When are mocks in 2026-27? We checked 46 schools' own calendars. Most Year 11 mocks start in November, and many schools hold a second round in February.
In our sample of 46 schools that publish their 2026-27 dates, 27 of the 38 with Year 11 dates start their first GCSE mocks in November, mostly in the two weeks after October half term. Many then hold a second round in February. Year 13 mocks are most often in January, then November, and Year 10 and Year 12 mocks are mostly in the summer term. Your school's own calendar is the date that counts, so check it and plan back from there.
When are Year 11 mocks?
Most schools hold their first round of Year 11 mocks in November. We read the 2026-27 calendars, exam pages and letters that 46 schools have put on their own websites. Of the 38 that give Year 11 dates, 27 start their first mock round in November 2026. Three start in December, four in January and two in February. Two started earlier, in late September or October. The busiest weeks are the first two after October half term: 20 of those 27 schools start between 2 and 13 November. If your school follows that pattern, October half term is one of your last free weeks before the first paper. This fits government guidance for schools in England. It asks schools to make sure students sit mocks in exam conditions, so there is evidence of their work if exams can't go ahead, says one set should be enough for that, and encourages schools to hold these assessments in the first half of the academic year where possible.
The table counts every mock round we found by the month its first paper is sat. A school with two Year 11 rounds appears twice in that column, which is why there are more rounds than schools. Year 11 has two peaks, November and February. Year 13 is spread from September to April, with January the busiest month. Years 10 and 12 cluster between April and June.
Mock rounds starting each month in 2026-27, from 46 schools' own published dates
Month
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
September 2026
0
1
0
1
October 2026
0
1
0
2
November 2026
0
27
0
8
December 2026
1
3
1
1
January 2027
1
6
1
12
February 2027
0
18
2
10
March 2027
3
1
0
3
April 2027
3
0
4
1
May 2027
1
0
1
0
June 2027
8
0
7
0
Schools with dates
14
38
14
28
Do schools hold more than one round of mocks?
Many do. We could only judge this from schools that publish a whole-year calendar, because a page that lists one round may not mention the next. Of the 31 schools with a whole-year calendar and Year 11 dates, 19 hold two rounds of Year 11 mocks. The most common pattern, at 14 schools, is a full round in November and a second round in February. The second round is often smaller. At five of the 19 schools it covers only core subjects, such as English, maths and science. Sixteen of these 19 second rounds start in February, almost all in the weeks beginning 8 or 22 February. If your school publishes only one date, ask whether a second round follows. A mock in the week of 8 February leaves about 13 weeks before the first GCSE exam on 10 May 2027, and one in the week of 22 February about 11.
When are Year 10 and Year 12 mocks?
Mostly in the summer term. Of the 14 schools that publish Year 10 mock dates, nine hold the first ones between April and June 2027, five of them in June. The other five are spread from December to March. Year 12 looks much the same. Of the 14 schools and colleges with Year 12 mock dates, ten hold the first ones between April and June, five of them in June. Two hold a Year 12 round in February, and one each in December and January. Several schools in our sample also run end-of-year exams for Years 10 and 12 that they do not call mocks. We left those out, so these counts understate how many students sit formal exams in the summer of Year 10 or Year 12. If you are in Year 12, find out early how your school uses those summer results.
When are Year 13 mocks, and do they come before the UCAS deadline?
Year 13 dates vary more than Year 11. Of the 28 schools and colleges with Year 13 dates, ten start their first round in January and eight in November. Four start in February, and the other six are spread from late September to April. Ten of the 26 with a whole-year calendar hold two Year 13 rounds. UCAS asks for applications to most 2027 courses to arrive by 18:00 UK time on 13 January 2027. In our sample, nine of the 28 hold their first Year 13 mocks after that date, and 19 have at least one Year 13 round that starts after it. Only three hold a Year 13 round before the earlier 15 October deadline. So for many A-Level students, the January or February mocks come after the application has gone in. They are still a timed rehearsal, with between two and four months to go before the first A-Level papers on 10 May 2027.
