You've marked the mocks, you know which topics need another go, and you hand out a past paper for practice. Within five minutes someone at the back has the mark scheme open on their phone. Last year's Year 11 left it on a shared drive, or it's the first result when they search the paper code. The practice turns into copying answers, and the marks you collect tell you nothing.
This post covers how to set practice that still looks like an exam paper and matches the grade you're reteaching. You won't need to spend Sunday writing questions, and the mark scheme stays with you. It finishes with how to get that same paper marked so the next lesson is ready.
In short: Build a fresh paper from a prevetted question bank, print it with the mark scheme off, then mark the scripts through Excelas Learn — a teacher reviews and owns every final mark.
Why "another past paper" stops working
Past papers are good practice, but after mocks they cause three problems.
The mark scheme is already out. A well-known paper means well-known answers. Students who want to save effort can, and you only find out when the working doesn't match the final answer.
It doesn't match what you need. Your mock analysis says Grade 4–5 angle reasoning and rearranging formulae. A full legacy paper gives you those plus 70 marks of things the class already got right.
Writing your own takes too long. Writing exam-style questions, checking the marks and formatting them properly takes an evening. Most of us don't have that evening in November.
What good next-practice looks like
Before you set the next paper, check it against this list:
- It matches the grade band you're reteaching. Questions are at the level the class needs, not a whole paper's spread.
- It has enough marks for a timed sit. Students practise under exam conditions, not as a worksheet they do at their own pace.
- You control the mark scheme. You decide if and when students see it.
- It can go straight into marking. Without this, Monday's lesson turns into "we'll go through it next week".
If a resource only covers the first two, you'll still be doing the rest by hand.
Assemble it in Build
Build is in Beta. It's the part of Excelas where you put together a practice paper from a bank of prevetted, formatted questions, so you choose questions instead of writing them.
Choose a qualification, browse formatted questions tagged with marks and grade, then add or shuffle them into your paper.
The process:
- Open Build and choose a qualification.
- Filter or browse the formatted questions. Each one shows its mark value and grade tag, such as "4 marks · Grade 4". Use Preview to see the full question before you add it.
- Go to Questions and either click + Add on the questions you want, or use Shuffle and build to generate a paper from your filters.
- Give it a title and a time limit. The paper header shows the total marks and minutes as you build.
- Set Include mark scheme. Turn it off for the copy students get. Turn it on for your own copy.
- Print it, or Save as assessment so you can use it again.
The paper fills in on the right as you add questions, with marks, time and the mark scheme toggle at the top.
Choosing questions yourself works best when you know exactly which topics need work. Shuffling works best when you want a fresh mixed paper quickly.
Keep the scheme off their desks
The rule is simple: students get the paper and you keep the mark scheme. Print the student copy with Include mark scheme off and keep a copy with it on for marking.
Shuffle so it isn't the same set of questions everyone has already practised or found online. If you teach parallel sets, give each class a different shuffle at the same grade, so answers don't get passed along the corridor between lessons.
This won't stop every student who's determined to cheat. What it does is take away the easy option, which is a known paper with a known mark scheme. That's usually enough to get honest working out of the class.
Same paper, marked through Learn
This is where a Build paper does more than a downloaded PDF. When students have sat it, upload the scripts to Excelas Learn for a first-pass mark and a question-level analysis (QLA) of the paper you just built.
AI supports the teacher's marking, it never replaces it, and a teacher reviews and owns every final mark.
You check the marks, agree with them or change them, and you have a QLA showing which questions and topics the class still finds hard. Students go from sitting the practice to getting feedback on it without you marking a whole stack on your own. If you haven't used a QLA to plan reteaching before, our GCSE QLA template shows how to turn one into a list of what to reteach.
A 20-minute classroom sequence
Here's how it looks across a week:
- Step 1~10 mins
Build (or shuffle) a paper
Choose a paper at the right grade from the prevetted question bank, about 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Print student copies
Print student copies with the mark scheme switched off, and keep your own copy with it on.
- Step 3
Sit it timed in class
Students practise under timed exam conditions on a fresh paper they can't look up.
- Step 4
Collect and upload to Learn
Collect the scripts and upload the batch to Excelas Learn for a first-pass mark.
- Step 5~10 mins
Review marks and the QLA
Review the first-pass marks and the QLA — about 10 minutes for a focused paper.
- Step 6
Next lesson: teach from the QLA
Teach from the misconceptions the QLA shows. Our whole-class feedback sheet gives you a one-page way to share them with the class. For Maths, see how to spot the hidden misconceptions in your Year 11 mocks.
You've set fresh practice, the mark scheme stayed with you, and the next lesson is planned from what students actually got wrong.
See the Build → Learn loop
If you want to see how a paper goes from Build to printing, sitting, marking and QLA for your own classes, book a Build → Learn walkthrough. We'll show you how it works with your qualification.