Edexcel GCSE Physics Foundation Tier Tutors

Leading Tuition's Foundation tier Edexcel GCSE Physics tutoring prepares students for Pearson Edexcel papers 1PH0/1F and 1PH0/2F, which target grades 1 to 5 and carry 100 marks each in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Our expert physics tutors teach what the specification marks as Higher-only as exactly that, and plan marks against the Foundation grade boundaries Pearson publishes.

The Foundation tier sets the ceiling before a single topic is chosen

The specification for the course, Issue 4 of March 2024, says the Foundation paper "will target grades 1–5" and that students "must complete all assessments for this qualification in the same tier". A student therefore sits Foundation on both 1PH0/1F and 1PH0/2F, and the specification states that all assessment takes place in May/June in any single year. Grade 5 is the highest grade the tier can award, and the plan we build starts from that fact rather than ending at it.

Pearson's own tier-entry guide for the science GCSEs, which was written for Summer 2020 entries, adds points that shape how we work. First, on grade 6 it says that "if grade 6 is a requirement, then this can only be achieved in the higher-tier papers". Second, it advises that students predicted to attain grades 6 or above should be aiming towards Higher tier. Third, in Separate Science a student can sit Foundation or Higher in each GCSE, though the guide adds that tiers cannot be mixed between Paper 1 and Paper 2; its example is a student taking Foundation in Biology while taking Higher in Chemistry and Physics.

What this changes in our programme. The first conversation with a family is about the tier, because it decides everything after it. We ask which tier the school has entered the student for, and we plan Foundation tuition towards a ceiling of grade 5. If a school is considering a move to Higher, the family can read how we approach that tier on our page for Higher tier Edexcel GCSE Physics tutors; the overview of the whole specification, with its paper codes, core practicals and both equation lists, is on our Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0) overview, and this page does not repeat it.

The specification also states that 27 marks of each paper are overlap questions that appear in both the Foundation and Higher papers. The tier-entry guide describes those questions as medium demand and says they tend to sit towards the end of the Foundation paper. We treat that end-of-paper stretch as the place where a Foundation student turns a secure grade 4 into a grade 5, and it is where we spend the closing weeks of timed practice.

What only Higher tier examines, paper by paper, in the specification's own marking

The specification states its own convention in one line: "text in bold indicates content that is for higher tier only". We read that bold from the font data of Pearson's PDF, statement by statement, not from the extracted text. Where a statement is only partly bold, the table below quotes only the bold words as Higher-only and leaves the plain words with the Foundation course. A P after a statement number means the content is in GCSE Physics but not in Combined Science.

The specification lists the content assessed on each paper. Paper 1 (1PH0/1F) covers Topics 1 to 7, from Key concepts of physics to Astronomy. Paper 2 (1PH0/2F) covers Topic 1 together with Topics 8 to 15, from Energy – forces doing work to Forces and matter. Topic 1 therefore appears on both papers, and the tables below set out the topics where the bold falls.

Paper 1 (1PH0/1F): Topics 2 to 6

What this changes in our programme. On Paper 1 we teach the plain-type statements to full depth and stop where the bold starts: half-life calculations and graphs stay, the ratio-after-given-half-lives step waits; refraction by change of direction stays, speed waits; Newton’s third law stays at equilibrium situations, while collisions and the conservation of momentum wait for Higher.

Paper 2 (1PH0/2F): Topics 9 to 15

What this changes in our programme. A Foundation student meets electromagnetism up to the solenoid in 12.9, the national grid in 13.9 and gas pressure in 14.19P, while the motor effect, induction and upthrust are printed in bold, so they wait for Higher. The hours saved go to the plain statements beside them, because those are where a Foundation paper draws its marks.

