QCE Modern History exam 2026Exam: Thu 5 Nov · QCAA timetable
Your QCE Modern History exam:
When and how long
- Modern HistoryMorning session2 h plus 15 min perusal or planning time
QCAA's timetable sets the day and the morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) session, not a start time: your school tells you when to arrive. Durations are working time plus perusal or planning time.
Source: QCAA external assessment timetable 2026 (QCAA), checked Wednesday 23 September 2026. Where a start time, reading time or duration isn't shown, the timetable doesn't publish it: check your personal timetable and the front of your paper.
Paper format
We haven't been able to confirm the 2026 paper format from a public QCAA document yet, so we don't describe it here. Check the QCAA syllabus and your teacher's advice; our mock exam flags the same caveat.
What the exam covers
We don't have past-paper frequency data for this exam, so here is the course, module by module. Make sure every module is covered.
Night-before and exam-morning checklists
The night before
- QCAA's timetable fixes the day and the AM or PM session only: confirm the start time and venue with your school.[2]
- Check your calculator is on QCAA's approved list for the subject.[1]
- Pack a clear plastic container or zip-lock bag: black or blue pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener, a highlighter.[1]
- An ordinary watch only if you want one (no smart watch or fitness tracker); it goes on the desk.[1]
- Pack a water bottle (it stays on the floor).[1]
Exam morning
- Arrive at least 30 minutes before the start.[1]
- Switch your phone off and leave it in your bag outside the room.[1]
- More than 40 minutes late needs permission, and you lose perusal and planning time.[1]
- During perusal and planning time, don't write in the response book or touch your calculator.[1]
- You can't leave in the first 40 minutes or the last 10 minutes.[1]
Exam-week survival kit: The last 7 days · The night before and exam morning · What to bring, and what's banned · How to use reading time · If you're sick or something goes wrong · Handling exam-week stress.
Last-week revision
- Timed mock examQueensland Certificate of Education - Modern History External Assessment
- 2025 past paperWalkthrough, with a link to the official QCAA paper
- 2024 past paperWalkthrough, with a link to the official QCAA paper
- 2023 past paperWalkthrough, with a link to the official QCAA paper
- 2022 past paperWalkthrough, with a link to the official QCAA paper
- FlashcardsSpaced-repetition cards from the syllabus pages
- QuizQCE Modern History IA1 historical investigation
- QuizQCE Modern History IA2 independent source investigation
- Study guides5 guides
QCE Modern History cram sheet
Key formulas, definitions and facts copied from our Modern History syllabus pages. One page when printed.
Unit 2: Movements in the modern world
The order changed structure three times in seventy years: bipolar (1945-1991, two superpowers), unipolar (1991-2001, US dominance), and emerging multipolar (2010s onwards, several competing centres of power). Naming the structure of each phase, not just listing events, is what an Explain or Analyse response rewards.