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When are GCSE mocks?
Each school or college decides when its mocks happen, so dates vary. Your school will give you its own mock timetable.
Ofqual's guidance encourages schools to hold these assessments in the first half of the academic year where possible, so that evidence is in place early if anything unexpected happens.
The real GCSE exams run from Monday 10 May 2027: see the GCSE 2027 timetable or the countdown.
Do GCSE mocks matter?
Yes, for two reasons.
- Practice. Mocks are the closest thing to the real exams, and Ofqual wants them to be as useful as possible for students preparing for the summer.
- Back-up evidence. Since November 2023, Ofqual has asked schools to keep students' mock work as evidence. It would only be used to decide grades in the unlikely event that the government decides exams can't go ahead. Ofqual says one set of mocks in exam conditions should be enough evidence, according to OCR's summary.
Exams are expected to go ahead as planned. Your teacher may tell you what grade your mock suggests, but Ofqual is clear that this is not an indication of your final grade.
What does "exam conditions" mean for a mock?
Ofqual's guidance says students should be assessed under exam-like conditions wherever possible. That means you:
- don't know the questions beforehand
- work on your own, without help (apart from any reasonable adjustment)
- can't use books or revision notes
- are supervised
- have the same time you'd have in the real exam
Students shouldn't resit the same questions after feedback for evidence purposes.
Which papers are used for mocks?
Ofqual says mocks should be similar to full or parts of real exam papers and based on exam board materials. That's why the boards keep their newest papers back from the public for a while:
| Board | When papers become public |
|---|---|
| AQA | Summer 2026 papers go on AQA's website on 9 July 2027. Most stay there for three years. |
| Pearson Edexcel | Only teachers can get the most recent papers, so at least one paper can be used for a mock. |
| OCR | Papers go to schools first, for mocks. June papers appear on OCR's public site in early August of the following year, around 14 months later. |
So the paper you sit in your mock may not be online yet. Older papers are on each board's website for revision.
Ofqual also notes that papers from 2019 and earlier, and from 2023 onwards, are the most useful guide to the standard expected. Grade boundaries from autumn 2020, 2021 and summer 2022 were more lenient, so they shouldn't be used to judge a mock. More in GCSE grade boundaries explained.
What if I'm ill, or have access arrangements?
Illness or a bereavement: tell your teacher before the mock or straight after. Ofqual says teachers should mark the work as normal but record what happened so it can be taken into account.
Access arrangements: Ofqual says the same reasonable adjustments made for disabled students in the summer exams should, where possible, apply in these assessments too.
The same guidance applies to AS and A-levels.
Questions people ask
When are GCSE mocks?
Your school or college sets the dates, so there is no national mock date. Ofqual encourages schools to hold these assessments in the first half of the academic year where possible. Ask your school for its mock timetable.
Do GCSE mocks matter?
Yes, in two ways. They are practice for the real exams. And Ofqual asks schools to keep students' mock work as evidence, which would only be used to decide grades in the unlikely event that the government decides exams cannot go ahead.
Are mock grades my final grades?
No. Teachers may tell you the grade your mock performance suggests, but Ofqual says this is not an indication of your final grade. Your GCSE grades come from the real exams.
Why can't I find the paper I sat in my mock?
Exam boards keep their most recent papers for schools to use as mocks. Pearson gives only teachers the most recent papers, so at least one can be used for a mock. OCR puts papers on its public site around 14 months after the exam. AQA publishes the summer 2026 papers on its website on 9 July 2027.
What if I am ill on the day of a mock?
Tell your teacher before the mock or straight after. Ofqual's guidance says teachers should mark the work as normal but record the issue so it can be taken into account.
Do access arrangements apply in mocks?
They should. Ofqual says the same reasonable adjustments made for disabled students in the summer exams should, where possible, also apply to these assessments.