Count the weeks from today to your first mock paper, then plan backwards. A mock in the second week of November comes about 26 weeks before the first summer exam on 10 May 2027. A February mock comes 11 to 13 weeks before it. The mocks guide has a plan for four weeks, two weeks and one week out, and the timetable maker turns your dates into a weekly plan. Most schools in our sample also hold a mock round after Christmas: 25 of the 38 schools with Year 11 dates and 26 of the 28 with Year 13 dates have at least one mock round that starts after 20 December 2026. If you want a marked practice run before then, Revise Right runs free timed mocks in December, marked by AI. The papers are original practice papers written by Revise Right. They are not exam-board papers and they are not examiner-approved, so treat the result as practice. Your results show your score as a percentage, an estimated grade worked out from last summer's grade boundaries, and a topic-by-topic breakdown of where you lost marks. The grade is an estimate.
On 27 October 2026 we searched for schools' own 2026-27 mock dates, opened each school's page or PDF, and recorded the dates it gives. We counted a block of exams only when the school calls it mocks, mock exams, pre-public exams (PPEs) or trial exams. We left out blocks called only assessment weeks or end-of-year exams, single-subject mocks, speaking and practical sessions, dates from 2025-26 or earlier, and any date we found only on a third-party site. Each round is counted once, by the month of its first paper. The sample is 46 schools: 39 state schools, four independent schools and three sixth-form colleges. Forty-five are in England, covering all nine English regions, and one is in Wales. The Northern Ireland schools we checked call their autumn and winter exams winter exams or winter assessments, so none met our rule. This is not a random sample. It only includes schools that put their dates online, and more than half are in the South East, the East of England, London and the South West. Some online calendars hide events that have already happened, so a September or October round can be missing. Schools also say their dates can change. Use these numbers as a guide to the usual pattern, and use your own school's calendar for your dates.
Sources
AQA: Key Dates Calendar, November 2026, January and Summer 2027 (version 1.2, September 2026): The exam board's calendar: the first June 2027 GCSE and A-level exams are on 10 May 2027 and the contingency day is 23 June 2027. UCAS: 2027 entry deadline for all undergraduate courses except those with a 15 October deadline: Applications should arrive at UCAS by 18:00 UK time on 13 January 2027 to be considered equally. GOV.UK: guidance on collecting evidence of student performance to ensure resilience in the qualifications system: Guidance for schools in England: students should sit mocks in exam conditions, one set should be sufficient, and assessments should be done in the first half of the academic year where possible. Lutterworth College: exam dates 2026-2027: The earliest round in our sample: Year 11 and Year 13 pre-public exams from 28 September 2026, and again from 25 January 2027. Farnborough Hill: term dates 2026-2027: The latest first Year 13 round in our sample: Upper Sixth mock examinations begin on 19 April 2027. Arden Academy: mock exam dates 2026/27: A typical whole-year schedule: Year 11 mocks in late November, Year 13 in February, Year 10 in March and Year 12 in June, with the note that dates are subject to change.
It depends on your school or college. Of the 28 in our sample with Year 13 dates, ten start their first round in January and eight in November, with the rest spread from late September to April. Check your sixth-form calendar, and compare the date with the UCAS deadline of 13 January 2027.
When do state schools usually start GCSE mock exams?
In November. Of the 35 state schools in our sample with Year 11 dates, 26 start their first round in November 2026, most of them in the two weeks after October half term. Most of the others start in December or January.
My mocks are in January. When should I start revising?
Before the Christmas holidays. The holiday is your last long stretch before the first paper, so spend it on timed papers and your weakest topics. Find your gaps in December so you already know where to start when the break begins.
Do all schools have mocks at the same time?
No. Each school sets its own dates. The earliest Year 11 round we found began on 28 September 2026, and the latest first round began on 11 February 2027. Some schools hold one round, others two, and the second round is sometimes core subjects only.