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Exams and revision

Tell us where you are and what this is for, and we will show the boards that actually fit first. Everything else stays on the page.

Our papers are full-length practice papers written by us, matched to each board's timing, mark total, calculator rules and tiers. They are not past papers.

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Pearson Edexcel International GCSE

Open to private candidatesNot Ofqual-regulated
  • Mathematics A. A calculator is allowed on both papers, unlike UK GCSE maths where Paper 1 is non-calculator. The balance of content is also different from a UK GCSE: about 60% of this exam is number and algebra, with a quarter on shape and space and the rest on handling data.
  • Biology. No practical component and no tiers: experimental skills are assessed in the written papers. Often the simplest route for private candidates.
  • Chemistry. No practical component and no tiers: experimental skills are assessed in the written papers. Often the simplest route for private candidates.
  • Physics. No practical component and no tiers: experimental skills are assessed in the written papers. Often the simplest route for private candidates.
  • English Language A. Private candidates enter option A (two written papers, no coursework). The spoken endorsement is optional and reported separately.

Routinely sat by private candidates. Not every exam centre accepts them, and availability varies by area and subject, so it's worth contacting centres early.

Sessions
May/June and NovemberThe January series ended after January 2023 and was replaced by November from 2023. Specification PDFs issued before that still say January.
Spec codes
Mathematics A 4MA1 · Biology 4BI1 · Chemistry 4CH1 · Physics 4PH1 · English Language A 4EA1
From us
Practice papers in the style of Pearson Edexcel International GCSEEnglish Language A: no practice papers yet

Checked against the board on 2026-09-25 · source · next review 2026-12-25

AQA GCSE

Open to private candidates
  • Mathematics. No coursework and no practical, so nothing a centre has to run for you. The one choice that matters is the tier, and it is made at entry: Foundation is capped at grade 5 and Higher starts at grade 4. All three papers must be sat at the same tier in the same series. Higher is weighted harder than it looks: 60% of it is reasoning and problem solving (AO2 and AO3) against 50% at Foundation, so drilling procedures alone does not carry you through it. The content shifts too: algebra goes from a fifth of Foundation to nearly a third of Higher while number halves, so moving up is not more of the same work. There is no formula sheet, and the sphere and cone formulae are the ones you will be given.
  • English Language. Two equally weighted papers, no tiers, and every text in the exam is unseen, so there is no set text to buy or memorise. The spoken language endorsement is reported separately and worth no marks, but it is still non-exam assessment, so confirm the centre will run it before you enter. Half the marks are for your own writing (AO5 and AO6), and a fifth of the whole qualification is spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary.

You enter through an AQA-approved school or college that agrees to take you, and you pay their fees. Finding one takes time: AQA says "not every school/college can take private candidates" and "Not all specifications or qualifications are available to private candidates." Where a subject has non-exam assessment, a centre must be willing to run it before it can accept your entry at all. You must be based in the UK.

Sessions
May/June and NovemberBoth GCSE Mathematics and GCSE English Language run every May/June and every November. November is a resit series in practice: entries are only open to students who were at least 16 on the previous 31 August. The November GCSE timetable lists only these two subjects, so for any other AQA GCSE the May/June series is the only route.
Spec codes
Mathematics 8300 · English Language 8700
From us
Practice papers in the style of AQA GCSE

Checked against the board on 2026-10-19 · source · next review 2027-01-19

Pearson Edexcel GCSE

Open to private candidates
  • Mathematics. No coursework and no practical. The tier is chosen at entry and all three papers must be the same tier in the same series. Foundation runs grades 1 to 5; Higher runs 4 to 9 with grade 3 allowed, which is a wider safety net than most boards give. Higher is a different balance of content, not just harder questions: algebra rises from about a fifth to about a third while number falls by the same amount. There is no formula sheet; only the sphere and cone formulae are printed in the paper.
  • English Language. The two papers are NOT equally weighted: Component 1 is 40% over 1 hour 45, Component 2 is 60% over 2 hours 5. Every text is unseen, so there is nothing to buy or memorise, but one of them is a 19th-century fiction extract, which is the part most candidates find hardest cold. Half the marks are for your own writing, and Edexcel leans harder than AQA on evaluating a text critically (AO4) and lighter on analysing its language (AO2).
  • Combined Science. Six papers of 1 hour 10, worth 16.67% each, awarded as two GCSEs. Calculators are allowed throughout. The catch for a private candidate is the 18 mandatory core practicals, which must be done at your centre and signed off by its head teacher. If no centre near you will run them, Pearson's International GCSE sciences need no practicals at all. Do not treat the practicals as a box to tick either way: a fifth of the marks are for analysing and evaluating method, which is where knowing them is actually tested.

