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Jag's Journey

Sharing my life experiences including the Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification

ICAEW Case Study Made Easy – How to Pass ACA Case Study

What was my first impression of the ICAEW Case Study? Weird. This exam is completely different to the 14 ACA exams prior which actually have new content to learn. The ICAEW Case Study was completely unknown to me until I came to study for this exam. It was not really an exam that was spoken about at all beforehand. For this reason, I have written this blog to give others an insight into the ICAEW Case Study exam with tips to pass . If you would like to know how much preparation is needed for the ICAEW Case Study, click here .

I will also share a few of my ‘ help sheets ‘ for free to those of you who have kindly joined my journey. These sheets can be tailored to your ICAEW case study, printed out and taken into your exam as it is open book. It isn’t too late – join now! You will receive these within three/four days of joining at 6pm (UK).

Check out my  YouTube video  if you would prefer watching to reading!

Table of Contents

Introduction to the icaew case study, icaew case study materials, icaew case study exam format, executive summary, requirement 1, requirement 2, requirement 3, different ways to fail the icaew case study exam, icaew case study marking key and timings, make it easy.

To reiterate, there is no new content that you need to learn to pass the ICAEW Case Study. Passing this exam is more skills based than anything. According to ICAEW , students need to demonstrate they “ can provide advice on complex business issues in the form of a written report “. In order to do so, you will have to analyse both financial and non-financial data as well as portray ethical awareness to form conclusions and recommendations.

In terms of difficulty , the calculations involved are quite basic such as percentage change and there is minimal technical knowledge required. You will even already know roughly 40% of the exam that is going to come up. The remaining 60% is somewhat predictable too based on the case study information you are given.

If you are reading about the ICAEW Case Study for the first time, you are probably thinking “ this is great! “. I know I was. However, hold your horses as you might start to smile slightly less as you continue to read on.

The way the ICAEW Case Study works is that prior to the exam (roughly a month before I think it was) you should get sent the Advanced information (AI) . This is 40-50 pages of information – it is everything we need to know about the client before the current financial year. Do not worry about researching the industry outside of the AI as there is plenty of information including prior year financial statements and a few news articles within this. My case study was during COVID-19 and there were not many extra marks available regarding this.

Using this AI, you can really get to know the fictional client. You should understand the history of the company, the products the client sells, the pricing, competitors, opportunities, etc. Furthermore, you can perform a SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis and all sorts.

The surprise aspect of the ICAEW Case Study comes in the exam where you will get 10-15 pages of new information. However, this information is unlikely to be a total surprise as the AI will point towards this. For example, my ICAEW Case Study was about a magazine company. The AI mentioned the possibilities of exploring different consumer markets, different prices for magazines, a different type of magazine, etc. In the exam, out of all of these options price changes was one of the questions which came up so I was somewhat prepared.

The way I see it is that the AI is historical and the exam information is like meeting with your client for a new financial year and they update you on how it went. You will get the latest financial statements, hear of actual potential strategies and opportunities as well as get provided some newer news articles.

Every ICAEW Case Study will have the same exam format as follows:

For more information regarding each of these key exam areas, see the tabs below. As this is a report, your ES and requirements will need to be numbered throughout. My ‘help sheet’ will assist with this.

This first thing to do before even reading the exam question is to start the executive summary. You will need to address the external report to the client from your accountancy firm as per the Case Study. Following this, you should also write a disclaimer regarding liability. Doing this will get you a tick in the overall assessment criteria and my ‘help sheet’ has this all set out.

The purpose of the ES is to provide a balanced summary of all the three requirements. If someone did not have the time to read your full report, they should be able to pull out all the key information from this executive summary. The ES is standard for any ICAEW Case Study exam and is part of the 40% where you know what will come up.

You cannot simply copy and paste the conclusions from your requirements otherwise you will not get any marks . This could also result in you failing, see below. The ES needs to be slightly more detailed than the conclusion.

The ES is on a separate tab in the ICAEW software to the requirements so there would be a fair bit of flicking back and forth between the tabs to do this properly. The way I went about doing this was copying each of my requirement answers into sticky notes/comments on the exam exhibits. I would then paste these into the ES, remove less important information and reword parts to ensure I gained marks.