The Higher-only equations, and what the board says about recalling and being given equations

The specification prints its equations in Appendix 2, in lists. Under the first, the equations students recall and apply, it says "equations required for higher tier only are shown in bold text" and that "higher tier only equations will not be required in the foundation tier papers"; the bold equation there is momentum = mass × velocity (2.24). Under the second, the equations students select and apply, it says higher tier only equations "will not be given in the formulae sheet for the foundation tier papers"; the bold equations there are force = change in momentum ÷ time (2.26); the force on a conductor at right angles to a magnetic field carrying a current, equal to magnetic flux density × current × length (12.13); the transformer turns ratio equation (13.7P); and the pressure due to a column of liquid, equal to height of column × density of liquid × gravitational field strength, with density in kg/m³ (15.14P). The parent overview covers both complete lists, and this page names only those that belong to the Higher tier.

For the equations a Foundation student does need, the board's wording matters, because it governs how we drill. The specification says students "may be asked to recall, recall and apply, or only apply" the equations in its first list, and that "if students are required to only apply an equation from this section the equation will be given in the question". For the second list it says the equations "will be given in a formulae sheet at the end of the exam papers". The tier-entry guide adds that in Foundation papers, which range from grade 1 to 5, candidates could be given equations, be given the terms of an equation, or be asked to recall the full equation, depending on its complexity.

What this changes in our programme. A Foundation student cannot count on being given an equation, so recall is drilled for every plain-type equation, starting with the simplest. Every calculation then follows one written layout: equation, substitution with the units, answer with its unit. That habit comes from the examiners, whose findings follow in a later section.

Foundation grade boundaries across three June series

A grade boundary, in Pearson's own definition, is "the minimum mark at which a numbered grade (between 9 and 1) can be achieved", given in raw marks for the overall qualification. The table sets out the Foundation row for 1PH0 from the Pearson grade boundary documents for the three June series in our table. Each figure is out of 200, the total of 1PH0/1F and 1PH0/2F. The specification says the qualification is graded on the total subject mark and that individual papers are not graded.

Our targets come from readings of that table. One is the share of 200. Grade 5 took 67.5% of the marks in the first series, 65.5% in the second and 67.5% in the third. Grade 4 took 59.5%, 57.0% and 59.0%, and grade 1 took 17.0%, 15.0% and 15.0%. The other is the spread of each grade across the three series: grade 5 ranged from 131 to 135, a spread of 4 marks; grade 4 from 114 to 119, a spread of 5 marks; grades 3, 2 and 1 each moved by 4 marks, from 86 to 90, from 58 to 62 and from 30 to 34.

What this changes in our programme. We never give a student a single target mark. We set a range from the table, so a student aiming at grade 4 works towards the top of the range, 119 of 200, and treats 114 as the lowest mark any of these series needed. Because the boundary has moved by 4 or 5 marks from series to series, a plan built on one year's figure would be fragile.

The same series, paper by paper

Pearson also publishes notional component boundaries, out of 100 for each paper. Its guidance says that "for teachers, the notional component grade boundaries can be useful as an indicator of grade performance when, for example, an examination paper is used as a future mock examination", and also that component-level boundaries "are notional only, and do not equate to a certificated grade". We use them in exactly the first way and never as a promise of a grade.

The papers do not move together. Within the first series the grade 4 notional boundary was 55 on Paper 1F and 64 on Paper 2F, a gap of 9 marks. In the second series the order reversed, at 58 on Paper 1F and 56 on Paper 2F. In the third it was 61 against 57. Across the three series, Paper 1F grade 4 rose from 55 to 58 to 61, while Paper 2F grade 4 went from 64 to 56 to 57. For that reason we do not read a mark on one paper as a guide to the other.

What this changes in our programme. When a student sits a past paper as a mock, we mark it against the notional row for that paper and that series, report the mark as an indicator, and keep the two papers separate in our records. We do not add a Paper 1 result to a Paper 2 result from different series, because each series has its own boundaries.

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How a Foundation paper is built, and what that does to the order we teach in

Each paper has ten questions, is out of 100 marks, lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes and counts for 50% of the qualification. The specification lists multiple-choice, short answer, calculations and extended open response questions, and says calculators may be used. Pearson's tier-entry guide describes the Foundation difference in terms of demand: around half of the question items are targeted at low demand processes and around half at medium demand processes. Foundation papers, it says, generally start with lower demand questions "to help students build their confidence" and move to medium demand questions towards the second half of the paper.

