A-Level Maths past papers: Edexcel, AQA and OCR papers, rules, 2027 dates and a revision plan

Key takeaways

• →Get A-Level Maths past papers from your own board: Pearson Edexcel (9MA0), AQA (7357) or OCR (H240, or MEI H640). The newest papers are held back for teachers, so summer 2026 is not public yet.
• →Pearson Edexcel, AQA and OCR A each set three 2-hour papers of 100 marks, a third of the A-Level each. Paper 1 is pure maths on all three boards.
• →In summer 2027 all three boards sit Paper 1 on Wednesday 26 May, Paper 2 on Wednesday 9 June and Paper 3 on Wednesday 16 June, in the afternoon. Stay free until Wednesday 23 June.
• →Calculators are needed or allowed on every paper, with rules that differ by board. Pearson Edexcel and AQA use a formula booklet. OCR prints formulae in the question paper.

1. A-Level Maths past papers: get the real ones from your exam board

The best A-Level Maths past papers are the ones your exam board publishes. They are the real papers, with mark schemes so you can mark your own work. Check the paper code on the front cover matches your course.

Pearson Edexcel: use its Past papers page. You pick the qualification family, the subject and the exam series, and it lists question papers, mark schemes and examiner reports.^[2]

AQA: use its Find past papers and mark schemes page. You choose a subject, a qualification and a series, and it finds past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports.^[12]

OCR: use its Past papers materials finder, which covers past papers, mark schemes, examiner reports and practice materials.^[18]

The newest papers are held back for teachers. Pearson locks recent papers so schools can use them as mocks, then opens them to everyone. It lists May and June papers as public from the following August.^[4]

AQA lists the summer 2026 papers, mark schemes and reports for its public website on 9 July 2027. Most papers then stay online for three years.^[11]

OCR puts all the materials from a June series on its public website in early August of the following year.^[17]

So the summer 2026 papers are with teachers for now. Ask your school before you hunt for them.

2. How the A-Level Maths papers are built

Pearson Edexcel (9MA0) has three papers. Each is a 2-hour written exam of 100 marks, worth one third of the A-Level.^[1]

AQA (7357) is built the same way: three papers, each 2 hours, 100 marks and a third of the A-Level.^[7]

So is OCR A (H240): three 2-hour papers of 100 marks, a third each.^[14]

That is six hours and 300 marks in all, or 1.2 minutes a mark.

3. Edexcel A-Level Maths past papers (Pearson 9MA0)

Papers 1 and 2 are pure maths. Pearson’s ten pure topics run from Proof to Vectors, and either paper can ask about any of them.^[1]

Paper 3 is Statistics and Mechanics. Pearson says all the pure content is assumed knowledge for Paper 3 and may be tested in parts of questions, so pure skills still count there.^[1]

This course was first assessed in 2018, so use papers from 2018 onwards.^[6]

Pearson’s student page says papers from old specifications can help with topics that were also on the current course. It also says past papers will not reliably predict exam questions, so do not expect questions to repeat.^[3]

4. AQA and OCR papers

AQA (7357): Paper 1 is pure maths. Paper 2 is any Paper 1 content plus vectors and mechanics. Paper 3 is any Paper 1 content plus statistics. The specification does not split the marks between pure and applied maths, so a recent paper is the best guide to the balance.^[7]

OCR A (H240): Paper 1 is all pure maths. Papers 2 and 3 each have two sections of about 50 marks. That makes about two-thirds of all the marks pure maths, which is our sum from OCR’s figures.^[14]

OCR also has Mathematics B (MEI), H640. Paper 1 is Pure Mathematics and Mechanics, Paper 2 is Pure Mathematics and Statistics, and Paper 3 is Pure Mathematics and Comprehension. Papers 1 and 2 are 100 marks each, Paper 3 is 75.^[15]

5. Calculators and the formula booklet

Pearson Edexcel says calculators can be used. They need an iterative function (a way to repeat a calculation using the last answer) and must work out summary statistics and probabilities from standard distributions. They must not offer symbolic algebra, differentiation or integration, or hold stored formulae or text.^[1]

