When to start HSC past papers (and how to use them)

Where are the official HSC past papers?

NESA's HSC exam papers page has an exam pack for each course and year, with:

• the exam paper;
• the marking guidelines, which show the criteria for each mark or mark range (some include sample answers, which NESA says are not intended to be exemplary or even complete);
• marking feedback from HSC markers, describing what better responses did and where students can improve (older packs call this "notes from the marking centre").

On this site, our past papers pages link to NESA's official PDFs and add worked answers, for example Biology 2025, Chemistry 2025, Physics 2025, Mathematics Advanced 2025, English Paper 1 2025 and Modern History 2025. Each subject's exam page, such as Biology or Mathematics Advanced, explains the paper's structure.

When should I start past papers?

Use them in two phases.

Phase 1: topic by topic, from Term 4 onwards

As soon as your class finishes a topic or module, find past HSC questions on it and do them untimed, with notes closed. Then:

1. Mark your answer against the marking guidelines, not a sample answer.
2. Read the marker feedback for that question.
3. Add the ideas you missed to your dot-point notes as new flashcard questions.

This builds exam-style thinking all year and makes in-class assessment tasks feel familiar. The mark-it-yourself Biology guide shows the process in detail.

Phase 2: full timed papers, before trials and the HSC

Once you've covered most of the course, switch to complete papers under exam conditions, including reading time. Plan these for the weeks before your school's trial exams (check your assessment schedule for when) and again before the HSC written exams in Term 4 2027 (dates to be announced by NESA). Our mock exams, such as Biology and Mathematics Advanced, are another source of timed practice.

How to use marking guidelines and feedback

• Read the criteria, not just the answer. For extended responses, the guidelines show what separates each mark range, often in the verbs used: "describe", "explain", "evaluate". NESA's glossary of key words defines them.
• Look for patterns in the feedback. Repeated comments, such as the 2025 English Advanced feedback praising responses that analyse rather than limit themselves to a "descriptive recount", tell you what markers reward year after year.
• Don't memorise pre-prepared responses. NESA says HSC questions aren't designed to support answers prepared in advance, and partly modifying a memorised response won't earn high marks.

Caveats: questions change, and some syllabuses are new

NESA's own advice is that reviewing past papers helps, but question topics and formats vary, examiners avoid predictable exams, and the presence or absence of stimulus material in one year doesn't guarantee it in another.

For the 2027 HSC, NESA's curriculum reform timeline shows new syllabuses being examined for the first time in English (Standard, Advanced, Extension, EAL/D and Studies), Mathematics (Standard, Advanced, Extension 1 and Extension 2) and History Extension. Papers from 2026 and earlier were written for the old syllabuses. They're still valuable, but:

• skip questions on content that's been removed and find extra practice for new content (see what's changed in Mathematics Advanced and English Advanced);
• use NESA's sample examination materials for the new syllabuses, published on each course's HSC examinations page on the NSW Curriculum website;
• check the new exam specifications. For example, the 2027 Mathematics Advanced paper is 100 marks in 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time.

Other courses stay on their current syllabuses for 2027, so recent papers match what you'll sit.

Copyright

HSC exam papers are NESA's copyright material. Get them from NESA's site: our past paper pages link to the official PDFs rather than copying them.

Next: how Year 12 assessment works, what to expect on HSC exam day, or back to the Starting Year 12 hub.