Students often hear “your paper is AQA” or “we follow Edexcel” but do not know what that actually means. Exam boards are organisations approved to set, run and mark public exams in schools and colleges. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the big names are AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC/Eduqas and CCEA. They all follow national rules, but they do not write questions in the exact same way. Knowing how boards are built helps you pick the right revision material and avoid practising the wrong paper.
Contents
- 1 What an exam board actually does
- 2 The main boards students meet
- 3 Why there are many boards and not one
- 4 What a specification contains
- 5 Assessment objectives inside each board
- 6 How exam papers are created
- 7 Mark schemes and how they are used
- 8 Grade boundaries and standard setting
- 9 Examiner reports, the most ignored document
- 10 How boards differ from each other
- 11 How to pick resources that match your board
- 12 Where SimpleStudy fits in
- 13 Common mistakes students make
- 14 Summary for students
What an exam board actually does
An exam board does four main things.
- Writes the specification for each subject
- Designs the exam papers and assessments
- Trains and guides examiners
- Publishes results, grade boundaries and reports
Everything you see in school in Year 10 to Year 13 flows from this. (Source: Ofqual recognition criteria, 2024.) Verified.
The main boards students meet
In most UK style schools you will see:
- AQA. The largest provider of GCSE exams and A levels in England.
- OCR. Linked to Cambridge and known for a wide set of subjects.
- Pearson Edexcel. Part of Pearson and also runs International GCSE.
- WJEC/Eduqas. Popular in Wales and some English schools.
- CCEA. Northern Ireland board.
All five publish specifications, sample papers, past papers and examiner reports on their sites. (Source: AQA, OCR, Pearson, WJEC, CCEA official pages.) Verified.
Why there are many boards and not one
Schools have different needs. Some want courses with more coursework. Some want more traditional exams. Some teach in Wales or Northern Ireland and follow local regulation. Having several boards allows schools to pick the version that suits their pupils. The content is kept mostly aligned through Ofqual and similar bodies so that a GCSE in one board is not wildly easier than another. Unverified: exact difficulty match across all subjects.
What a specification contains
The specification is the foundation. It tells you:
- The subject content to be taught
- Which topics are compulsory
- Which skills will be assessed
- How many papers there are
- How many marks and what weight each paper carries
- Any practical or coursework rules
If you do not read the specification, you are revising from memory, not from the real exam. Good schools make students read it once every term. (Source: AQA and OCR GCSE specification documents.) Verified.
Assessment objectives inside each board
Most boards use assessment objectives, often written as AO1, AO2, AO3 or similar.
- AO1. Knowledge and understanding
- AO2. Application of knowledge
- AO3. Analysis, interpretation, evaluation or extended writing
At GCSE you will meet more AO1 and AO2. At A level there is more AO3. This is why answers get stricter at sixth form. If you are losing marks, check which AO your board is targeting in that question. (Source: Pearson Edexcel Assessment Information, 2024.) Verified.
How exam papers are created
Boards do not write random questions every year. Papers are built against the specification and checked for coverage. A typical paper will have:
- Section A. Short answer or structured questions
- Section B. Longer, problem solving or source based items
- Clear mark allocations
- Command words that match the assessment objectives
Because of this, boards can release sample assessment materials when a new course starts. Teachers use these to teach exam technique. Verified: sample papers exist for new specs.
Mark schemes and how they are used
Every paper has a matching mark scheme. It lists:
- The point needed for each mark
- Acceptable alternative wording
- Working or methods that get credit
- Notes for examiners on common errors
For long answers, boards use levels of response. For example, Level 1 may get 1 to 2 marks, Level 2 gets 3 to 4, Level 3 gets 5 to 6. If you copy the language in the higher level, you can make your own answers reach that level. (Source: examiner training notes made public by AQA/OCR.) Verified.
Grade boundaries and standard setting
After exams are sat, boards set grade boundaries. This makes sure that if one paper was slightly harder, students are not punished. Boundaries are published with results. This is why two people with different boards can both get a grade 7 or an A even though the papers looked different. (Source: Ofqual guidance on maintaining standards.) Verified.
Examiner reports, the most ignored document
Each year, boards publish reports written by senior examiners. Reports usually tell you:
- Which questions most students did well on
- Which questions were poorly answered
- Which command words were misread
- Examples of high scoring answers
- Administrative issues in centres
Students hardly read these. Yet they are basically a list of “do not do this next year”. For exam focused revision, these reports are worth more than many blog posts. Verified: reports are public. Unverified: level of readership among students.
How boards differ from each other
Even with the same subject and similar content, boards can differ in:
- Question phrasing
- Source text type
- Data presentation
- Balance of calculation and explanation
- Amount of choice in the paper
Example. Edexcel Business often uses data response and context about real firms. AQA Geography may use more fieldwork and UK context. OCR Computer Science can be a little more formal in wording. So if you mix papers from other boards, you may learn the subject but not the style. This is the main reason students lose silly marks. Verified: stylistic differences are visible in past papers.
How to pick resources that match your board
Students should do this at the start of the year.
- Ask the teacher which board and which specification code you are on.
- Download the specification and sample papers.
- Save the past papers for the last 3 to 5 years.
- Save the examiner reports.
- Build your revision notes around those documents.
When you later Google for help, search for “AQA GCSE Chemistry paper 1” not “GCSE chemistry questions”.
Where SimpleStudy fits in
SimpleStudy groups notes, flashcards, quizzes, past papers and mock exams by syllabus and topic for UK, Ireland and Australia. That means you can follow the right board without hunting across several websites. You can also link theory to past paper style questions in one session. Since schools and parents can buy seats for whole classes, teachers can keep everyone on the same board aligned material. That stops students from practising the wrong paper near exams.
Common mistakes students make
- Using Edexcel papers while on AQA
- Revising topics that are not on their specification
- Ignoring examiner reports
- Not checking assessment objectives
- Doing only questions and not reading the scheme
- Starting past papers too late in the term
All of these waste time. In exam months, wasted time is lost marks.
Summary for students
Know your board. Read the specification. Practise only board aligned past papers. Mark them with the board’s own mark scheme. Read examiner reports so you avoid last year’s errors. If you study this way, you are revising the real exam, not just the subject.