IB mock exams: when they are, predicted grades and how to revise

Each card is today's short timed IB mock: 8 questions and 25 to 35 marks, marked when you finish.

When are IB mocks?

Each school sets its own dates. Most schools hold DP2 mocks in the winter, between December and March, so there is time to act on the results before the real exams. Many also run end-of-year exams in DP1. Schools that sit the November session hold their mocks earlier in the year.

The IB gave the start date in its May 2026 schedule, subject to confirmation, and results for the May session are released on 5 July. Your IB coordinator has the final timetable for your subjects, with local start times for your exam zone.

Do IB mocks count?

No. Your subject grades come from the IB's external exams plus your internal assessment, and your mock papers are never sent to the IB. What mocks feed into is your predicted grades.

IB mocks and predicted grades

The IB describes a predicted grade as your teacher's prediction of the grade you are expected to achieve, based on all the evidence of your work and their knowledge of IB standards. Teachers also predict your extended essay and theory of knowledge grades. A mock sat under exam conditions is often a large part of that evidence.

University predictions can come earlier. If you are applying to UK universities, your predicted grades go with your UCAS application, which is due by 6pm on 13 January 2027 for most courses, so those predictions are often set before your mocks. Ask your coordinator how your school does it.

How IB points work

Each of your six subjects is graded from 1 to 7, and the extended essay and theory of knowledge together add up to 3 points. That makes 45 the maximum. To get the diploma you need at least 24 points, a grade of at least 2 in every subject, no more than two grade 2s, no more than three grades of 3 or below, completed CAS, and grades in theory of knowledge and the extended essay.

Read your mock results subject by subject. A mock total of 33 becomes 36 if three subjects each go up one grade, and a grade often turns on a handful of marks in one paper. Find those marks before you worry about the total.

Are IB mocks harder than the real exams?

They often feel it. You sit them before the course is finished, often with internal assessment deadlines in the same weeks. Grade boundaries also change from session to session and subject to subject, so a mock grade is a guide, not a forecast.

When your papers come back, sort every lost mark into one of three piles: didn't know it, knew it but slipped, or ran out of time. Relearn the first, keep a list of the second, and fix the third with timed practice.

How to revise for IB mocks

1. Work from the subject guide. It lists everything you can be asked at SL and HL. Tick off each point as you revise it.
2. Learn the command terms. "Describe", "explain" and "evaluate" ask for different answers, and markschemes reward the one asked for.
3. Practise with the booklet you'll get. Maths and the sciences come with a formula or data booklet in the exam. Know what is in it before the day.
4. Plan around your internal assessments. Agree IA deadlines with your teachers so they don't land in mock week.
5. Time yourself. Full papers at the weekend, short timed papers on school nights.

Use a daily paper as a short timed mock

A new paper appears every day for each IB subject we cover. Maths: AA Algebra and Functions, AA Calculus, AA HL and AI Statistics. Physics SL and HL, Chemistry SL and HL, Biology SL and HL, and Computer Science.

1. Clear the desk and keep only what the exam allows, including your formula or data booklet.
2. Start the timer and don't pause it.
3. Mark the paper, then read the markscheme for every part where you dropped marks.
4. Sort each lost mark into a pile, and sit tomorrow's paper the same way.

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