topic, read its equation card and common trap
- Practise and mark: answer exam-style questions on the topic, then mark them honestly
- Repair: match every lost mark to an entry in the common mistakes handbook and follow its repair routine
- Measure: add up a mock score and compare it with the grade boundaries for the same year
What else is inside
- the assessment structure: two papers, each 100 marks in 1 hour 45 minutes. Paper 1 covers Topics 1 to 7 and Paper 2 covers Topic 1 again with Topics 8 to 15, at Foundation or Higher tier
- Foundation and Higher content in the same books, with Higher-only and Physics-only content marked
- all eight core practicals, including the thermal radiation practical that is in GCSE Physics only
- sources cited throughout, so a parent or tutor can check the facts
- independently written, with no Pearson question or mark scheme reproduced
- boundaries shown as history, not predictions: they move every year
- 48 printable A4 pages across the four guides
What is inside each guide?
The sections below follow each handbook’s own contents. The longest is 21 pages and the shortest 7, 48 pages in all.
Specification and core practicals reference
- Paper structure: Topics 1 to 7 on Paper 1, Topics 1 and 8 to 15 on Paper 2
- 15 topic entries with paper, core scope and the main diagnostic risk
- What secure performance looks like for each topic
- Foundation audit and Higher extension audit questions
- All eight core practicals with variables, apparatus and analysis, plus command words
Equations handbook
- Equation sheet arrangements for 2026, 2027 and from 2028
- A five-move equation selection method
- 32 equation cards with tier, specification reference and a worked example
- Maths for each of the eight core practicals
- Unit conversions that repeatedly cost marks
Common mistakes handbook
- Evidence labels: examiner report or specification risk
- 30 entries from units to extended answers
- A typical error and repair routine on every entry
- A rapid retest before an entry is marked secure
- Diagnostic log for all 30 entries
Grade boundary handbook
- How two 100-mark papers make one grade out of 200
- June 2022 to 2026 boundaries, both tiers
- Five-year ranges and medians for every grade
- Notional boundaries for Papers 1F, 2F, 1H and 2H
- Worked grade calculator and marks-needed planner
How should a student use these?
Start with the specification reference, because it shows what is left to learn. Keep the equations and mistakes handbooks open during practice, and use the grade boundary handbook after each mock, not before it.
Planning revision in Year 10 or early Year 11
Work through the specification reference a topic at a time. Anything red goes on the revision plan, with the matching equation cards and core practical alongside it.
After a mock
Add the two paper marks, compare the total with the boundaries for the same tier, and list the lost marks. Then match each one to the common mistakes handbook and do its retest.
Choosing between Foundation and Higher
Compare a recent total with five years of boundaries at both tiers, and check the Higher-only content in the specification reference. Then talk to the school: the tier decision is theirs.
Guide: GCSE grade boundaries
How grade boundaries are set each summer, why they move, and how to read them for a mock result.
Read the grade boundaries guideGuide: maths skills for Physics
The equations, rearranging, graphs and standard form that physics questions expect, in one checklist.
Read the maths skills guideGuide: last-minute revision
What to do with the final weeks when there is no time left to cover everything.
Read the last-minute guideRevision guide questions
The guides are free for personal use and written for Edexcel GCSE physics 1PH0. These answers cover boundaries, equations, sources, licensing and choosing the right course.
Are these official Pearson documents?
No. They are independently written guides aligned to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0) specification. The boundaries are transcribed from Pearson’s published grade boundary documents, with the source given for each, but no Pearson question, mark scheme or artwork is reproduced.
Can the grade boundaries predict my grade this year?
No. Boundaries are set after each exam to reflect how hard the papers were, so they move every year. Between 2022 and 2026 the Higher grade 9 boundary ranged from 156 to 163 marks out of 200, and Foundation grade 5 from 123 to 135, which is why a mock target should be a range, not a single number.
Do students still need to learn the equations?
Yes. Pearson provides an equation sheet in the exams, and Ofqual has decided that equation sheets continue from 2028 for the rest of the current specification. The sheet does not tell a student which equation to use, how to rearrange it or which units to convert first, which is what the equations handbook practises.
How are Edexcel GCSE Physics papers structured?
Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0) has two papers, each 100 marks in 1 hour 45 minutes. Paper 1 covers Topics 1 to 7, from key concepts to astronomy, and Paper 2 covers Topic 1 again with Topics 8 to 15, from energy and forces to forces and matter. Foundation awards grades 1 to 5 and Higher grades 4 to 9.
Where do the common mistakes come from?
Each entry is labelled. Four are supported by Pearson’s published June 2023 Higher Paper 2 examiners’ report, and the other 26 are risks drawn from the specification. The labels keep the two apart, so nothing is presented as an examiner finding unless it is one.
Are they free? What is the licence?
The guides are free to download for personal and household educational use. Tutors and schools need permission before copying them for learners, and resale, paid redistribution and third-party uploading are not permitted.
Is this the right course? My school does Combined Science.
These guides are for Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0), the separate or triple science course. If your school does Edexcel Combined Science (1SC0), use the Edexcel Combined Science physics revision guides instead: they leave out astronomy and static electricity and match the shorter papers.
Practice finds the gaps. A tutor closes them
Five of our tutors teach Physics, led by a doctorate in Physics and two engineering degrees. Lessons are one to one on Zoom, £30 each with no premium for Higher tier, and the first 30 minutes are free with no card details. If the same mistake keeps coming back after the repair routine, that is the moment to have the idea retaught.