How to revise for A-level mocks
Dr Lavan Ganeshkumar, PhD · updated 4 October 2026
Mocks are the best free information about your exams that you will ever get. Revise for them as you would the real thing, and then treat the result, good or bad, as a map of what to fix. A bad mock early in Year 13 is far better than a bad result in August.
Start about four to six weeks before, work through your weakest topics with exam questions, and finish with timed papers.
When to start
Four to six weeks before is enough if you revise consistently. Start with a list of every topic the mock covers and rate each by how well you can do questions on it.
What to prioritise
Weak topics first, done through exam questions. Then timed papers or sections under real conditions, because mocks test speed and stamina as much as knowledge. Practise the longest question types in each subject until you can finish them in time.
Do mocks matter?
They can matter for predicted grades, which feed into university applications and sometimes into whether you are entered for a paper, so it is worth taking them seriously. But they are not the final result, and one poor mock is recoverable.
After a bad mock
Do not just note the grade. Go through every lost mark and sort it: knowledge gap, application, wording, slip or timing. Fix the most common cause first, and redo the question a week later without notes. Tell your teacher where you lost marks so they can help.
Where Trayna fits, and where it does not
Trayna is a 24/7 online tutor in your pocket, on your tablet and on the web. Dr Lavan teaches you the topics in the app any time, anywhere, and an adaptive plan reinforces them each day from now to your exam. It is there for students who cannot afford 1-to-1 tutoring, and it is built to act like a 1-to-1 tutor: it teaches, it checks, and it adapts to how you are doing. The aim is that you really understand the subject and are prepared for it, not just that you have revised it. It is A-level only, for Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Maths follows Edexcel; Chemistry, Physics and Biology follow AQA.
Wrong answers are noted and come back, which is the same loop you should use after a mock.
It is for both Year 12 and Year 13. Year 13 students already use it, and Year 13 topics are being added as current students need them while Year 12 is the most complete, so check your topics in the app. If you only want free past papers, PMT does that better than we do, and we would rather you used it.
Common questions
How do I revise for A-level mocks?
Start four to six weeks before, rate each topic, practise your weakest with exam questions, and finish with timed papers. Mark strictly against the mark scheme.
How early should I start revising for mocks?
About four to six weeks before is enough if you revise steadily. Earlier is better if you are behind in the content.
Do A-level mocks matter?
Often yes, because they can feed predicted grades used for university applications, but they are not your final result and a poor one can be recovered.
How do I recover from a bad mock?
Sort every lost mark by cause, fix the most common cause first, redo those questions a week later without notes, and speak to your teacher about the gaps.
Should I use past papers for mocks?
Yes. Timed papers are the closest practice for a mock, and marking them against the official scheme shows where your marks go.
Trayna does this automatically. You enter your subjects, your exam dates and how long you have each day, and it builds the route from today to those exams, then adapts it as you go. Maths follows Edexcel; Chemistry, Physics and Biology follow AQA.
Get Trayna on the App Store · on Google Play
Free for 14 days, then from £9.99 a month. Cancel any time.