When to start WACE past papers (for the 2027 cohort)

Where do official WACE past papers live?

SCSA's Past ATAR Course Examinations section (under Further resources on the senior secondary website) has a page for each ATAR course. For most courses you'll find:

• the examination papers (and source booklets or practical exam materials for some courses);
• the marking keys;
• the summary examination reports for candidates, written after each exam.

On this site, each course's exam page collects exam format and strategy: for example Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Applications, Specialist Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Human Biology, English, Literature and Psychology. The WACE exams hub lists them all.

Phase 1 (Terms 1 to 2): topic by topic

Once a topic has been taught, find past exam questions on it and do them untimed, closed book, then mark with the marking key.

• File each question in your syllabus folder under the content it tests (see summer study system).
• Redo the ones you got wrong a week or two later, without looking.
• Use shorter checks in between, such as WACE flashcards and quizzes like the Chemistry equilibrium, acids and redox deep dive.

This is when past questions do the most for you: they show how SCSA words questions and how much detail earns the marks.

Phase 2 (before school exams): sections under time

Before your school's semester exams, practise whole sections under timed conditions. Your school's exam weeks vary, so ask for the dates and put them in the study planner. Your school tasks are part of your moderated school mark, which is half your combined mark (see how Year 12 WACE assessment works).

Phase 3 (Term 3 into the ATAR exams): full papers

Full papers under real conditions are most useful once you've covered most of the course, which in WA means Term 3 and the gap before the ATAR exams. SCSA has set the 2027 written exams for Wednesday 27 October to Thursday 18 November 2027, after Term 3 ends on 24 September; the course-by-course timetable comes later.

• Sit the whole paper in one go, with the permitted materials only.
• Mark it strictly against the marking key, then read the summary examination report for that year.
• Keep an error log: content gap, misread question, or ran out of time.

How should I use marking keys and examination reports?

• Marking keys show what earns each mark. Compare your working line by line, not just the final answer.
• Summary examination reports describe how the cohort went and where students commonly lost marks. Read them before you practise that topic, and again after.
• For extended responses (English, Literature, the humanities), look at how marks are spread across criteria and plan answers against them. The English exam strategy guide and Methods exam strategy show how.

Caveats: older syllabuses and copyright

• Syllabus changes. SCSA revises syllabuses. For example, SCSA has issued a Year 12 Chemistry ATAR syllabus "for teaching from January 2024" and a Mathematics Methods one "for teaching from January 2025", and it has published general capabilities updates effective from 1 January 2027. Older papers can include content that is no longer examined, or miss new content. Check every question against your current syllabus.
• Copyright. Past exams can contain material owned by other people (texts, images, data). Use them for your own study and link to SCSA rather than reposting the files.
• Non-SCSA papers. Commercial and school trial papers vary in quality and match to the syllabus. Treat official papers as the standard.

Back to the series hub: starting Year 12 in 2027.