Paper 2 changes in 2027 too. Students read two texts, answer a short question on one writer’s attitude, and write a directed response that weighs up both, then choose one composition task: descriptive or narrative. With just one specimen paper published, good practice material is scarce. Four Days is a complete, full-length mock written for the new format, and it’s free to download.
The two texts
- Text A: The long weekend (feature article) – a look inside a school that has switched to a four-day week, and what students, teachers and parents make of it.
- Text B: Who pays for the day off? (opinion article) – a sharper take that asks who is left looking after the children on Fridays.
For the directed writing task, students write a speech for a school debate on whether their own school should adopt a four-day week, using ideas from both texts. It’s a topic every student has an opinion on, which makes it ideal for practising evaluation rather than just retelling.
What’s inside
- The insert with both texts
- The full question paper: Section A (Questions 1(a) and 1(b)) and Section B composition, with four titles to choose from, 80 marks
- A detailed mark scheme set out in the familiar Cambridge table layout
- A full-mark 1(a) answer, a colour-coded model speech for 1(b), and top-level descriptive and narrative model answers
- Level descriptors written in plain English, so students can mark their own work
How to use it
Sit it as a timed mock. Spend proper time planning the speech: the best answers don’t just list points from the texts, they judge them and come to a clear view. Then use the mark scheme to compare your speech with the model, paying attention to how ideas from Text A and Text B are combined and challenged. For the composition, pick the title you would really choose in the exam.
Teachers are welcome to use the paper with their own classes. If you try it, I’d love to hear how your students get on.