Edexcel English Language Past Papers
Pearson publishes its past papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports free of charge. Those are linked here as they are. Beside them is an original RCF practice paper, clearly labelled.
How papers are handled here
Official papers are linked, never copied. Pearson owns its question papers, source material, mark schemes and examiners' reports. Every official item below opens on qualifications.pearson.com. This site hosts no copy of any of them and links to no paper-sharing site.
RCF papers are labelled on every page that carries them. They are written by RCF English in the format of the examination. They are not past papers, not sample assessment materials, and not endorsed by Pearson Edexcel.
RCF English is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Pearson Edexcel. Pearson owns its assessment materials and its name and logo, neither of which appears on any RCF material.
Official Pearson Edexcel materials
| Type | Paper | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification page: specification, past papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports | Both papers | Edexcel GCSE English Language (2015) |
| Specification, Issue 6 | Both papers | 1EN0 specification PDF |
| Question paper | Paper 1: Fiction and Imaginative Writing | 1EN0/01 question paper |
| Question paper | Paper 2: Non-fiction and Transactional Writing | 1EN0/02 question paper |
| Exemplar scripts with examiner commentary | Paper 1 | Paper 1 exemplars |
| Exemplar scripts with examiner commentary | Paper 2 | Paper 2 exemplars |
| Examiners' report | Paper 2 | 1EN0/02 examiners' report |
The exemplar scripts are worth more than another past paper
Pearson publishes real candidate answers with the examiner's commentary and the mark awarded, for both papers. They show exactly why one answer scored 6 and another 11 on the same question.
Almost no student reads them. Working through the Question 3 and Question 7(b) exemplars once will teach you more about the standard than doing a third past paper will.
Original RCF model papers
| Paper | Type | Modelled on | Format | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCF Model Paper 2 | ||||
| RCF original model paper | ||||
| Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Language 1EN0, Paper 2 | ||||
| 2 hours 5 minutes, 96 marks, two unseen non-fiction texts and a transactional writing task | ||||
| Question paper and marking guide |
Why Paper 2 first for Edexcel
Paper 2 carries 96 of the 160 marks and 60% of the qualification, and it is the paper with the question type students find hardest - the two-part Question 7. It is the more useful practice paper of the two.
An Edexcel Paper 1 model paper needs an original 19th-century fiction extract and will follow.
There is also an AQA Paper 2 model paper, which pairs a 19th-century source with a modern one. That pairing belongs to AQA's format, not Edexcel's - Edexcel puts its 19th-century text on Paper 1.
Questions about Edexcel past papers
Where can I get Edexcel English Language past papers free?
From Pearson's own qualification page for 1EN0, which publishes past question papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports free of charge under its course materials and exam materials sections. It is linked at the top of this page.
Is the RCF model paper a real Edexcel paper?
No, and it says so on every page that carries it. It follows Edexcel's published structure - the same duration, sections, question types and marks - using two source texts and nine questions written by RCF English that have never appeared in an examination.
Can I use AQA past papers to revise for Edexcel?
Only for the underlying skills. The papers differ in length, marks, weighting and question structure: AQA Paper 2 pairs a 19th-century source with a modern one, while Edexcel Paper 2 uses two texts from the 20th and 21st centuries and adds a separate synthesis question. Practise the skills anywhere; practise the format on your own board's papers.
Related pages
Edexcel Paper 2
Question by question, with methods.
Edexcel overview
Both papers, marks and assessment objectives.
AQA past papers
The other board developed in full.