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AQA GCSE English Literature mock papers
Both AQA-style English Literature papers. Texts covered: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, Jekyll and Hyde, An Inspector Calls, Animal Farm and the Power and Conflict and Love and Relationships poetry clusters, plus unseen poetry. Please check these are the texts your child studies before you buy. Extracts and poems that are out of copyright are printed in full with line numbers. You mark your answers against board-style level descriptors, indicative content and a model, and get a predicted grade.
Independent mock papers in the AQA style — not official AQA papers.
What’s in every set
There are 13 complete sets, A to M. Every set contains these 2 papers, timed like the real exam.
| Paper | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 — Shakespeare and the 19th-century novelMacbeth or Romeo and Juliet · A Christmas Carol or Jekyll and Hyde | 64 marks | 1 hr 45 min |
| Paper 2 — Modern texts and poetryAn Inspector Calls or Animal Farm · Power and conflict or Love and relationships · Unseen poetry | 96 marks | 2 hr 15 min |
| Whole set | 160 marks | 4 hr |
What you get
Two complete papers
Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel (64 marks, 1 hour 45 minutes) and Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry (96 marks, 2 hours 15 minutes), the AQA 8702 shape.
Real extracts, printed in full
Shakespeare, Dickens, Stevenson and anthology poems that are out of copyright are printed word for word from the original, with line numbers.
Texts covered: please check
Shakespeare: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet. 19th-century novel: A Christmas Carol, Jekyll and Hyde. Modern text: An Inspector Calls, Animal Farm. Poetry: Power and Conflict, Love and Relationships. Other set texts (for example Lord of the Flies, Blood Brothers or Frankenstein) are not included yet. For texts still in copyright, such as An Inspector Calls, keep your own copy to hand.
Mark it like an examiner
Board-style level descriptors, indicative content and a model paragraph for every question, including spelling and grammar marks.
Predicted grade
Your marks are set against the summer 2026 AQA boundaries to give a grade 1–9.
Printable exam papers
Every paper downloads as a PDF with the extracts, answer lines and the full mark scheme.
How the AQA GCSE English Literature (8702) exam works
Both papers are closed book. Paper 1, Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel, is 1 hour 45 minutes and 64 marks. Paper 2, Modern texts and poetry, is 2 hours 15 minutes and 96 marks: a modern prose or drama text, a comparison of poems from the anthology cluster, and unseen poetry.
How to revise for it
- Learn short, flexible quotations: you cannot take the texts in.
- Practise comparing two anthology poems in timed conditions.
- Do unseen poetry regularly, since it cannot be revised by memory.
Tiers in GCSE English
Questions parents ask
Are these real AQA past papers?
No. They are brand-new mock papers written in the AQA style, with the same number of papers, marks, timings and question style as the real AQA GCSE English Literature exam. Because they are new, your child cannot have seen the questions before, which makes them a fair test. We are not connected to AQA.
How many mock papers do I get?
There are 13 complete sets, A to M. Each set has 2 papers, so that is 26 full papers in total. You can buy one paper (£6), one complete set (£9.99), or several sets.
How is it marked?
Questions with one right answer are marked instantly. Longer written answers come with the mark scheme, level descriptors and a model answer, so your child (or you) can mark them the way an examiner would.
Will my child get a predicted grade?
Yes. The final mark is set against recent AQA grade boundaries to give a predicted grade from 1 to 9. It is a guide to where your child is now, not a promise of the final result.
Printing, free samples, devices and payment are covered in our main FAQ.
Try a free sample first
Every paper has a free sample, so your child can try the format before you buy.