Sat by private candidates at registered exam centres, and acceptance is at each centre's discretion. Maths and English Language are straightforward: the English spoken language endorsement carries no marks. Science is the one to check before you commit. Pearson states that private candidates can take Combined Science "only if they carry-out the mandatory core practicals with the centre in which they are sitting the exams, as long as the centre is willing to accept the candidate", and there are 18 of them.

Sessions
May/June and NovemberTwo series a year. November is a resit route in practice: a candidate taking GCSE Mathematics in November must be at least 16 on the preceding 31 August.
Spec codes
Mathematics 1MA1 · English Language 1EN0 · Combined Science 1SC0
From us
Practice papers in the style of Pearson Edexcel GCSE

Checked against the board on 2026-10-20 · source · next review 2027-01-20

OCR GCSE

Open to private candidates
  • Mathematics. 100% exam, with no practical and no spoken element. Three papers per tier, each 100 marks over 1 hour 30, so 300 marks a tier: that is a bigger paper than AQA's 80 marks. Watch the calculator rule, because the non-calculator paper is the MIDDLE one of each tier (Paper 2 at Foundation, Paper 5 at Higher), not Paper 1 as on AQA and Edexcel. Foundation covers grades 5 to 1 and Higher covers 9 to 4, with an allowed grade 3 on Higher for anyone a few marks below the boundary. Higher puts 60% of the marks on reasoning and problem solving against 50% at Foundation. There is no formula sheet: the formulae you have to recall are listed in the specification and everything else is given to you in the paper.
  • English Language. Two equally weighted 2-hour papers of 80 marks, untiered, and every text in the exam is unseen, so there is no set text to buy. The spoken language component carries no marks and cannot affect the grade, but it is assessed by the centre and you must complete it to be awarded the qualification, so confirm a centre will run it before you enter.

You enter through an OCR approved centre, and whether one will take you is its own decision: OCR says "Private candidates need to contact OCR approved centres to establish whether they are prepared to host them". Maths is 100% written exam with nothing a centre has to supervise beyond the papers. English Language is different: the spoken language endorsement is required for the certificate and the centre has to assess it, so you need one willing to run it and not merely to let you sit the papers. OCR says the centre "may charge for this facility" and "recommends that the arrangement is made early in the course". You must also be based in the UK.

Sessions
May/June and NovemberOne series a year in May/June open to everyone, plus a November series open only to candidates who had reached 16 on or before the 31 August of that year. November is a resit route rather than a second full sitting.
Spec codes
Mathematics J560 · English Language J351
From us
Practice papers in the style of OCR GCSEEnglish Language: no practice papers yet

Checked against the board on 2026-10-21 · source · next review 2027-01-21

Eduqas GCSE

Open to private candidates

You study independently and sit the exams at an approved WJEC centre, and finding one is your job rather than the board's: "Private candidates should find a school/college before they start their studies." The centre has to be prepared both to seat you and to "conduct, supervise, mark and authenticate any non-examination units/components", so any subject with coursework depends entirely on a centre willing to run it. JCQ publishes a list of centres that take private candidates, but you are not limited to it: "You can however work with any centre that accepts private candidate entries, they do not have to be on the list."

Sessions
Not checkedNot yet checked against the board.
From us
Practice papers in the style of Eduqas GCSE

Checked against the board on 2026-10-21 · source · next review 2027-03-25

Cambridge IGCSE

Private candidates, with a conditionNot Ofqual-regulated
  • Mathematics. Papers 1 and 2 are non-calculator; Papers 3 and 4 need a scientific calculator.
  • Biology. Includes a practical component worth 20%. Private candidates sit Paper 6 (a written alternative to the lab practical), so check the centre offers it.
  • Chemistry. Includes a practical component worth 20%. Private candidates sit Paper 6 (a written alternative to the lab practical), so check the centre offers it.
  • Physics. Includes a practical component worth 20%. Private candidates sit Paper 6 (a written alternative to the lab practical), so check the centre offers it.
  • First Language English. Private candidates take Paper 1 and Paper 2, both written, rather than the coursework route. The speaking test is optional and separately endorsed.

The syllabus says plainly that private candidates can enter. The condition is the practical: every science candidate takes one paper worth 20%, and you want a centre offering Paper 6, the written alternative, in which no experiments are required.

Sessions
June and NovemberA March series also runs, but in India only.
Spec codes
Mathematics 0580 · Biology 0610 · Chemistry 0620 · Physics 0625 · First Language English 0500
From us
Practice papers in the style of Cambridge IGCSEBiology: theory papers only · Chemistry: theory papers only · Physics: theory papers only

Checked against the board on 2026-09-25 · source · next review 2026-12-25

Other boards and revision material

Still covered, still on your subscription. Listed here because something about them does not fit the situation above.

