The board's own three components and Section A/B splits, how Component 3's four options actually work, and the AO weightings and minimums Eduqas states outright.
Book a Free ConsultationEduqas's A-level Physics specification, entry code A420QS, is Version 3, October 2024 — the current, standing document, published for teaching from 2015 and award from 2017. B420QS is not a second route through the same content; it is the code for the separate, free-standing AS Physics qualification. Eduqas is a distinct, Ofqual-regulated specification from WJEC's own GCE Physics (sat only in Wales), and this page does not cover WJEC's codes, which belong to a different brand and a different page.
Studying towards Eduqas A420QS?
Our Eduqas Physics tutors work from the board's own specification, not a generic A-level Physics scheme.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppWhat follows is A420QS's own content: the three components and their Section A/B splits, how Component 3's four-option choice actually works, the AO weightings and the 40% maths / 15% practical minimums Eduqas states outright, the Practical Endorsement, why AS is a genuinely separate qualification, and the grade boundaries Eduqas set for the June 2026 series. For the wider question of which exam board to choose for A-Level Physics, see our A-Level Physics guide across AQA, OCR, Edexcel and CIE; for the AS-specific Year 12 timeline, see our Year 12 WJEC Eduqas Physics guide — this page does not repeat either.
Eduqas's A-level Physics specification states its own entry code in a single, unambiguous sentence in its "Making Entries" section: "The entry code appears below. WJEC Eduqas A level Physics: A420QS." The separate AS specification states the equivalent sentence for its own qualification: "WJEC Eduqas AS Physics: B420QS." A420QS and B420QS are not two parallel routes through the same content, in the way OCR splits Physics into Physics A and Physics B — they are the A-level and AS codes of one Eduqas specification family. Confirmed independently on Ofqual's find-a-qualification register, A420QS carries QAN 601/5522/X, 360 guided learning hours and 500 total qualification time; the AS entry, B420QS, carries QAN 601/5521/8, 180 guided learning hours and 250 total qualification time. Both are listed "Available to learners," with national availability "England, International."
Eduqas and WJEC are two brands of the same awarding organisation, WJEC CBAC Ltd, but the specifications themselves are separately accredited, for different centres. Eduqas's A-level Physics specification states on its own cover page: "ACCREDITED BY OFQUAL ... This Ofqual regulated qualification is not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales." The identical wording appears in the AS specification. WJEC's own GCE Physics specification states the mirror image: "ACCREDITED BY WELSH GOVERNMENT ... This Welsh Government regulated qualification is not available to centres in England." A school in England sits Eduqas Physics; a maintained school in Wales sits the separate WJEC specification, with its own code set — that comparison belongs to a different page, not this one.
Before citing any of the above, this page ran the same control the batch's own brief recommends: fetching a deliberately invented Eduqas qualification URL. It returned a genuine HTTP 404 with the page title "Error 404," not a generic 200 shell — confirming that a resolving Eduqas URL and real page content are not the same test, but that this host fails the fake-path test honestly.
Which Eduqas Physics code is your child actually entered for?
Our Eduqas Physics tutors work from the board's own three components and Section A/B splits, not a generic A-level Physics scheme.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppEduqas's own A-level specification sets out three written components, named in the board's own teacher handbook and cross-checked against the grade-boundary document's per-component rows:
| Component | Marks | Time | Weighting | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Newtonian Physics | 100 | 2h 15m | 31.25% | Section A: 80 marks; Section B: 20 marks (one comprehension question) |
| 2: Electricity and the Universe | 100 | 2h | 31.25% | No sections — mixed short and extended answer |
| 3: Light, Nuclei and Options | 120 | 2h 15m | 37.5% | Section A: 100 marks; Section B: 20 marks (choice of 1 of 4 options) |
| Total | 320 | 6h 30m | 100% | — |
Source: Eduqas A-level Physics specification, assessment-overview tables, and the A-level Teacher Handbook for component names.
