My PE Mock Exams 2023

Welcome to The Changing Rooms blog. If you are a new visitor, be aware that I publish every single Wednesday on topics relevant to PE teachers and PE students. I have a specific focus on qualification PE but I also publish on other PE-specific topics.

This week, I want to share with you the reasons why he is publishing a whole host of never-before-seen GCSE and A-Level PE mock exams papers on February 1st 2023 Before I get into the details, I would like you to be aware of these facts:

• The mock exams are published completely free of charge to every teacher interested to use the papers with their students.
• The mock exams cover full assessments for AQA, CIE, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC GCSE PE and for AQA and OCR A-level PE.
• The mock exams are written from scratch in 2023 and feature never-before-seen content.
• The mock exams are based on thorough analysis of past-paper trends for all exam boards and are matched exactly to the specific exam boards in terms of AO (Assessment Objective) distribution, command term usage, mark distribution, etc. In other words, they are extremely closely matched to the nature of the students’ real, external exams in summer 2023.
• Mark schemes and model answers are also published for every question on the mock exams and these can be accessed later in the academic year. 
• The mock exams, mark schemes and model answers will be featured in my free-to-access revision sessions in April and May 2023.

 Tell me why: Flexibility 

Firstly, I have written the mock exams in order to provide flexibility to PE teachers and students. Of all the resources that teachers have access to or make themselves, the one thing that is the hardest to achieve is an unseen mock exam paper that has been written and structured by an external source. This provides excellent flexibility to the teacher, who can use the mock exam with any level of formality that the teacher chooses:

In all five cases, the mock exam is having a positive impact on students. Teachers can decide the degree of formality they wish to apply and that is suitable in their case.

 Tell me why: Accuracy 

My team and I have spent a great deal of time ensuring that every question and every marking point is thoroughly researched and is hyper-accurate. We have modelled our writing on the exact structures of each individual exam board and there are no generic questions on any of our papers.

This provides teachers with the confidence that what they are providing to their students is relevant and accurate. I would even argue that our papers are “more accurate” than past papers from the exam boards themselves, as any use of past papers is based on history, not on the future. We are writing our questions for the future based on past-paper trends, not using past papers.

When teachers use a past paper or a series of past paper questions for assessment purposes, the best we can claim is the following:

…whereas my mock exam papers can be described like this:

I strongly believe that the latter case is superior but that, realistically, teachers do not have the freedom or resources to write a new paper at the relevant standard and accuracy. 

 Tell me why: Analysis 

One of the strengths of our papers is that they are mirrors of the exam board’s past paper trends. You may already be aware of our exam infographics. Both our mocks and the infographics are very accurate references to what each exam board has done in the past. Furthermore, our mock exams are attempts to project into the future and achieve the following:

• Cover a range of often-assessed topics.
• Cover a range of under-assessed topics. 
• Where a topic has subtopics (such as the components of fitness or training methods) cover those subtopics that have been under-assessed.
• Where extended writing is required, follow the rhythms of topics covered previously but still provide new content.
  
  

In other words: 

Now, I want to be clear here: I am not predicting anything nor provide any guarantees that what we have written will match the 2023 external exams but I am very confident in this exact statement:

 Tell me why: Free 

When I started my journey as a resource provider and publisher, I believed strongly in providing all of my work for free. My socialistic spirit was very strong and it took me a long time to become comfortable with charging for my services and resources. I gradually learned that my resources, priced fairly and transparently, were a good model to encourage teachers and students to value what I do. However, since COVID I have felt that some experiences simply need to be made available to everyone and I have worked hard to ensure that my pre-exam services are completely free. 

Now, I should be clear about something: in 2022, my free revision services were extremely popular and, anecdotally, numerous other revision providers became frustrated with me for providing opportunities for free. In fact, one provider, one that you will have heard of, had a lot to say about it and represented their opinions to me. I understand that businesses and individuals wish to make income year on year and that historical inertia makes keeping one’s offer the same, very tempting and economically viable. However, I am not here and doing my work so that other businesses and individuals can make money every year. I am here and doing my work for the benefits of students and teachers. This is my first and only priority and I urge other providers to compete with me to provide ever-improving opportunities for the benefit of students and teachers. Any provider wishing to challenge me on this or to collaborate can contact me on james@theeverlearner.com.

So, there you have it. My 2023 mock papers will be yours to download and use freely on 1st February 2023. I will provide a timeline below of everything that is going to happen in the coming weeks.

📅 Before 1st February 2023 : Prepare students for their mock exam

📅 1st February 2023 : Links to download the exam papers are emailed to all registered customers and non-customers and exams become live on ExamSimulator.

📅 Between 1st February 2023 @ 00.01 and 28th February @ 23.59 : Exams can be taken by students manually, in printable format through ExamSimulator or online through ExamSimulator.

📅 1st March 2023 : Links to download the mark schemes are emailed to all registered customers and non-customers and marking becomes available through ExamSimulator.

📅 15th March 2023 : Deadline for submission of marks through ExamSimulator for inclusion in National Diagnostic Report.

📅 29th March 2023 : National Diagnostic Report issued to qualifying schools.