Timing is key in this exam so I would recommend to avoid leaving the ES until the end. Write it up after each requirement when the points are fresh in your mind.

Requirement 1 is part of that 40% where you know what question will come up. There is a small part of this requirement that is unknown but using the case study you can form an educated guess for what might come up.

The first thing you will need to do for every requirement is to create an appendix . These will be fairly basic calculations using information from the exhibits. Requirement 1 is all around financial statement analysis , in particular financial performance.

You already have the financial statements for the year prior to the exam statements in the AI. This will be used for the YOY comparison which is essentially what this R1 appendix is. You will need to have a movement column (£) and a % change column.

The software can be a pain when it comes to this requirement. This is because once you have produced the appendix, you will need to discuss the movements in the year and explain why this has happened using information in the exhibits. Again, this is fairly predictable and you can for example prepare reasons for increase/decrease in revenue beforehand. However, given the software you would need to keep scrolling up and down to see the numbers.

This is why my ‘ help sheets ‘ are useful as one addresses this issue. See a preview below. I took this in with me printed out as part of my open book file. As I was populating the appendix in the software I was writing all the numbers out too. This prevents having to scroll constantly and if you practice, it will save you more time than it wastes.

The less obvious aspect of this requirement will relate to a proposed financial adjustment. For example, a stock write off, bad debt issue, to do with cash flow or more. Do not worry too much as the AI will hint towards the potential issues.

As stated in requirement 1, you will need to produce an appendix made of fairly straightforward calculations. This should be the calculations behind evaluating a potential strategy or opportunity. For me, this was the potential revenue for different magazine pricing strategies. This was somewhat predictable so I had practiced calculations beforehand.

The rest of requirement 2 tends to have the same structure :

• Is the strategy or opportunity is worthwhile given your numbers?
• The assumptions would then need to be assessed. There will be benchmarks given in the AI and in the exam which you can compare these assumptions to.
• Commercial and ethical considerations based on the exam information would be made. For example, does this strategy align with the client’s values as per the AI.
• Conclusions and recommendations would need to be made.

Always state “any changes in the assumptions will affect the results of the model” for any ICAEW case study – it is an easy, guaranteed mark!

The shortest appendix will be needed for this requirement. It should be a few simple calculations to assess a potential strategy or opportunity. In all honesty, sometimes the lines can get slightly blurred between what could come up in requirement 2 or requirement 3.

As with 2, requirement 3 has roughly the same structure from ICAEW Case Study to Case Study:

• Financial impact using these calculations
• Strategic and operational issues
• Business trust and ethical issues
• Conclusions and recommendations

The recommendations can be quite straightforward such as carrying out market research. If there is another company involved, carry out due diligence on them.

Within all requirements , wider business context points are required to be sprinkled in throughout. These can be gathered from the AI and prepared beforehand but then ensure to add them in where relevant.

This is probably the most horrible aspect of the ICAEW Case Study. Either this or the fact that it is 4 hours long. What surprised me is that you can still fail this exam even if you achieve the actual pass mark. Yes, you read that correctly. Even if you reach the 50% pass mark, you can be failed for any of the other reasons outlined below .

• As mentioned, achieving less than the 50% pass mark.
• For not having complete coverage of the requirements – for example, if you scored 100% on R1 and R2 but then 0% on R3 or have a missing ES this would be seen as an incomplete report and you will fail. This is why time management in this exam is crucial which I touch on later and the ‘help sheet’ should help with.
• Achieving less than 50% in each individual requirement and being deemed insufficiently competent often. Not only do you need 50% overall but you need to pretty much be passing each requirement. You really need to show you can produce a strong report here.
• Missing out parts of requirements across the ICAEW Case Study. If you score above 50% in all requirements but have missed out 4-5 skills assessment boxes, you will fail. There cannot be gaps in the report. A fail could also be for writing poor conclusions and recommendations throughout.

Essentially, the examiner wants to see that you can write a complete report properly. If you do not do as ICAEW say in this exam you will be punished and you will fail.