The 320-mark total across the three components matches Eduqas's own June 2026 grade-boundary maximum for A420QS — a straightforward arithmetic check that the component structure above is read correctly, not assembled from mismatched rows. The component names themselves are not printed as extractable text on the specification's own assessment-overview page — the labels sit inside a graphic — so they were confirmed instead from the board's own A-level Teacher Handbook, which states plainly: "AREA OF STUDY COMPONENT 1: NEWTONIAN PHYSICS ... AREA OF STUDY COMPONENT 2: ELECTRICITY AND THE UNIVERSE ... COMPONENT 3: LIGHT, NUCLEI AND OPTIONS."
Component 3's Section B is not a fixed 20 marks of content — it is a choice from four named options, stated in the specification as "OPTIONS (Choice of 1 option from 4)": Option A, Alternating Currents; Option B, Medical Physics; Option C, The Physics of Sports; and Option D, Energy and the Environment. What the specification text alone does not spell out is who makes that choice — the centre in advance, or the candidate on the day. Eduqas's own specimen assessment materials settle it: all four options are printed in the same question paper, under the heading "SECTION B: OPTIONAL TOPICS," with the instruction "Answer the question on one topic only. Place a tick (✓) in one of the boxes above, to show which topic you are answering." A student decides which option to answer when they sit the exam, not a choice their school locks in beforehand — a mechanism not stated in prose by any of the competing pages this page's research reviewed, including the one that names all four options in a worksheet directory.
Which of the four Component 3 options is your child preparing?
Our tutors work through Alternating Currents, Medical Physics, The Physics of Sports and Energy and the Environment, so a student walks in ready for whichever they pick on the day.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppEduqas's specification publishes a full Assessment Objective breakdown by component, and the per-component figures sum exactly to the stated overall percentages — an arithmetic check against the same kind of table-extraction risk that affects the WJEC entry-code table (see below).
| Qualification | AO1 | AO2 | AO3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-level (A420QS) | 30% | 45% | 25% |
| AS (B420QS) | 35% | 45% | 20% |
Source: Eduqas A-level and AS Physics specifications, AO weighting tables.
Beyond the AO split, Eduqas's A-level specification states two further assessment-weighting minimums outright, in the same sentence pair: "The weighting for the assessment of mathematical skills will be a minimum of 40%. The weighting for the indirect assessment of practical skills will be a minimum of 15%." Both minimums are restated identically in the AS specification. This is worth stating plainly because it is not always confirmable board to board: a sibling evidence file built for OCR's equivalent Physics page checked OCR's own specification and cross-board administration pages for an equivalent practical-skills percentage and could not find one stated anywhere, and correctly withheld it. Eduqas states its own figure without ambiguity.
The Practical Endorsement itself is not an Eduqas-only mechanism — the specification says so directly: "The arrangements for the assessment of practical skills will be common to all awarding organisations," including a minimum of 12 practical activities, graded against Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC) issued jointly by the awarding organisations. This matches the same cross-board CPAC framework that applies to AQA, OCR and Edexcel Physics — a DfE/Ofqual reform-wide requirement, not something distinctively Eduqas.
What is specific to the AS/A-level split is that there is no separate practical assessment at AS at all. Eduqas's specification states: "There will be no separate assessment of practical skills for AS qualifications. Learners will answer questions in the AS and A level examination papers that assess the requirements of Appendix A part (a)." A direct text search of the full AS specification for "Practical Endorsement" and "non-exam assessment" returns zero matches, against extensive use of both terms in the A-level specification — the practical skills are assessed only indirectly, through written questions, at AS.
AS Physics (B420QS) is not a first-year instalment of the A-level that later combines into a final grade — it is a free-standing qualification with its own accreditation history. Ofqual's register and the specifications' own cover pages show it was first awarded a year earlier than the A-level: AS Physics, QAN 601/5521/8, "Teaching from 2015, For award from 2016"; A-level Physics, QAN 601/5522/X, "Teaching from 2015, For award from 2017." That one-year gap, combined with the separate entry code, separate QAN and separate specification document, is concrete structural evidence of decoupling — consistent with the house rule that AS decoupling for the sciences dates to 2015, not the later 2017 Maths and Further Maths wave.
