Two separately regulated qualifications share a search term. Here is which one applies, and what it means for whether Year 12 sits an exam at all.
Book a Free ConsultationYear 12 Eduqas A-Level Physics (specification code A420QS) is a linear, Ofqual-regulated qualification sat only in England; WJEC's separately regulated A-level Physics (code 1420QS) is sat only in schools and colleges in Wales, under Qualifications Wales. A family searching for the two board names together has combined two different qualifications with two different regulators -- this page identifies which one your child is actually entered for, and what that means for whether Year 12 sits any Physics exam at all.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppNo. Eduqas A-level Physics and WJEC's A-level Physics are two separately regulated qualifications that share a name in the marketing sense. Eduqas is WJEC's England-facing exam board, and the two organisations' names appear together on the qualification's own cover page -- a legacy of that shared history, not evidence the two are one qualification today.
Eduqas's A-level specification states its own boundary in one sentence: "This Ofqual regulated qualification is not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales." It is entered under code A420QS, Ofqual qualification accreditation number 601/5522/X. WJEC's Welsh specification draws the same line from the other side: "This Welsh Government regulated qualification is not available to centres in England." It is entered under code 1420QS, qualification number 601/5848/7 as listed on the Register.
So the working rule for a Year 12 family is the code on the entry statement or past paper, not the phrase on the syllabus cover. A420QS means Ofqual, England, examined by Eduqas. 1420QS means Qualifications Wales, examined by WJEC. The two have separate regulators, separate qualification numbers and separate grade-boundary tables -- see the June 2026 figures further down this page for the Eduqas scale.
| Eduqas (England) | WJEC (Wales) | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Ofqual | Qualifications Wales |
| A-level code | A420QS | 1420QS |
| AS code | B420QS | 2420QS |
| Qualification number (A-level) | 601/5522/X | 601/5848/7 |
| Qualification number (AS) | 601/5521/8 | 601/5867/0 |
Source: Eduqas and WJEC specifications, retrieved 7 September 2026.
The two routes are also built on genuinely different assessment architecture. WJEC's own specification describes itself as "a unitised specification which allows for an element of staged assessment," and under that structure AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2 each contribute 20% directly to the final A-level grade -- 40% combined, sat and banked before Year 13. Eduqas runs the opposite structure: its A-level is linear and its AS is fully decoupled, contributing nothing to the A-level grade at all, as the next section sets out.
It depends entirely on whether the school has entered the student for AS Physics, and that decision is made before Year 12 starts. Eduqas's AS Physics specification is explicit that AS is not a staging post inside the A-level: "AS qualifications are free-standing and are awarded in their own right. Assessments at AS cannot contribute to an A level grade." A Year 12 who sits B420QS gains a separate certificate, worth nothing toward the eventual A-level grade.
The A-level itself, A420QS, is built the opposite way. Eduqas's specification states plainly: "This is a linear qualification in which all assessments must be taken at the end of the course." Because of that structure, a Year 12 studying only toward the linear A-level -- with no AS entry -- sits no external Physics paper in Year 12 at all; every mark is banked for a single sitting at the end of Year 13.
Both routes teach broadly the same Year 12 content. What differs is whether any of it is examined before Year 13, and that is a school-level entry decision worth confirming directly with the exams office rather than inferring from the timetable or the textbook on the shelf.
For a Year 12 who is entered, B420QS is two written papers of equal weight, named in Eduqas's own AS grade-boundary documentation. Component 1, "Motion, Energy and Matter," is a 1 hour 30 minute written exam worth 75 marks and 50% of the AS qualification. Component 2, "Electricity and Light," is the same length and the same weighting: 1 hour 30 minutes, 75 marks, 50%.
AS Physics was first awarded in 2016, a year ahead of the A-level, which was first awarded in 2017 -- both taught from 2015 onward. AS qualifications are graded on a scale from A to E, with no A* available. A Year 12 sitting B420QS in the summer, then, is sitting a genuinely separate, complete qualification with its own two papers and its own 150-mark total, not a slice cut out of the 320-mark A-level.
The AS decision has a consequence beyond the exam hall. DfE's own 2026 16 to 19 discount codes workbook lists Eduqas AS Physics and Eduqas A-level Physics under the same discount code, 1210, inside the same discount family, "A Levels." A qualification can only discount another qualification's credit in the performance tables when both share the same code and sit in the same family.
In practice that means a student entered for both B420QS and A420QS is not credited with two separate A-level-equivalent qualifications in a school's DfE performance-table figures -- the AS result is discounted against the A-level result because the two share code 1210. That is a performance-table mechanism specifically; it says nothing about how any individual university weighs an AS grade in an application, which is a separate decision made by admissions teams, not DfE.
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Whether it is B420QS or A420QS, our Eduqas Physics tutors work session by session from the actual specification your child is sitting, not a generic A-level syllabus.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppThe Practical Endorsement follows the same national framework across every A-level science: a minimum number of assessed practical activities marked against Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC), reported separately from the written grade. Our main A-Level Physics guide covers exam-board practical technique more broadly. What is specific to the Eduqas Physics route, and to the Year 12 AS decision, is set out below.
Eduqas's A-level Physics specification covers the Practical Endorsement for both routes in one section, and states without qualification: "There will be no separate assessment of practical skills for AS qualifications." A Year 12 sitting B420QS is not working toward a Year 12 practical outcome of any kind. Instead, the specification is explicit that AS learners are assessed on practical skills only indirectly: "Learners will answer questions in the AS and A level examination papers that assess the requirements of Appendix A part (a)" -- questions embedded in the written papers, not a separate practical assessment.
