Quick answer
Start four to six weeks out, revise strand by strand with past paper questions, then rehearse full papers against the clock in the final fortnight. The mocks are run by your school, usually with DEB Exams or Examcraft papers, and a below-par mock result is normal and fixable.
The mocks have a strange reputation: half dress rehearsal, half doomsday. Sixth years lose whole weekends to them, then spend March recovering from a grade that, officially, counts for nothing. The sensible move is to treat them as what they are, the most useful practice exam you will ever sit, and to prepare in a way that leaves you better at maths afterwards rather than just more tired.
What the mocks are, and who is behind them
The mocks are organised by your school, not the State Examinations Commission. Most schools run them in late January or February; in 2026 many started in the first week of February. The papers usually come from one of two companies, DEB Exams or Examcraft, and they are corrected by qualified teachers against a proper marking scheme, either inside your school or through the paper company's correction service.
Two things follow from that. First, the paper is written in the style of the real exam, so the practice is genuine. Second, the mock can feel harder than June: the paper is built to cover the whole course even though your class may not have finished it, and you are sitting it in February with less revision behind you. Ask your teacher what topics your mock will include before you plan anything.
Four to six weeks out: revise by strand, not by panic
A maths mock rewards depth over coverage, so pick your battles. Go strand by strand and spend most of your time where marks leak: for most students that is algebra first, because weak algebra costs marks in every other question, exactly the logic behind our H1 study approach. A short daily session beats a heroic Sunday; five or six focused half-hours a week will move you further than one six-hour cram.
Work from questions, not notes. Read a worked example, then do a past paper question on the same topic with the solution covered. Where you get stuck is your revision list for the next day. Keep the formulae and tables booklet beside you for all of it, so that by February you know where everything lives without thinking.
The final fortnight: full papers, against the clock
In the last two weeks, switch from topics to papers. Sit at least one full Paper 1 and one full Paper 2 in exam conditions: two and a half hours, no phone, formulae booklet only. Timing is a skill of its own, and the first timed paper is usually a shock. Knowing what lives on each paper helps you rehearse the right things, and we have broken both down question by question in our Paper 1 guide and our Paper 2 guide.
Attempt everything. The marking schemes give real credit for correct method even when the final answer is wrong, and a blank question is the only guaranteed zero. That habit, built in the mocks, is worth marks in June.
After the results: read the grade as a diagnosis
Mock results routinely land a grade or so below what students expect, partly because of the full-course paper, partly because February is early. Do not let one indicative grade rewrite your plans on its own. Schools do use mock results as evidence when advising on levels, and the weeks after the mocks are when many students face the Higher versus Ordinary question, which we have covered in a separate guide. What the mock is really giving you is a map: the questions you lost are your revision plan for the months that remain, topic by topic, and there is time to act on it.
Test yourself: 3 quick questions
Real Higher Level questions from the H1 Owl bank.
Solve cos x = -1/2 for 0° ≤ x ≤ 360°.
The reference angle is 60° since cos 60° = 1/2. Cosine is negative in the second and third quadrants, so x = 180° - 60° = 120° and x = 180° + 60° = 240°. The pair 60° and 300° solves cos x = +1/2 instead.
The point (2, 4) lies on the circle x² + y² = 20. The equation of the tangent to the circle at (2, 4) is:
The radius from the centre (0, 0) to (2, 4) has slope 4/2 = 2, and the tangent is perpendicular to the radius, so its slope is -1/2. Then y - 4 = -1/2(x - 2) rearranges to x + 2y - 10 = 0. Option a is the line of the radius itself, not the tangent.
Solve 2cos²x + 3cos x - 2 = 0 for 0° ≤ x ≤ 360°.
Treat it as a quadratic in cos x: (2cos x - 1)(cos x + 2) = 0, so cos x = 1/2 or cos x = -2. Since cos x = -2 is impossible, only cos x = 1/2 remains, giving x = 60° and x = 360° - 60° = 300°. Forgetting the second quadrant-mirror solution gives 60° only.
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Frequently asked questions
Do the mocks count towards the Leaving Cert?
No. The State Examinations Commission has no role in them and the grade goes nowhere official. Schools do use mock results when advising students about levels and expectations.
Are the mocks harder than the real exam?
They often feel harder: the paper can cover the full course before your class has finished it, and you sit it months earlier than June with less revision done. A lower grade than you hoped for is common and only indicative.
What should I revise first for the maths mock?
Algebra, then the strands your mock will actually examine (ask your teacher what is included). Finish with at least one full timed paper so the timing is not a surprise on the day.
H1 Owl organises exactly this kind of revision: five minutes of Leaving Cert maths a day, worked solutions that show the step you missed, and practice questions with an indicative grade so you always know where you stand before the mocks do it for you. Join the waitlist below and get access first.