I could honestly spend a very long time talking through the marking key. However, I do not want to get too bogged down with this in this blog. You will go through this in a LOT of detail once studying for this exam. I will therefore cover this at a high level. If you want further details about the ACA ICAEW Case Study marking key, click here where I have delved into this much more.

The main thing to know is that there are skilled assessment boxes (total of 40): ES (6); each of the three requirement (11); and one final box for the overall assessment criteria. The mark per each box is 0-6 so the maximum mark is 240 for this exam (40 x 6). Each box will have six points/’diamonds’ that need to be made. For example, one point/’diamond’ is stating revenue increased by x amount/(y %) based on the case study numbers. This will make more sense once you start studying for ICAEW Case Study.

From the table above you can see you do not benefit for hitting six points/’diamonds’ rather than four. You waste time but then it is difficult to know whether a point you make is in the skills assessment box or not. Through these boxes you demonstrate that you can: assimilate and use information; structure problems and solutions; apply judgement and form conclusions and recommendations.

You may be slightly confused as the marking key is unlike any others. There are no predetermined correct answers . In fact, only after assessing the first 100 say papers are the skills assessment boxes points/’diamonds’ put together. You need to write what everyone else writes so state the obvious and work together when preparing beforehand!

To briefly touch on timings, the ICAEW Case Study is four hours as mentioned. Believe it or not but it is very time pressured . There are many different ways to plan your time. I will share how I did it on one of my ‘help sheets’.

This blog title is definitely not click bait. These ‘help sheets’ will definitely give you a good idea of how to approach the ICAEW Case Study.

In addition to this, people do say you cannot revise for this exam given there is no content. However, I do definitely think you can prepare and you will need to go through the AI beforehand. Like I said though, do not go overboard with this as the AI should have all the information you need. Find out exactly how much preparation is needed to pass here . You should also familiarise yourself with the ICAEW software beforehand.

Practice for this exam to master the technique and timing. You may be wondering how and you probably will not like the answer. I would recommend practicing mock exams , as in previous ICAEW Case Study exams. This is tough as sitting one four hour exam is bad enough. Additionally, you would have to read AI’s that are not relevant to your exam and it is a lot of work. It is worthwhile though to do a few!

Another way to practice is through ACA Simplified / Paradigm Shift . Once the AI is released, this company will use the AI to predict around 5 different exams for your case study. It is fairly expensive but if you do want to practice on your own case study it is worthwhile. You can take the mark schemes in with you too as it is open book so this can potentially help in the exam if a similar question comes up. I mentioned above that requirement 2 and 3 have simple calculations but these can actually sometimes be tricky depending on the case study. ACA Simplified can help with this.

And there you have it! This was a very lengthy blog so if you found this useful it would be great if you could leave a comment 🙂

I thought I would also throw in a video of my final ICAEW exam day (Case Study) in November 2020 – I am sure many of you can relate to these feelings!

20 comments

It’s all just come screaming back to me, great summary! Excited to see what your helpsheet is like!

Thank you for reading Abs and I hope you like them!

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A very informative blog for someone starting to prepare for Case Study! Now I know more about what I’m in for, lol. Thank you for the tips and helpsheets!

You are welcome Anne – I am glad to help!

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Thank you for providing the information relating to Case!

I was wondering what made you use ACA Simplified/Paradigm Shift compared to ACA Masters to help with your analysis of the AI?

Hi Guv, you are welcome – others I knew who had sat Case previously used ACA Simplified/Paradigm Shift and highly recommended them. At the time of my studies I actually wasn’t that aware of ACA Masters. They also have great reviews though!

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Loved this post. Very informative.

I was wondering what you think is the best way to use the ACA simplified mocks? Obviously sitting the other 2 advanced level exams, there isn’t a lot of time to practice all the mocks to time so I was wondering if you have any tips?

Also, is it possible for me to have your help sheets?

Thank you!!!

