There are many benefits to using past exam papers for revision.

1. Become familiar with the exam paper structure
   You need to become aware of how the paper is laid out, how many questions are included, and whether you have a choice of questions or not.
2. Get a realistic view of how you will be tested
   It’s great to see the style of the question and the level of difficulty for the various parts of the question.
3. Practice your math skills
   Every time you attempt a question you are building up your mathematical skills.
4. Hone your problem-solving skills
   It’s not enough to be aware of the concepts of mathematics.  You also need to be able to utilise those skills to solve problems in different contexts.  Some of the problems may be relatively simple, while others are longer, more complex, and involve more interpretation.  Past exam papers give you some great examples to use for practice.
5. Get used to the language used and the style of questions
   Every maths textbook has a slightly different style, but ultimately you will be graded based on official exam papers.  It’s very helpful to get used to the kind of wording that is used, and the typical question style that examiners use.
6. Understand mark allocations
   For Leaving Cert maths, the marks allocated per question are shown on the exam paper.  It’s great to be aware of the allocation of marks for Section A and Section B, and for individual questions.  Note that this has changed for 2021, and may change again in 2022.  Understanding what to expect removes the element of surprise.For Junior Cycle (JC) students, the mark allocation is not shown on the Junior Cert Maths exam Papers, so you should simply be aware that there is only one exam paper ongoing, and that suggested timings are shown for each question.
7. Practice all aspects of good exam technique
   Whether you practice a single question or an entire paper, you can simulate exam conditions and practice good exam technique.  In doing so, you will begin to create positive habits that you will bring into your exam, which can have a very positive effect on your overall performance and grade.
8. Remove the fear of the unknown
   Sometimes students avoid maths exam papers as they are anxious or fearful of what they contain.  It’s much better to face that fear, and become used to dealing with past mathematical exam papers questions and sample exam questions. For past exam questions, the marking schemes are available, which show you how to answer the questions, and in many cases we have a video solution available as well. For sample exam questions, we’ve created model solutions that you can explore. Once you become more familiar with past exam questions and papers, you can build up your confidence ahead of your exams.
9. Make some mistakes now and learn from them
   We all learn from our mistakes, and it is much better to make those mistakes now instead of in the exams.  Unlike textbook problems, the past exam papers have worked solutions that you can refer to.  So it’s a great idea to try out exam questions, give them your best shot, and then check against the marking schemes or model solutions.  If you’ve made a mistake, this is a perfect learning opportunity.  You can revise this part, and try again.  By testing yourself now, you will discover your areas of weakness and you can take steps to improve.

Many students are nervous about trying out past maths exam papers.  However, the sooner you face your fears and begin to use past papers, the better.

As soon as you have covered a particular part of the course, you should be in a position to try some exam questions.  You can treat this as a “low-stakes” practice run, with nothing to lose and a lot to gain.  Familiarity will reduce your nerves, and give you confidence.

Your teacher will typically begin to give you past exam questions as part of your homework as soon as they feel you are ready.

As you go through 3rd year or 6th year, you will typically start to do more and more past exam questions, in preparation for your mock (“pre”) exams, and in preparation for your Junior Cycle (Junior Cert) and Leaving Cert exams.

You can use past maths exam papers to test yourself in one area of maths, such as trigonometry, or to try out more complex questions which involve material from several areas of maths.

You can try one question at a time, or you might decide to attempt a full paper under timed conditions.

It’s always a good idea to simulate exam conditions so that you are really testing your knowledge and skills.  So try not to peek at your textbook or notes until you have given it your best attempt.  Then, check your answers against the official marking scheme or model answer.  If you got it right, well done!  If not, try to see where you went wrong, and learn from this.  If you find that you can’t understand the solution given, check our video lessons where our teachers show and explain how to answer the question.  Make sure you understand the theory and method before moving on.  This is a very valuable way to address any gaps in your knowledge and skills.

Be careful when using past papers, as the structure may have changed, whether at Leaving Cert or Junior Cert Maths Exam Papers (Junior Cycle).  As long as you are aware of the changes, you can still use past papers as good practice material.

[Note:  information correct at the time of writing.  This may change again due to COVID19, so please check back during the year for the latest information.]

Yes, there have been changes to the exam papers over the years, in particular from 2010 onwards, and also from 2021 onwards.

We recommend that you use the exam papers above which include the “Project Maths” style papers which started to roll out in 2010.  Pre-“Project Maths” papers are not recommended as the content, layout and marking schemes were different.

2022 Leaving Certificate exam includes an element of choice, and a different breakdown of marks, due to lost learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaving Cert Maths Exam Papers 1 and 2 still have a duration of 2.5 hours each.

There are two sections on this paper:

In 2022, section A, Concepts and Skills is worth a total of 150 marks.  You will be required to answer 5 out of 6 questions.

In 2022, section B, Contexts and Applications is worth a total of 150 marks, the same as section A. You are required to answer 3 out of 4 questions.

For the new Junior Cycle, please note that the exam structure is different from that of the traditional Junior Certificate Maths Exam Papers.  There will now be one paper only, of 2 hours duration, with no element of choice.