SQA National 5

Private candidates, with a conditionNot Ofqual-regulated
  • Mathematics. Maths has no assignment and is the most accessible National 5 for private candidates: two question papers, 90 marks in total, and nothing a centre has to supervise beyond the exams themselves. About 65% of the marks test operational skills on their own and the other 35% need reasoning alongside them, and roughly 65% of the marks are available for a grade C response, so the pass is reachable without the hardest third.
  • Biology. The sciences include a 20-mark assignment set and supervised by your presenting centre. It is 20% of the grade and involves practical investigation work, so it is the part to settle first.
  • Chemistry. The sciences include a 20-mark assignment set and supervised by your presenting centre. It is 20% of the grade and involves practical investigation work, so it is the part to settle first.
  • Physics. The sciences include a 20-mark assignment set and supervised by your presenting centre. It is 20% of the grade and involves practical investigation work, so it is the part to settle first.

A private candidate cannot enter directly. You need a presenting centre, which is a school, college or training provider that agrees to register you and administer your assessments. Approach one as early as you can, and if you are taking a science, settle the assignment with them at the same time.

Sessions
Not checkedNot yet checked against the board.
Spec codes
Mathematics C847 75 · Biology C807 75 · Chemistry C813 75 · Physics C857 75
From us
Practice papers in the style of SQA National 5

Checked against the board on 2026-10-20 · source · next review 2027-01-20

CCEA GCSE

Open to private candidatesNot Ofqual-regulated
  • Mathematics. Unitised and graded A* to G rather than 9 to 1, with an extra grade C* between C and B. You enter one unit from M1 to M4 and one completion test, and that pairing sets your grade ceiling: M1 with M5 tops out at D, while A* is only reachable through M4 and M8. There is no coursework. The only papers where a calculator is banned are Paper 1 of each completion test, so the non-calculator paper is not Paper 1 of the qualification the way it is on AQA and Edexcel.
  • English Language. Untiered and graded A* to G. Two written papers of 1 hour 45 at 40% each, and 20% that is not a written exam at all: speaking and listening, marked by a teacher and moderated by CCEA. That 20% carries marks, unlike the spoken language endorsements on AQA, Edexcel and OCR, so a private candidate needs a centre willing to run and authenticate it. CCEA is also mid-change here: a 2026 circular removes the old Unit 3 and the current specification still refers to it in one table and to Unit 4 in another.

Northern Ireland has an established private candidate route, used by home-educated and distance-learning students. You still enter through a centre. Neither the maths nor the English specification says anything about private candidates, so ask the centre directly, and for English ask specifically about the speaking and listening unit, which carries marks and which only a centre can run.

Sessions
Summer and NovemberSummer is the main series. There is a November series, but from November 2027 it becomes a resit series for the whole qualification in maths and English Language: CCEA says it "will only be for those candidates who have already completed the full qualification, have cashed in and are seeking to improve their overall subject grade". The 2017 maths specification also lists a January series, which CCEA's 2026 circular revising the series does not mention, so treat January as unconfirmed and ask your centre. A March series runs for science only and is being withdrawn.
Spec codes
Mathematics 2210 · English Language 5030
From us
Practice papers in the style of CCEA GCSE

Checked against the board on 2026-10-22 · source · next review 2027-01-22

WJEC GCSE

Open to private candidatesNot Ofqual-regulated

You study independently and sit the exams at an approved WJEC centre, and finding one is your job rather than the board's: "Private candidates should find a school/college before they start their studies." The centre has to be prepared both to seat you and to "conduct, supervise, mark and authenticate any non-examination units/components", so any subject with coursework depends entirely on a centre willing to run it. JCQ publishes a list of centres that take private candidates, but you are not limited to it: "You can however work with any centre that accepts private candidate entries, they do not have to be on the list."

Sessions
Not checkedNot yet checked against the board.
From us
Practice papers in the style of WJEC GCSE

Checked against the board on 2026-10-21 · source · next review 2027-03-25

OxfordAQA International GCSE

Not confirmedNot Ofqual-regulated

Built for international schools. A private candidate must enter through a school already approved by OxfordAQA, with the board's prior agreement. We have not been able to confirm a UK centre that does this.

Sessions
May/June and NovemberThe January series OxfordAQA runs is International AS/A-level only, not International GCSE.
From us
Practice papers in the style of OxfordAQA International GCSE

We have not checked this against the board yet. Confirm with the board or a centre before you rely on it.

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