About course materials

This outlines the course that students will be taught for any level and subject, for example GCSE French. It breaks down the requirements into various units of coursework and question papers for each subject. It explains how and when students will be assessed and how marks will be awarded.

These documents offer guidance for teachers on every part of the specification. They give advice on teaching and assessment, expand on the information contained within the specification about course requirements, explain assessment procedures, suggest teaching approaches, and provide examples of course planning. 

These are sample versions of all the question papers that are available for that qualification, and usually include mark schemes, which show how the marks are allocated to the papers and how these marks might be applied. On the whole, these documents are written for teachers or tutors rather than students. 

Where these are available for download, they are actual question papers that were used in the past for that qualification. There may be more than one component required. Additional components include audio files, maps and resource booklets. 

Where these are available for download, they are actual mark schemes that were used in the marking of the question papers from previous exam sessions. They show how many marks are available for each question and how these marks should be applied. For older exam series these are often combined with the examiners' reports. 

Where these are available for download, they are produced for the actual question papers from previous exam sessions. They are written after all the papers have been marked and give specific examples of answers and overviews of how the questions could have been, and were, answered. For older exam series these are often combined with the mark schemes. 

This outlines what the course requirements are, and contains the units and associated guidance for the qualification. Each unit sets out the required outcomes and content, and the guidance contains further details of the teaching, learning, assessment and quality assurance of the qualification.

These publications are geared towards centres (that is, teachers and tutors) rather than students and learners.  

These documents contain information for students or learners about what is required to achieve the qualification. They provide information about evidence gathering and supply forms and other materials for the logging progress. This is sometimes provided as a CD-ROM.  

This is additional material for tutors and teachers that provides further details about the teaching, learning, assessment and quality assurance of the qualification. This type of information is often included in the specification, so separate publications are not available for most qualifications.  

Looking for specifications or other learning and teaching resources for your qualification? You can order printed copies of a range of materials in our online shop.

If you know the ISBN of the title you wish to order, the quickest route is to use the Fast shop facility. 

If you’d prefer to order by phone, telephone or post, you can find full details on our Contact us pages.