My son was low in confidence after COVID and the gaps in learning were building up. Using this service helped plug those gaps, rebuild confidence, and improve his ability to learn properly again.
We arranged maths and English tuition ahead of GCSEs and both tutors were brilliant. My daughter's grades improved, and by results day she achieved two grades higher than in her mock exams.
I attended an English bootcamp with Leading Tuition and the experience was excellent. The teacher gave focused attention to the small group while keeping the lessons interactive and engaging.
The specification PDF filename a queue note for this row originally cited is no longer the live document at that URL — fetching it returns an HTTP 301 redirect to the current edition rather than a 404, consistent with Eduqas's CMS updating documents in place. The current live A-level and AS specifications are both "Version 3, October 2024," and both editions' own amendment logs describe wording clarifications only — to the non-exam assessment and making-entries sections, and to synoptic-question wording — not a change to subject content, component structure or weightings. As of this page's research date, no later edition was found on Eduqas's own qualification page.
Eduqas publishes grade boundaries by series. For the June 2026 series, sourced directly from Eduqas's own grade-points documents for A-level and AS:
| June 2026 series | Max | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A420QS (A-level) | 320 | 265 | 237 | 199 | 161 | 123 | 85 |
| B420QS (AS) | 150 | — | 106 | 95 | 84 | 73 | 62 |
Source: Eduqas GCE A level and AS Physics grade points, June 2026 series.
There is no A* grade at AS — Eduqas's grade-points document for B420QS runs from A down to E only, another concrete marker that the AS qualification is structured, and graded, differently from the A-level rather than as a scaled-down version of it. Both maximum-mark figures (320 and 150) match the specifications' own component mark totals exactly, confirming these are the qualification-level rows rather than a single component's boundaries.
Building a programme around A420QS's own components
Whether your child needs Component 1's comprehension-style Section B, Component 3's options paper, or fluency across the 40% maths minimum, our Eduqas Physics tutors plan sessions around the paper actually in front of them.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppWe start from the code on a student's own past papers — A420QS or B420QS — because the component structure, AO weightings and practical requirements genuinely differ between the two-year A-level and the free-standing AS. From there, sessions are built around where Eduqas's own assessment structure actually places the marks: the comprehension-style Section B on Component 1, the Section A calculation depth on Component 2, and Component 3's options paper, prepared broadly enough that whichever of the four options a student answers on the day, they are ready for it. Our specialist Physics tutors also work explicitly on the 40% maths minimum Eduqas states outright, since multi-step calculation fluency is the single most common differentiator between grades on this specification.
No. Eduqas and WJEC are two brands of the same awarding organisation, WJEC CBAC Ltd, but the specifications are separately accredited. Eduqas A-level Physics (A420QS) states on its own cover page that it is “Ofqual regulated” and “not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales.” WJEC’s own GCE Physics specification states the mirror image: it is “Welsh Government regulated” and “not available to centres in England.” A school in England sits Eduqas; a maintained school in Wales sits WJEC.
They are not two routes through the same content — they are the A-level and AS codes of one qualification family. Eduqas’s A-level specification states in its own “Making Entries” section: “The entry code appears below. WJEC Eduqas A level Physics: A420QS.” The separate AS specification states the same sentence for its own code: “WJEC Eduqas AS Physics: B420QS.” A420QS is the two-year A-level; B420QS is the free-standing AS, confirmed on Ofqual’s register as QAN 601/5522/X and 601/5521/8 respectively.
