How to research exam board specifications

To deliver tutoring that gets results, you must teach directly to the exam your student is taking. Your first step is to go to the websites of the main UK exam boards—AQA, Edexcel (Pearson), and OCR—and find the official 'Specification' document for your specific subject and qualification level (e.g., GCSE Physics). This document is the blueprint for the exam and is essential for planning your lessons.

Why is the specification so important?

Think of the specification as the official rulebook provided by the exam board. It tells you exactly what content can be included in the exams, how students will be assessed, and what skills they need to demonstrate. Teaching without it is like trying to train a team for a match without knowing the rules of the game. It ensures your tutoring is focused, relevant, and directly aligned with what examiners are looking for.

What to look for

When you have the specification document, focus on these key sections:

• Subject Content: The complete list of topics and sub-topics that students need to know.
• Assessment Objectives (AOs): This explains how marks are awarded. For example, AO1 might be for knowledge, AO2 for application, and AO3 for evaluation. Understanding the weighting of these is crucial.
• Assessment Structure: Details on the number of exam papers, their length, the types of questions (e.g., multiple-choice, long-form essay), and how many marks each is worth.

Top Tip: While on the exam board websites, also download past papers, mark schemes, and examiner reports. Examiner reports are a goldmine of information, offering feedback on how students performed in previous years and highlighting common mistakes to avoid.