Past papers are where grades are made. Content knowledge on its own does not get you an A; knowing how to write the exam does. Here is how the Past Papers section is organised and how to use it.
How it is organised
Open Past Papers from the top menu. Each past paper has its own page. On that page, every question is a separate tab.
Paper-level downloads are in the page header: the full question paper, the mark scheme and the Marks I Dropped sheet for that paper.
Question-level downloads are on each question tab: that single question and its mark scheme.
Each question tab also has the Question Analysis video (what the examiner is asking for and how many marks each part is worth), the Response video (a model answer, worked through) and the Mark Scheme video (how it is marked, and where students drop marks).
How to do a past-paper question
1. Watch the Question Analysis video first. Command words, mark allocation, what the examiner wants.
2. Attempt it timed, on paper. About one minute per mark. No notes, no pausing to look things up.
3. Mark it with the mark scheme PDF. Download it from the question tab and mark yourself strictly: a point only counts if you actually wrote it. Record only the marks you dropped on the Marks I Dropped sheet. If anything in the mark scheme is unclear, or you cannot see why you lost a mark, watch the Response video and/or the Mark Scheme video.
4. Set the Progress Tracker light for that question. Green, amber or red. See How To Use Your Progress Tracker.
5. Move on to the next question.
Doing a whole paper: the TT Revision Method
When you are ready to do full papers in test conditions, use the six-step TT Revision Method: do the paper, mark it, update your FFS journal, spend Revision Action Hours on the questions that cost you most, repeat the paper after 24 hours, and update your Progress Tracker. Your Personal Study Plan schedules this for Year 13 and resit students.
Which questions should I do?
Your Personal Study Plan picks them for you: practice questions on topics you have been taught, and full papers worked through in order so you never repeat one. If you want a question on a specific topic, every lesson page also links to a matching past-paper question.
Stuck on a question?
Ask the AI Tutor at the bottom of that question's page, or click "Still Stuck? Ask A Human Tutor". Asking on the question's own page means your tutor can see exactly what you are working on.