Component 1, Newtonian Physics, is 100 marks over 2 hours 15 minutes and 31.25% of the qualification, split into Section A (80 marks) and Section B (20 marks, one comprehension question). Component 2, Electricity and the Universe, is 100 marks over 2 hours, also 31.25%, with no sections. Component 3, Light, Nuclei and Options, is 120 marks over 2 hours 15 minutes and 37.5% of the qualification, split into Section A (100 marks) and Section B (20 marks, a choice of one option from four). The three components total 320 marks, matching Eduqas’s own June 2026 grade-boundary maximum for A420QS.
Component 3’s Section B offers four named options — Alternating Currents, Medical Physics, The Physics of Sports, and Energy and the Environment — and the choice sits with the candidate, not the centre. Eduqas’s own specimen assessment paper prints all four options in the same question paper and instructs: “Answer the question on one topic only. Place a tick in one of the boxes above, to show which topic you are answering.” A student decides which option to answer on the day of the exam, not a choice a school makes in advance.
Eduqas’s A-level Physics specification sets overall Assessment Objective weightings of AO1 30%, AO2 45% and AO3 25%; the AS specification sets AO1 35%, AO2 45% and AO3 20%. The same A-level specification states two assessment-weighting minimums outright, in the same sentence pair: “The weighting for the assessment of mathematical skills will be a minimum of 40%. The weighting for the indirect assessment of practical skills will be a minimum of 15%.” Both minimums are restated identically in the AS specification.
AS Physics (B420QS) is a genuinely separate, decoupled qualification, not a first-year instalment of the A-level. It carries its own Ofqual QAN (601/5521/8, first awarded 2016, against the A-level’s 601/5522/X, first awarded 2017) and its own specification document. Eduqas’s specification is explicit that there is no separate practical assessment at AS at all: “There will be no separate assessment of practical skills for AS qualifications” — AS practical skills are assessed only indirectly, through written exam questions, and an AS grade does not combine with further study to produce an A-level grade.
For the June 2026 series, Eduqas’s own grade-points documents set the A420QS A-level boundaries, out of 320 marks, at A* 265, A 237, B 199, C 161, D 123 and E 85. The B420QS AS boundaries, out of 150 marks, were A 106, B 95, C 84, D 73 and E 62 — there is no A* grade at AS. Both maximum-mark figures match the specifications’ own component mark totals, confirming the qualification-level rows rather than a single-component row.
Programmes are built around A420QS’s own three components — the Section A/B split on Components 1 and 3, the Component 3 options a student is actually choosing between, and the AO weightings and 40% maths / 15% practical minimums Eduqas states outright — rather than a generic Physics scheme. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades, and we are rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Ready to start Eduqas A-Level Physics tuition?
Whichever code your child is entered for, A420QS or B420QS, our specialist Eduqas Physics tutors build sessions around the actual paper, not a generic Physics scheme.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppPrimary sources for this page: the Eduqas A-level Physics specification, the Eduqas AS Physics specification, the A-level specimen assessment materials, Ofqual's find-a-qualification register for A420QS and B420QS, and WJEC's own GCE Physics specification for the brand-exclusion comparison.
A note on verification. Eduqas's qualification pages are rendered by JS tabs; a deliberately invented Eduqas qualification URL was fetched as a control before citing any real one, and returned a genuine HTTP 404 rather than a generic template, unlike some other boards' sites. Every code, weighting and grade boundary on this page was checked directly against Eduqas's own specification and grade-points PDFs, and against Ofqual's independent register, in September 2026. The WJEC entry-code table for the separately regulated Wales specification was not published on this page, because it is out of scope for an Eduqas-subject page, but its own row order was independently disambiguated during this page's research to confirm the Eduqas/WJEC brand distinction above is not itself built on a misread table.
From Component 1's comprehension-style Section B to Component 3's options paper, our Eduqas Physics tutors work from A420QS's own specification, not a generic Physics syllabus.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews. See also our A-Level Physics guide, our Year 12 WJEC Eduqas Physics guide, and Physics Tutoring.
Book a Free Consultation