How I Create My GCSE Predicted Papers..

Katia Gardner-Thorpe

Sep 6

2 min read

it takes a lotta work!!!

When you're preparing for GCSE exams, there are thousands of revision resources

available. So when I create a predicted paper, I don't take the process lightly.

I wanted to create a realistic revision resource that helps students feel more prepared for their actual exam. I used to buy and test myself with predicted papers myself and it changed the game! This is because these are never before seen questions so gets you used to that for the exam!

Every paper starts with research:

Before writing anything, I spend time looking closely at the relevant specification and the way topics have been assessed in previous exams. This has also come from 3 years of tutoring 4 different exam boards!

I'm looking for patterns, question styles and areas of the course that students need to be prepared for.

Then comes the part that takes a lot of time!

Creating a paper isn't simply about putting questions together.

Each paper needs to feel balanced of topics, realistic and actually useful for revision. I carefully consider the range of topics covered over the past few years, the style of questions included and the level of challenge throughout the paper.

Every question has a purpose

I want students to come away from a paper knowing something useful, whether that's identifying a gap in their knowledge, practising exam technique or becoming more confident with a particular topic.

That's why I focus on creating papers that are specific to that specification, challenging and contains questions students often are strugglign with - so you won't for the exam ;)

Quality matters to me

I know that students and parents are trusting my resources as part of GCSE preparation, and that's something I take seriously.

A significant amount of work happens behind the scenes before a paper is ever available to download, from researching and writing to reviewing the final questions and mark scheme.

My goal isn't to claim that anyone can predict exactly what will appear in an exam..

It's to create the most thoughtful and useful preparation possible using my knowledge of the specification, past assessment styles and the needs of GCSE students! This is something that has been compounding for years.