You are welcome and in terms of the mocks, I scanned through them and at the time was able to print them out and take in with me. I think this may have changed since I sat them so not sure if this is possible now. I would advise really running through the calculations and understanding them for requirement 2 and 3 – write these out in a way that is easy to understand and could be applicable to your real exam. Definitely is unmanageable trying to do them all but it is worth going through them and seeing if you would be on the right track if similar questions came up in the exam. I have mistakenly just emailed you the audit notes – in terms of the help sheets you will need to join my journey at http://www.jagsjourney.blog/contact and they will be with you in a few days. All the best!

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October 2021

Kieran Doe has some top advice on how to pass the ACA case study exam. And he should know – he scored 92% in it!

The Case Study is unlike most other ACA exams as there is very little technical content to learn. So students who are used to memorising technical concepts and them ‘smashing out the question bank’ will be perplexed when they are presented with over 40 pages of advance information and a case study exam paper seemingly testing very little from their other 14 exams.

However, the Case Study is actually very similar to other ACA exams in that the three exam requirements are always the same, as are the mark schemes. By appreciating the consistency in the exam requirements and the mark schemes, you can develop your exam technique to ensure that you tick all the ‘boxes’ on the mark scheme and complete your ACA qualification in style.

I believe that there are five steps to case study success:

Step 1: Understand how Case Study is marked

The marking process is objective: there is a set marking key for each requirement and if your report includes a point which is on the mark scheme, you will get the mark. While it can be frustrating that making a valid point which is not on the mark scheme does not score a mark, it does mean that the marking process is very transparent and easy to navigate.

Each requirement has 11 boxes and you need to pass six boxes on each requirement.

The Executive Summary has seven boxes and you need to pass four boxes. To pass a box, you need to get three of the points included in that box. You need to pass each requirement and the Executive Summary in isolation. Have a look at some recent mark schemes to see what I mean about boxes and points.

Step 2: Understand what each of the three requirements involve

As explained above, the three requirements are broadly the same in each Case Study exam.

• Requirement 1: Analyse the financial performance of the company.
• Requirement 2: Evaluate a financial proposal.
• Requirement 3: Evaluate an opportunity or issue.

The mark scheme for each requirement is also the same. This makes the exam predictable and by having a look at recent past papers, you will soon start to see the consistency in the requirements and build an understanding of what each requirement involves.

Step 3: Understand what information is provided in the AI and what is provided in the exam

In addition to the exam requirements and mark schemes being in the same format every time, the AI is also in the same format every time (albeit a different business with different issues).

By working through past case study exams, you will soon start to see that the AI always has the same exhibits with very similar types of information; industry background ; prior year accounts; customers; suppliers; strategic goals and risks. Likewise, the exams include the same exhibits with very similar types of information.

Having completed an exam, it is important to mark it and reflect on what information came from the AI and what came from the exam exhibits. You will soon start to see that most mark scoring points come from the exam exhibits rather than the AI. You will also learn which types of points tend to be rewarded in each box.

Step 4: Learn the Case Study exam technique which ensures that you hit all the boxes on the mark scheme

Having understood what the exam requirements are and how they are marked, you need to develop an exam technique which ensures that your report includes the points which are included on the mark scheme.

Fortunately for you, we have developed an exam technique which does this and it has resulted in two students wining the prize for the highest mark in the world (90% and 92%), another winning a prize for the highest mark in their region (88%) and another achieving the highest mark in their firm (81%).

Given the practical nature of the exam technique, it is not possible to explain this in text so click the link for a tutorial showing you exactly how to ace Requirement 1 and get a prize-winning mark – https://youtu.be/unvyelEwv6y

Step 5: Practice mock exams to master your exam technique

By this stage in your ACA journey, you will already know that question practice is key to success. Having learn the prize-winning technique, you then need to practice mock exams on your case study business under exam conditions so that you master the technique and sign off your ACA in style.

• Kieran Doe is a Senior ACA tutor at ACA Masters

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We aim to support you wherever in the world you work. Our regional offices and network of volunteers run events and provide access to local accounting updates in major finance centres around the globe.

Election explainers

ICAEW experts offer simple guides to help understand the technical, economic jargon that will be at the heart of political debates in the coming weeks.