The same guide says certain question types, "such as words in a box, sentence completion, or line matching", only appear in the Foundation paper, and that Foundation papers may use more scaffolding within questions. On mathematics, the specification says the minimum level in the Foundation papers is equivalent to Key Stage 3 mathematics. The guide lists Physics at 30% for the assessment of maths skills, in line with Ofqual requirements.

What this changes in our programme. Our timed practice follows the board's ramp. A student begins each practice paper with the lower-demand questions and works to a time plan that leaves room for the closing medium-demand questions, where the overlap marks tend to sit. Because Physics carries a large maths share, every topic block ends with a short calculation set at Key Stage 3 level before any question at the Foundation paper's upper range. Sentence completion and words-in-a-box items are practised as their own question type, since the board says they belong to this tier.

What the Foundation examiners reported, and the drills it produced

Pearson's examiners' reports are written paper by paper. We use the Foundation reports we could read in full: Paper 1F for June 2024 and June 2025, and Paper 2F for June 2025. What they say sets our drills.

Powers of ten and units. The June 2025 Paper 1F report says candidates did well on questions that supplied equations, but "did less well on handling powers of ten and the units involved", with the examples of converting centimetres to metres in Q01(b) and converting kJ into joules in Q05(c)(ii). The June 2024 Paper 1F report advises candidates to be confident with percentages and pay close attention to the units expected. We therefore start every calculation with a units line before any number goes into an equation.

Showing the working. The June 2025 Paper 2F report says most candidates managed the calculations where the equation was given, but many did not show full substitution of numbers, which "often led to candidates scoring zero marks on the calculation question where some working may have scored them partial credit". Its summary advice is to show full substitution into equations before rearranging or calculating, and the June 2024 Paper 1F report says to write down the equation and show each step. This is the layout from the equations section, and we mark it as strictly as the answer.

Command words and described methods. The June 2025 Paper 1F report says a lack of comprehension of command words "is still seen, especially with ‘Describe how’ questions, which require experimental descriptions", and gives Q02(b), finding the density of a metal key, as an example. The June 2025 Paper 2F report asks candidates to use the word ‘measure’ for measuring and ‘calculate’ for calculating. In tutoring, a student writes methods as numbered steps that someone else could follow, and we check each verb.

Practical knowledge. The same Paper 1F report says candidates often did particularly well in calculations using equations, while their knowledge of practical work "continues to be not so secure". It also records six-mark questions on a radioactivity practical in Q09(c) and on habitable planets and exo-planets in Q07(c). The June 2024 report names a six-mark question on the determination of speed of a trolley down an inclined ramp. Practical methods get their own slot in every week of the course, separate from the content blocks.

How the course runs across Paper 1 and Paper 2

The sequence below follows from the sections above. It is a plan for Foundation tier students, and each stage answers a finding on this page.

1. Confirm the tier and the target. We check the tier the school has entered, and set a target grade with a mark range from the boundary table.
2. Teach Paper 1 topics, stopping at the bold. Topics 1 to 7 are taught to the plain statements. Topic 1, which the specification lists on both papers, is revisited in every block.
3. Teach Paper 2 topics, stopping at the bold. Topics 8 to 15 follow, with Topics 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15 taught to the line the tables above draw.
4. Drill equations in one layout. Recall first, then equation, substitution with units, answer, because the examiners reported lost marks on exactly those steps.
5. Practise methods as steps. Core and suggested practicals are written as numbered steps with the right command words.
6. Mock against the notional row. Each paper is marked against its own series, and the result is used as the board describes, as an indicator.

Leading Tuition reports that 91% of our students achieve their desired grades. That is a figure about all of our students and not a prediction for a Foundation Physics student; a student's route depends on their starting point, their tier and the time available. The official specification is on the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics (1PH0) specification, and our other Foundation pages cover Foundation Edexcel GCSE Chemistry tutors, Foundation Edexcel GCSE Biology tutors and Foundation Edexcel GCSE Maths tutors for the same exam board. The wider subject overview is on our GCSE Physics tutoring page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Foundation Tier Edexcel GCSE Physics