Doing past papers and using past papers aren't the same thing. Sitting one, checking the score and moving on to the next feels productive, but the marks you dropped are the most useful thing on the page, and that approach throws them straight in the bin.
Here's what we'd actually do with them.
Don't start with full papers
A full paper tests the whole course in one go. Sit one before you've covered most of the content and mostly you'll find out what you haven't been taught yet. That's a waste, because you only get to see each paper fresh once.
While you're still learning the content, use exam questions sorted by topic instead. You get real exam wording on the thing you revised that afternoon, and you can do lots of them quickly. Our free GCSE revision resources and A Level revision resources are set up by topic for exactly this.
Once most of the course is done, bring in full papers, roughly one a week to start with. In the final weeks you can do more, under proper timed conditions, using topic questions to patch whatever the papers show up.
Both have a job. Topic questions are better for drilling one type of question and fixing weak spots. Full papers are the only way to practise timing, stamina and jumping between topics, which is what the real exam makes you do. They're also the only honest picture of your overall standard.
Make it feel like the real exam
At least some of your papers should be done properly:
- a timer set to the actual length of the paper
- no notes, no phone, no quick look in the textbook
- only the equipment you'd have on the day (calculator, formula sheet or data booklet if one's provided)
- go through every question, then come back to the hard ones
That last one is straight from OCR's advice on getting more from past papers, which recommends full papers under timed conditions and attempting every question before returning to the tricky ones.
If the timer goes off and you're not finished, draw a line, then carry on in a different colour pen. You get an honest timed score and you still practise the whole paper.
Marking is where you actually learn
Don't rush this bit, and don't be generous with yourself.
Start by reading the marking guidance at the front of the mark scheme. It tells examiners how marks are given, and it's often a surprise. In OCR maths, for example, M marks are for method, A marks are for an accurate answer and depend on the method mark, and B marks stand on their own. That's why a correct final answer with no working can still lose you marks.
Then be strict. If the mark scheme wants a particular key word and you didn't use it, no mark. If your answer is "sort of" what they meant, count it as wrong and write down why. And nothing for what you meant to write but didn't.
One thing worth knowing: OCR points out that mark schemes aren't model answers, and they aren't a replacement for your notes or textbook. They list the points that earn credit, not what a good answer looks like written out. That's why our topic pages, like AQA GCSE Chemistry, put model answers next to the mark schemes, so you can see how a full-mark response is actually put together.
Read the examiner report (most people don't)
Examiner reports (OCR calls them examiners' reports) are written by senior examiners after each exam series. OCR describes them as pulling together the common issues seen across everyone who sat the paper. They'll often say which questions caused trouble and what the students who did well did differently.
After marking a paper, read its report and look out for questions lots of people dropped marks on (especially ones you got wrong too), the misconceptions and vague wording examiners wouldn't credit, and anything said about command words like "explain", "evaluate" or "compare".
OCR also suggests reading reports from several years, because the same weaknesses keep turning up even when the questions change. Jot each one down as a few bullet points and keep them with your notes.
Keep an error log, then redo the questions
This is the bit that turns a marked paper into a revision plan. Every time you lose marks, write down:
- the paper, question number and topic
- what you wrote, and what the mark scheme wanted
- why you lost it: content gap, misread the question, calculation slip, missing key word, or ran out of time
- the fix, in a line or two (the rule, fact or method you needed)
After a few papers you'll see patterns. If "missing key word" keeps coming up, you need to practise exam wording. If the same topic keeps appearing, go back to topic questions on it. Say A Level rate questions keep catching you out: work through the AQA A Level Chemistry kinetics questions before your next full paper.
Then the part nobody wants to do. Reading the mark scheme and nodding along isn't the same as being able to answer the question. A few days after marking, cover the answers and redo every question in your log from scratch. Do them again a week or two later. Right twice in a row? Tick it off. If not, it stays on the list.
When you run out of papers
You will, in most subjects. There are only so many papers on the current specification, and the newest ones might not be available to you yet. Pearson, for example, restricts papers, mark schemes and examiner reports from the last 12 months to teachers at registered centres. AQA puts its papers, mark schemes and reports on its public website after a delay following each series, and most stay up for three years.
A few things you can do:
- Redo old papers. After a few months you'll have forgotten the details, so they're fairly fresh again. Pay most attention to your error log questions.
- Use the specimen and sample papers each exam board publishes on the subject page for your specification.
- Ask your teacher. Schools can often get recent papers students can't, and might be saving them for mocks.
- Use topic question banks, like our AQA A Level Chemistry and Edexcel GCSE Maths pages, for fresh exam-style practice without using up papers.
- Go carefully with older specifications. Old papers can still help, but check each question against your current spec and skip anything that's no longer on it.
What a normal week looks like
For one subject in the last couple of months before exams, something like this works:
| Day | What to do |
|---|---|
| Monday | One full paper, timed |
| Tuesday | Mark it strictly, read the examiner report, fill in your error log |
| Wednesday | Topic questions on your weakest area, checked against model answers |
| Thursday | Redo last week's error log questions from scratch |
| Friday | Topic questions on a second weak area |
| Saturday | Short mixed practice (a GCSE Maths 10 a day sheet is ideal) and a quick look over your error log |
| Sunday | Rest, or a light recap of key facts and definitions |
Move it around to fit your timetable. With several subjects, rotate them so each gets a full paper every week or two, with topic questions in between.
Free topic questions, mark schemes, model answers and past papers are all on our GCSE revision and A Level revision pages. Pick a paper, set a timer, and start your error log tonight.
Quick questions
How many past papers should I do before my exams?
There's no magic number. One paper you mark properly, log and follow up is worth more than three you just score and forget. In the last couple of months, one full paper per subject every week or two is a good rhythm.
Should I do past papers before I've finished the course?
Usually not. Stick to topic questions until you've covered most of the content. A full paper is far more useful once you can have a go at every question, because then your score shows real gaps, not stuff you haven't been taught yet.
Where can I find official past papers and mark schemes?
On each exam board's website, on the past papers or assessment page for your subject: AQA at aqa.org.uk, Pearson Edexcel at qualifications.pearson.com and OCR at ocr.org.uk. The most recent series can be restricted to teachers for a while, so ask your school.
What's the difference between a mark scheme and a model answer?
A mark scheme lists the points examiners can give credit for. As OCR says, it isn't a model answer. A model answer shows how those points get written up into a full-mark response, so it's worth looking at both.
