OCR GCSE English Literature past papers
14 OCR GCSE English Literature papers from 2021 to 2025, 14 with a mark scheme and 10 with an examiners' report. Every link opens the document on OCR's own website; we list them in one place and show which topics each series tested.
Which topics come up most
The topics that have carried the most marks across the OCR GCSE English Literature papers we have tagged question by question. Topics with a revision guide link to it.
| Topic | Questions | Marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literature: Poetry Comparison | 12 | 480 | 4 of 11 |
| Literature: The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare) | 9 | 360 | 4 of 11 |
| Literature: Modern Prose Essay (themes only) | 8 | 320 | 2 of 11 |
| Literature: Romeo and Juliet | 8 | 320 | 4 of 11 |
| Literature: Drama and Tragedy | 7 | 280 | 4 of 11 |
| Literature: Macbeth | 7 | 280 | 4 of 11 |
| Literature: A Christmas Carol | 6 | 240 | 3 of 11 |
| Literature: Comparative Essay | 6 | 240 | 1 of 11 |
| Literature: Great Expectations (Charles Dickens) | 6 | 240 | 3 of 11 |
| Literature: Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) | 6 | 240 | 3 of 11 |
| Literature: Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) | 6 | 240 | 3 of 11 |
| Literature: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | 6 | 240 | 3 of 11 |
| Literature: The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells) | 6 | 240 | 3 of 11 |
| Literature: An Inspector Calls (J.B. Priestley) | 2 | 80 | 2 of 11 |
| Literature: Animal Farm (George Orwell) | 2 | 80 | 2 of 11 |
Counted from our own question-by-question tagging of 11 papers. A question that tests two topics counts towards both, so the marks column ranks topics rather than adding up to a paper total. Showing the top 15 of 16 topics.
All OCR GCSE English Literature papers by year
June 2025
| Paper | Official documents (OCR) |
|---|---|
| Paper 1: Exploring modern and literary heritage texts | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
| Paper 2: Exploring poetry and Shakespeare | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
June 2024
| Paper | Official documents (OCR) |
|---|---|
| Paper 1: Exploring modern and literary heritage texts | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
| Paper 2: Exploring poetry and Shakespeare | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
June 2023
| Paper | Official documents (OCR) |
|---|---|
| Paper 1: Exploring modern and literary heritage texts | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
| Paper 2: Exploring poetry and Shakespeare | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
June 2022
| Paper | Official documents (OCR) |
|---|---|
| Paper 11: Modern prose or drama | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
| Paper 12: 19th century prose | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
| Paper 21: Poetry across time | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
| Paper 22: Shakespeare | Question paperMark schemeExaminers' report |
November 2021
| Paper | Official documents (OCR) |
|---|---|
| Paper 11: Modern prose or drama | Question paperMark scheme |
| Paper 12: 19th century prose | Question paperMark scheme |
| Paper 21: Poetry across time | Question paperMark scheme |
| Paper 22: Shakespeare | Question paperMark scheme |
Revise before you sit one
GCSE English Literature past papers from other boards
- AQA GCSE English Literature16 papers
- CCEA GCSE English Literature15 papers
- Edexcel GCSE English Literature20 papers
- Eduqas GCSE English Literature19 papers
- WJEC GCSE English Literature58 papers
Other OCR GCSE past papers
Practise the questions, not just the papers.
The past-paper tool lists every indexed English Literature question by topic, with its paper, question number, marks and page, so you can sit only the ones you need.