Why are Past Papers Important?

However chilled out your child might seem about exams, it’s likely they’ll want to do well on a past paper. Most of us simply don’t want to do badly when tested!

Sample papers keep students on their toes, as well as get to grips with the reality of examinations!

They also help with boredom and procrastination.

Whilst it could be said that completing past papers isn’t the most thrilling of activities, these papers do offer a sense of achievement! You child will need to really focus on the questions in the paper and they will need to complete questions to the best of their ability. It’s something with an end goal: they can focus their attention on a practice paper- and complete it in one or two sittings!

If teachers have the time to welcome additional papers your child completes at home, then receiving any feedback can be confidence-boosting, as well as constructive.  This in itself can lead to improved motivation, which is a key driving force to unlocking your child’s potential.

Your child will soon start to notice that they are asked to practise their examinations papers, again and again. Whilst it can start to seem like they know the style of questions like the back of their hand (this is a good thing,) there is reason to believe that it is one of the most effective ways to revise.

Past past papers keeps things relative.

Your teen should start to notice questions across each paper are similar in style. This is very likely to remain the same in their final exams- because the questions will need to be relativeto the mark scheme for each exam paper. Therefore, we encourage working on sample papers as it’s an excellent way of preparing for what the questions will actually be like- and how your teen will be marked. It’s the closest form of rehearsal that your child can get!

Past papers are also great for top grades.

Students who gain top marks usually master a sense of the mark scheme. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your teen needs to spend long hours poring over the schemes, but instead, they should become familiar with some of the key words and differences subscribed to the top bands or levels.

Mark schemes usually make for a tough read (they are, after all, designed for specialist teachers and examiners!) so your child may want to think about approaching teachers who may have student-friendly versions.

Past papers provide accurate assessment.

Past papers completed in class provides the teacher with very accurate assessment on where individuals are at- and what they need to do in order to improve achievement.

For your child, completing sample papers to the best of their ability will lead to the best outcomes all round. The results of a past paper not only assesses a predicted grade that your child may be working at, but also gives an accurate insight into any gaps that your child might have.

Any areas that highlight as problematic gives good grounds for revision. Our SQA revision courses are specially designed to cover subject material intensively. Therefore, it’s a great way to help fill in any gaps, guided by a subject specialist with expert knowledge!

Lastly, Past papers aid exam technique.

If your teen seems to be struggling with other aspects of practice papers (such as timings and pace,) then our courses are very good for giving your child the confidence to best tackle exam technique. An important factor to success is being able to tackle the techniques of the exams themselves! Some students can have excellent subject knowledge, but without rehearsing the right application, will lose out on marks.

Ultimately, every sample paper your child completes is a stepping stone towards exam success.

Find Pass Papers here https://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpastpaper.htm