The Endorsement itself is an A-level-only outcome: Eduqas requires a minimum of 12 practical activities carried out across the full two-year course, assessed by teachers against the CPAC criteria and reported separately from the overall Physics grade -- work that spans Year 12 and Year 13 together, regardless of whether a student also sits AS along the way.
Eduqas published its AS Physics grade boundaries and A-level Physics grade boundaries in the June 2026 series -- the same series as every other board covered on our main A-Level Physics page. They sit on different scales, so the max mark matters as much as the grade: AS Physics (B420QS) is marked out of 150, and the full A-level (A420QS) out of 320.
| Qualification (June 2026) | Max | A* | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS Physics (B420QS) | 150 | -- | 106 | 95 | 84 | 73 | 62 |
| A-level Physics (A420QS) | 320 | 265 | 237 | 199 | 161 | 123 | 85 |
Source: Eduqas (WJEC CBAC), grade boundaries June 2026, retrieved 7 September 2026.
An A on the AS scale is 106 of 150 marks; an A on the linear A-level is 237 of 320 marks. The two are not directly comparable percentages of demand, because they are different papers testing different proportions of the specification -- but the gap shows why quoting one boundary without its scale is close to meaningless on this qualification. WJEC's Physics boundaries are a separate release under a different qualification number and are not covered here; a family confirmed onto code 1420QS should look to WJEC's own results-day publication, not Eduqas's.
Leading Tuition works with Year 12 Physics students on both sides of the AS decision. For a student entered for B420QS, sessions concentrate on the two written components directly -- timed practice on Component 1, "Motion, Energy and Matter," and Component 2, "Electricity and Light," plus the multi-step calculation fluency that both AS papers test. For a student on the fully linear A420QS route with no AS entry, sessions build steadily toward Year 13 without a summer exam checkpoint, so progress is tracked through topic tests and past-paper practice on the Year 12 content rather than a live result.
Every programme starts from the code on the student's own timetable or past paper, not an assumption about which route their school runs -- because, as the sections above show, that decision was made before Year 12 began and carries its own performance-table and practical-assessment consequences that are easy to miss. For broader subject support alongside the Eduqas route, see our main Physics tutoring page. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades, and we are rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
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Our Eduqas Physics tutors work with Year 12 students on both routes -- AS exam preparation for B420QS, and steady linear-course coverage for A420QS toward Year 13.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppNo. They are two separately regulated qualifications. Eduqas A-level Physics (code A420QS) is Ofqual-regulated and, in the specification's own words, "not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales." WJEC's A-level Physics (code 1420QS) is regulated by Qualifications Wales and, in its specification's words, "not available to centres in England." Eduqas is WJEC's England-facing exam board, and the two names appear together on the specification's own cover page -- a legacy of that shared history, not evidence the two are one qualification today.
Only if the school has entered them for AS Physics (B420QS) as well. Eduqas's specification describes the full A-level, A420QS, as "a linear qualification in which all assessments must be taken at the end of the course," so a Year 12 studying only toward the linear route sits no external Physics paper until the end of Year 13. The AS decision is made before Year 12 starts and is worth confirming with the school directly rather than assuming.
No. Eduqas's AS Physics specification states it directly: "AS qualifications are free-standing and are awarded in their own right. Assessments at AS cannot contribute to an A level grade." A Year 12 sitting B420QS gains a separate, complete qualification worth 150 marks across two components, entirely independent of whatever grade they eventually receive in the 320-mark A-level, A420QS, at the end of Year 13.
Two written papers of equal weight. Component 1, "Motion, Energy and Matter," is 1 hour 30 minutes for 75 marks, worth 50% of the AS. Component 2, "Electricity and Light," is the same length, marks and weighting. AS Physics was first awarded in 2016, one year ahead of the A-level, which was first awarded in 2017, both taught from 2015 onward.
No. Eduqas's A-level Physics specification, which covers the Practical Endorsement for both routes, states it without qualification: "There will be no separate assessment of practical skills for AS qualifications." The Endorsement itself is an A-level outcome, requiring a minimum of 12 assessed activities across the full two-year course, reported separately from the A420QS grade at the end of Year 13 -- a Year 12 taking only the AS route is not working toward a Year 12 practical outcome.
Eduqas published both in the June 2026 series. AS Physics (B420QS), out of 150, needed 106 marks for an A, 95 for a B, 84 for a C, 73 for a D and 62 for an E. The full A-level (A420QS), out of 320, needed 265 for an A*, 237 for an A, 199 for a B, 161 for a C, 123 for a D and 85 for an E. The two scales are not directly comparable percentages of demand.
Programmes start from the specification code on the student's own timetable or past paper -- B420QS or A420QS -- rather than an assumption about the route. Students entered for AS get timed practice on both written components; students on the fully linear route build steadily toward Year 13 with no summer exam checkpoint. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades, and we are rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Reviewed September 2026: specification codes, component structure, marks, weightings, discount codes and published grade boundaries were checked against Eduqas (WJEC CBAC), WJEC and DfE source documents, retrieved 7 September 2026.
Whichever route your child's school has chosen -- AS or fully linear -- our Eduqas Physics tutors work from the actual specification code, not a generic syllabus.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews. See also our full A-Level Physics guide and A-Level Tuition.
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