CIE IGCSE History Past Papers

It’s time to start preparing for your exams and it’s never been easier with School History. We’ve got hundreds of past papers that are easy to use, come with mark schemes, and are specifically tailored to each specific examination board, so you can get the most from your revision time and enter your examination feeling confident and fully prepared.

Exam preparation can be daunting - what must you learn? What questions will be asked? How in-depth should you answer? How much time will you have? One of the best ways to put these questions to bed is by using past exam papers in your revision time. Luckily, School History has loads of past papers for you to practice on, and here are more reasons you should incorporate them into your exam revision.

Fighting fire with fire

It’s one thing to have concentrated in class, made notes and internalised all the historic knowledge you’ve been taught, it’s another matter entirely knowing how to deliver that knowledge in an exam setting within the required amount of time and in the correct format for the best mark awards.

When you use past papers, especially ones with mark schemes provided, you’ll get to know what kind of information is commonly asked for, and the style of questions in the exam, for example multiple choice questions, short answers, and essays.

Keeping pace

Time has a funny way of running away from you when you’re anxious, or even highly focused. It’s especially important in your exams to pace yourself so that you have enough time to answer all the questions without falling short. Having said that, it’s not just a matter of dividing your time by however many questions the paper presents. By getting to know mark allocations and question styles, you’ll be able to assess which questions get 15 minutes, for example, versus 5 minutes.

Fill in knowledge gaps

Your revision time is precious and limited, so it’s important to make the most of it by targeting areas of weakness. By doing past papers at the start of your revision period, you’ll be able to assess where you need to spend more time, and which topics you can afford to give less. Following up periodically with past papers will also bolster your confidence as you see your progress.

Writing with confidence 

Anxiety and stress are the enemies of clear thought and confidence. In fact, they can even reverse the hard work you’ve put into your revision. These two factors affect your ability to think clearly and make the proper decisions. Past papers are highly effective in combating the negative effects of exam jitters as you’re able to familiarise yourself with important terminology, vocabulary, and styles of questions, and you have crystal clear understanding of what’s expected from you to achieve the most marks.

What exactly are you being asked?

The number one mistake students make in their exams is not reading the question properly. Make sure you read each question twice so that you fully understand what is expected from you in your response. Some questions will be assessing your knowledge and understanding of key features and characteristics of a period studied, others will require you to explain and analyse historic events, others will require you to compare and contrast source material and contextualise it in the historic environment, while thematic studies will require you to demonstrate knowledge clearly over centuries while following a particular theme. All of these questions require you to substantiate your answers using facts.

Over and above proper understanding of the question, marks are awarded for how well you present your answer - basic and simple responses will get minimal marks, developed and complex responses will earn more. By using past papers, you’ll be able to compare your responses with the mark schemes to understand how each level is graded. And remember, in short answer and essay questions, marks are also awarded for spelling and grammar. By practicing with past papers you’ll quickly learn to strike the balance with time management, delivery of information, and having a response or argument formulated in your mind so you can concentrate on neat handwriting, good spelling and solid grammar.

Where do I find past papers?

Right here, of course! School History has hundreds of examination-style questions to help you practice for your history exams. By signing up, you’ll not only have access to past papers but thousands of resources related to what you’re studying, including notes, activities, quiz questions and more. Let’s dive in! Take a look below at the major examination boards we cover. Give yourself every advantage to excel in your exams and sign up today!