OCR GCSE
OCR GCSE English Language past papers
16 OCR GCSE English Language (J351) papers from 8 series, November 2021 to June 2025, with mark schemes and examiner reports. Each series opens OCR’s past papers page for J351, where you pick the paper.
What is free: OCR first gives each series to schools for mock exams. About 14 months after the exam, it goes on OCR’s public site and stays there for at least five years, and longer for maths and science.
What is held back: Until then, the most recent series are for teachers only, on OCR’s Teach Cambridge site.
June 2025
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
November 2024
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
June 2024
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
November 2023
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
June 2023
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
November 2022
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
June 2022
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
November 2021
- Paper 1 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
- Paper 2 Question paperInsertMark schemeExaminer report
See everything for J351 on OCR’s website
What the English Language exam contains
OCR GCSE English Language (J351) has two untiered papers of 2 hours each. Paper 1, Communicating Information and Ideas, has questions on two non-fiction texts, one of them from the 19th century, then a non-fiction writing task. Paper 2, Exploring Effects and Impact, has questions on two literary prose texts, then a piece of imaginative writing. Spoken language is assessed separately.