AQA says a calculator is required for all its papers. It needs an iterative function, summary statistics, probabilities from standard distributions and an inverse normal function (it finds the value that matches a given probability).^[7]

OCR A allows a scientific or graphical calculator on all papers, within the JCQ exam rules.^[14]

Pearson Edexcel provides a booklet called Mathematical Formulae and Statistical Tables for the exam.^[1]

AQA’s paper cover says students must have its Formulae for A-level Mathematics booklet.^[8]

OCR works differently. Its specification says students are given formulae in the question paper.^[14]

A June 2023 H240 paper has a Formulae page near the front. Its cover asks students to bring a printed answer booklet and a calculator.^[20]

Some formulae you must still learn. Our A-Level Maths formula booklet guide shows what each board gives you and what to memorise.

Practise with the real rules: Use the same calculator, and your board’s booklet or Formulae page, from your first past paper. Then nothing is new on exam day.

6. A-Level Maths dates: summer 2027

Pearson Edexcel’s final timetable has these three days for 9MA0, with a published start of 1.30pm.^[5]

AQA’s timetable (version 1.2) has the same days for 7357, each a 2-hour afternoon paper.^[10]

OCR’s final timetable has them for H240 and for MEI H640, also starting at 1.30pm.^[16]

AQA names Wednesday 23 June 2027 as a contingency day. Students must stay available until then in case an exam board has to move papers.^[10]

JCQ’s key dates for the June 2027 series list the same day as the contingency day.^[21]

Dates can move: We checked the boards’ timetables at the end of October 2026. Use your school’s personal timetable nearer the time.

7. How to use past papers for A-Level Maths

Start with topics, not whole papers. When you finish a topic in class, do exam questions on it. Mark with the official mark scheme.

Do full papers later, to time. Sit all 2 hours with the calculator and the booklet or Formulae page you will have on the day.

AQA’s revision page says its finder gives free digital copies of past papers and mark schemes. It suggests answering past papers as if under exam conditions, then checking them against the mark scheme.^[13]

Mark strictly. AQA’s mark scheme uses M for a method mark, A for an accuracy mark that depends on the method marks, B for a mark for method and accuracy together, R for reasoning, E for explanation and F for follow through from an earlier mistake.^[9]

Show your working. AQA’s mark scheme says it needs evidence of a correct method for marks to be awarded, unless the scheme says otherwise.^[9]

OCR’s maths adviser says mark schemes are not model answers and are not a replacement for good class notes or a textbook. The adviser also says reading examiners’ reports from several years shows themes that keep coming back.^[19]

Keep an error log. For every lost mark write one line: what went wrong and what to do next time. Redo those questions a few days later.

A past paper only helps if you mark it and learn from it.

Think in marks, not minutes: A 100-mark paper in 120 minutes is 1.2 minutes a mark. If a 4-mark question has taken you 5 minutes, move on and come back to it.

8. A revision plan to Paper 1

Work back from Paper 1 on Wednesday 26 May 2027. This plan is our suggestion, not a board rule. In Year 12 the same steps work, but stay on topic questions for longer. Ask your teacher which board and qualification you are sitting before you pick papers.

9. How Brainhub can help

A tutor can spot which topics keep costing you marks and set practice at the right level. Brainhub teaches one-to-one, live online across the UK. Online A-Level lessons start from £40 an hour, and a qualified teacher with a PGCE costs £10 an hour more. Every family starts with a free 45-minute assessment.

Students who join us by Year 12 most often finish with A*/A (Brainhub student records, 2021–2026). That figure is our own data, not independent research, and every student is different.

1. 1. How long is each Edexcel, AQA or OCR A A-Level Maths paper?

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2. 2. Why can you not find the summer 2026 papers on the boards’ websites yet?

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3. 3. When are the summer 2027 A-Level Maths papers?

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Your next steps

• Check the paper code (9MA0, 7357, H240 or H640), then open your own board’s past papers page.
• Put 26 May, 9 June and 16 June 2027 in the calendar and work back from them.
• Book a free 45-minute assessment to see which topics to practise first.

Subject guides to go with this

Want one-to-one help? See how our online lessons work.