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Where do I get past papers?

How to Use Past Papers Effectively

By ClairePublished 6 min read

Use a past paper as a diagnostic first, then as a timed rehearsal later. The learning usually happens after the paper, when you mark it closely, classify each lost mark, and follow the weak topic with targeted practice before trying the paper again.

A pupil's hand resting on a workbook at a classroom desk, worksheets and a pot of pencils in front of them
Photo: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels

This comparison is published by Revision Library, and Revision Library appears on the list below.

How this list was made

This method is editorial judgement based on how GCSE Maths resources, mark schemes, topic practice and timed-paper tools fit together for a student who already has access to papers. It is not presented as a research finding or a study statistic, and the resource claims were checked on 13 September 2026.

At a glance

SiteBest forPriceAccount
AQABest for official past papers straight from the exam boardFreeNo account
Revision LibraryBest for free printable practice with mark schemesEverything is freeNo account
Pearson EdexcelBest for bulk downloads by exam seriesFreeFree to browse; account for some tools
Physics and Maths Tutor (PMT)Best for concise revision notes with worked exam questionsFreeNo account
Maths GenieBest for exam-style question sheets by topicFree, with a paid tierFree to browse; account for some tools
onmathsBest for predicted papers by exam board and tierFreeNo account

The full comparison

AQA

Best for official past papers straight from the exam board

AQA is one of the UK's exam boards, and its site is the primary source for its own GCSE and A Level past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports, free to search and download without an account.

AQA is the right starting point when you need an original AQA paper, mark scheme or examiner report. Its weakness for revision planning is not quality but structure: once the marking is done, the paper does not turn itself into topic follow-up.

Revision Library

Best for free printable practice with mark schemes

Start with the paper itself in the GCSE Maths past-paper tool, but decide the purpose before you begin. An open-book paper is useful when you are still learning methods and want to practise reading the mark scheme; a closed-book timed paper is useful only when the content is secure enough for time pressure to mean something.

After marking, every lost mark needs a cause. Use five plain categories: did not know the method, knew the method but slipped, misread the question, ran out of time, or left it blank. Each category gets a different next action. A missing method needs a worked example and a short teaching step before more questions. A slip needs two or three similar questions done slowly with written checks. A misread needs the command word, units and givens circled before the next attempt. A timing loss needs exam pacing practice or a shorter timed set. A blank answer needs a first-line strategy, such as writing the formula, drawing the diagram or trying the easiest mark point.

Once the cause is clear, use answer search or the GCSE Maths topic guides to name the method, then move into GCSE Maths worksheet packs so the weak topic gets enough single-topic repetitions with a full mark scheme. If the problem was timing across several topics, use another timed paper later; if the problem was one topic failing again and again, a topic worksheet is the cleaner tool.

Keep the paper log small enough that you will actually use it. One row per paper is enough: date, paper, conditions, raw mark, five or six topics that cost marks, error category, and the next action you took. It should take about five minutes after marking, not become a second revision project. Do the same paper again roughly a fortnight later; the reattempt checks whether the earlier corrections survived after other revision, and topic insights can help decide which mistakes deserve the next block of topic practice.

Find GCSE Maths practice →

Pearson Edexcel

Best for bulk downloads by exam series

Pearson Edexcel is one of the UK's exam boards. Its site lets anyone search and download most past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports for free; the most recent exam series is restricted to registered exam centres for a period after each sitting.

Pearson Edexcel is especially useful when you want several papers from the same qualification or series in one sitting. It is still a source of papers rather than a method for deciding what to do with each error after marking.

Physics and Maths Tutor (PMT)

Best for concise revision notes with worked exam questions

Physics and Maths Tutor (PMT) is a free resource site with revision notes, worksheets and past-paper questions sorted by topic and exam board, across maths, the sciences and several other GCSE/A Level subjects. It also sells separate paid tutoring, crash courses and printed workbooks alongside the free material.

Physics and Maths Tutor is useful after a marked paper because its material is organised by topic and exam board. That makes it a sensible place to revisit the idea behind a wrong answer before trying more exam-style questions.

Maths Genie

Best for exam-style question sheets by topic

Maths Genie is a GCSE and A Level maths site with past papers, topic worksheets, video lessons and revision guides across several exam boards. A free account adds features like progress tracking, but the core teaching and practice material can be browsed without one.

Maths Genie is helpful when a past-paper error points to a named GCSE Maths topic and the student needs more questions on that one area. The worked video support can also help when the mark scheme alone is too terse.

onmaths

Best for predicted papers by exam board and tier

onmaths is a GCSE maths site offering predicted practice papers by exam board and tier. Its site blocked automated access during this research pass, so current pricing and account requirements could not be independently confirmed and are not stated with any specificity here.

onmaths is a better fit for rehearsal than for first diagnosis, because predicted papers are built to feel like exam practice by board and tier. Use it after the main weaknesses from real papers have already been identified.

In the numbers

449

GCSE Maths worksheet packs to follow a wrong answer with, each with a full mark scheme

packs
449
question pages
2,967

How to choose

Use open-book conditions early. Keep the mark scheme beside you, write down the mark points you missed, and learn how the board rewards method as well as final answers. If you are too early in the course and half the paper is unfamiliar, stop using full papers for now and use GCSE Maths revision planning to cover the missing content first.

Use timed conditions once most of the content has been taught. Set the same time limit as the exam, leave the phone out of reach, and do not pause the clock to look something up. If timing collapses in predictable places, build a shorter paper in the past-paper pack tool or practise with GCSE Maths mock papers before burning another full paper.

Mark the paper on the same day if possible. Do not just count the score: write the topic beside every lost mark, then check whether the error was a missing method, a slip, a misread, a timing problem or a blank answer. If the same topic fails repeatedly, another paper is the wrong tool; use topic frequency to judge priority, then go back to teaching and single-topic practice.

Keep one clean record of each paper: date, conditions, raw mark, topics lost, error category, and what you did next. A higher score on a reattempt a fortnight later is meaningful only if the first attempt was marked honestly and the middle fortnight contained targeted work.

Frequently asked questions

Should I do past papers open-book or timed?+
Do both, but for different reasons. Open-book papers help you learn how questions and mark schemes work; timed papers test exam readiness once the content is mostly secure.
How should I mark my own past paper?+
Use the mark scheme line by line, give method marks where the scheme allows them, and write down why each lost mark happened. The reason for the mistake is more useful than the final score.
Is it worth redoing the same past paper?+
Yes, if you leave enough time between attempts and do targeted revision in the middle. Redoing it too soon mostly tests memory; redoing it later tests whether the correction stuck.
When are past papers the wrong revision tool?+
They are the wrong tool when too much of the course has not been taught yet, or when the same topic keeps failing. In those cases, go back to teaching, examples and topic practice before trying another full paper.

Revision Library resources in this article

Every link below appears in the article above. All of it is free to download, with a full mark scheme.

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