Sixth Term Examination Paper Preparation Guide

Duration: 3 hours. Question types: long-form written solutions. The paper contains 12 questions: 8 pure, 2 mechanics, and 2 statistics/probability. Marks: each question is marked out of 20, but only your best six answers count, so the maximum mark is 120. STEP 2 is based on A-level Mathematics plus AS-level Further Mathematics.

Duration: 3 hours. Question types: long-form written solutions. The paper also contains 12 questions: 8 pure, 2 mechanics, and 2 statistics/probability. Marks: each question is marked out of 20, with only the best six counted, giving a maximum of 120. STEP 3 is based on a typical Further Mathematics A-level syllabus.

Calculators are not permitted or required in STEP. OCR’s STEP instructions also say there is no formulae booklet, and candidates must not use graph paper. Standard equipment such as rulers, protractors and compasses is allowed where needed.

There is no negative marking. All answers are marked, but your final mark is based on the six questions on which you score highest. That is why selection matters: STEP rewards six strong answers far more than twelve fragmentary attempts.

Treat STEP as a selection exam, not a completion exam. Because only your best six questions count, the real objective is to collect six strong scripts, not to touch all twelve. Spend the first 10 to 15 minutes scanning for questions that fit your strengths. Move quickly past dead ends. A half-solved elegant question can score well, but a page of random algebra usually does not.

Start with the questions you can make progress on immediately. Most strong candidates should aim to lock in three to four reliable questions first, then return for harder ones. In pure questions, write structure clearly: define substitutions, state identities, and show why each step is valid. In mechanics and statistics/probability, keep notation disciplined and do not skip modelling assumptions. STEP rewards insight and the use of standard techniques in unusual ways, so your method matters as much as the final answer.

There is no negative marking, but STEP is not a multiple-choice test, so guessing means making a mathematically informed attempt. If you are stuck, write down the useful observation, a special case, a diagram, or the identity you think unlocks the problem. Partial progress can earn marks. Blind symbolic flailing usually does not.

Students often spend too long on the wrong opening question, treat STEP like a completion exam rather than a best-six exam, use official papers too early, avoid mechanics or probability entirely, write intuitive ideas without a clean proof structure, and neglect syllabus gaps until too late.

Our tutors help students identify content gaps early, improve question selection, and turn partial ideas into clearer, more credit-worthy scripts. See /tutors/ and /contact/.

For the 2026 sitting, OCR says STEP registration opens on 1 March 2026 and closes on 4 May 2026. The same 4 May 2026 deadline also applies to access arrangements and to permission to use an alternative venue.

For 2026, STEP 2 is on 4 June 2026 and STEP 3 is on 10 June 2026. In the UK, the exam takes place at 9am; international start times vary by centre. OCR also lists timetable-variation deadlines of 28 May 2026 for STEP 2 and 3 June 2026 for STEP 3.

Results are released to centres on 12 August 2026 and to candidates on 13 August 2026.

Students normally register through their school or college, but OCR also allows centres in the UK and overseas to administer STEP. Cambridge notes that students can sit STEP in centres in the UK and abroad, often through their own school. If a student needs modified papers, access arrangements, an alternative venue, or a timetable variation, those requests must be submitted by the relevant OCR deadlines rather than left until the test week.