For teachers · Custom papers · Compilation papers · Worksheets
Build a custom paper (compilation paper or worksheet)
Assemble a custom paper from the existing library, set its marks, publish it privately or publicly, and assign it as homework or an assignment.
In short
A custom paper on Exam Science is a teacher-built question set assembled from existing past-paper questions, with optional per-question mark overrides; compilation paper, compiled paper and worksheet mean the same thing. Start from 15,473 questions across 1,655 official papers, mapped to 266 topics and 1,091 syllabus points. Filter by board, subject, unit, topic or year, drag questions into order, and set a custom total where a question should carry more or fewer marks. A paper stays a private draft until published. Publishing makes it assignable: a private paper appears in its author's task picker, while a public one is also visible to every teacher and can be copied. When a custom total differs from the original, AI marking scales the official mark scheme proportionally and rounds to two decimals.
How a custom paper is assembled
In the app this feature is called a custom paper. Teachers also search for it as a compilation paper, compiled paper or worksheet; all four names refer to the same object: a new question set built from existing past-paper questions. Compiled papers and worksheets are not a separate product in Exam Science, and a custom paper can be used as either.
Open the custom paper builder and create a paper in three steps: name it, describe it (subject, course, exam board, paper code and optional total time), then add questions. The question bank is the same library that powers practice, so every question keeps its original paper code, session and mark scheme.
Questions can be filtered by exam board, subject, unit, topic and year. A drag handle changes their order. Each row shows the question's own mark allocation; override it if the paper should carry a different total.
Marks, scaling and AI feedback
Custom marks are stored per question. If a question is worth 5 marks in the original paper and you set 7, marking still reads the official mark scheme, then scales the awarded score by the ratio between the custom total and the original total. The result is rounded to two decimals, and the feedback adds a note with the original and custom totals.
If the custom total equals the original total, no scaling is applied and no note is added. Step-level values inside the AI mark table stay on the original mark scheme's scale, so method marks such as M1 and A1 keep their usual meaning.
Draft, published, private and public
A new paper is a private draft. Publishing is a separate action. At publish time you choose private or public: a private published paper stays yours, while a public one is also listed for other teachers and can be copied by them. Published papers are not edited in place; Make a Copy creates a fresh draft, so attempts already made against the published version keep a stable paper.
Any published custom paper can be selected in a task, private or public. A private paper appears only in its author's picker; a public paper appears in every teacher's picker. Questions your account cannot read stay locked while composing and are never fetched in full, so a custom paper does not expose content outside your licence.
Custom paper capabilities
What the builder does, and the detail that affects marking and assignment.
| Capability | What it does | Detail that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Also known as | Compilation paper, compiled paper or worksheet. | The same question set in Exam Science; no separate worksheet product. |
| Question sourcing | Build from 15,473 past-paper questions across 1,655 papers. | Filter by board, subject, unit, topic and year; each question keeps its source paper. |
| Ordering | Drag questions into the order you want. | The saved order is the order students see when the paper is practised. |
| Custom marks | Override the mark total of any question. | Marking scales the official mark scheme proportionally, rounded to two decimals. |
| Lifecycle | Draft, then published as private or public. | Published papers are immutable; Make a Copy creates an editable draft. |
| Assignment | Select a custom paper when creating a task. | Published papers are assignable; a private one shows in your picker only. |
| Access | Compose from questions your account can read. | Locked Pro questions are not fetched, so no unlicensed content is copied. |
Questions teachers ask
- Is a custom paper the same as a compilation paper or worksheet?
- Yes. In Exam Science a teacher-built question set is called a custom paper. Compilation paper, compiled paper and worksheet describe the same object: questions selected from the library, optionally given custom marks, saved as a draft and published. There is no separate worksheet feature.
- Does changing a question's marks change how it is marked?
- Yes. The AI still marks against the official mark scheme, then scales the score by the ratio of the custom total to the original total and rounds to two decimals. The feedback includes a note with both totals. If the two totals are equal, no scaling is applied.
- Can I edit a custom paper after publishing it?
- Not in place. Make a Copy creates a new editable draft; the published version stays unchanged for attempts already made against it.
- Who can see a custom paper?
- A draft is always private. At publish time you choose private or public. A private published paper stays yours and appears only in your own task picker; a public one is also visible on the public custom paper list, where other teachers can copy it.
- Can every custom paper be assigned?
- Every published custom paper can be assigned — private or public. A draft cannot. A private paper is assignable only by its author, while a public paper can be assigned by any teacher because every teacher can see it.
- Does a custom paper change the original paper?
- No. It is a separate question set that links back to the original questions; the official paper and mark scheme are untouched.
- What happens if questions change after a student has started?
- Attempts keep the paper snapshot they started with. Editing the live paper does not rewrite completed marking or reports.
Build your first paper
Sign in, open the builder, and add questions from the library. Free papers can be selected on any account.
Open the custom paper builder