Insights pulls together the best opinion, analysis, interviews, videos and podcasts on the key issues affecting accountancy and business.

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ICAEW podcasts

ICAEW produces two podcast series that count towards your CPD: Accountancy Insights for news from across the profession, and The Tax Track for specialist analysis from the ICAEW Tax Faculty.

Professional development and skills

With new requirements on ICAEW members for continuing professional development, we bring together resources to support you through the changes and look at the skills accountants need for the future.

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Diversity and inclusion is a key pillar of ICAEW's strategy. Discover the latest insights on equality, diversity and inclusion. You can also join our Diversity & Inclusion Community.

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Insights specials

A listing of one-off Insights specials that focus on a particular subject, interviewing the key people, identifying developing trends and examining the underlying issues.

Top podcasts

Insights by topic.

ICAEW Regulation

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View the latest regulatory updates and guidance and subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Regulatory & Conduct News.

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Strengthening trust in the profession

Our role as a world-leading improvement regulator is to strengthen trust and protect the public. We do this by enabling, evaluating and enforcing the highest standards in the profession. 

Regulatory applications

Find out how you can become authorised by ICAEW as a regulated firm. 

ICAEW codes and regulations

Professional conduct and complaints, statutory regulated services overseen by icaew, regulations for icaew practice members and firms, additional guidance and support, popular search results.

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The Case Study exam will assess your understanding of providing advice on complex business issues in the form of a written report. The scenario may be based on a variety of different organisational structures or operations, and you will be provided with advance information ahead of the exam. The exam is four hours long and will consist of three requirements and an executive summary. The exam is available to sit in July and November and is open book and will permit you to take any written or printed material into the exam.

Exam guidance

We are here to support you throughout your ACA journey to ensure you have everything you need for your upcoming exam, from exam resources to free and confidential wellbeing support from CABA. Ensure you are fully prepared by reading our exam guidance  prior to your exam.

Advance information

The advance information for the Case Study exam will be available eight weeks prior to the exam. You will be able to access the advance information on this page. To confirm the dates when the advance information will be available, please visit ACA dates and deadlines . 

The advance information for past Case Study exams can be found below. The advance information can now also be added to your digital bookshelf. You can add the Case Study advance information to your bookshelf by visiting the ebookshop using the link below  and selecting the relevant edition. The digital version will not be added automatically, you must visit the link below for it to be available. The advance information is still available as a traditional PDF, which can be printed and taken to your exam.

• Get the Advance Information on your ICAEW Bookshelf

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Exam preparation

Learning materials.

These are designed to be used alongside the printed study manual and walkthroughs for Bux and True Taste.

Practice software

It's important that you get to know the exam software and its various functions before you take an exam. To help, we have created an online only practice exam software. 

Preparing for your Case Study

Presentation of appendix for requirement 1.

View this note which clarifies the presentation of appendices for Requirement 1 in the Case Study.

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Case Study Marks Feedback

As the Case Study is marked slightly different to the other exams, the marks are calculated in a different manner. To fully utilise and understand the Case Study marks feedback you will need to refer to the Case Study feedback guide along with a copy of the relevant exam script.

• Case Study feedback guide

Exam study support

Introduction to the Case Study exam

Overview of the executive summary, how to approach the advance information for the case study exam, how to use the advance information during the case study exam, requirement one, two and three in the case study exam, how to prepare to retake the case study exam.

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FAR - Full Series

Learn how to ace the aca certificate level exams, financial accounting and reporting (far) , classroom tuition, online tuition.

Having scored 92% in the Case Study exam, and winning the ICAEW prize for the highest score in the world, Kieran now teaches students the analytical skills and exam technique required to emulate this success. Under his guidance, one of our students also went on to win the ICAEW prize for the highest score in the world (score of 90%), whilst several others have won national and regional prizes.

You can watch the course introduction and a  FREE SAMPLE CLASS   below.

OUR PRIZE-WINNING TECHNIQUE

The course begins by teaching you the methodology for tackling the exam, as well as passing on prize-winning tricks and tips. Kieran provides a detailed walk-through of how you should tackle the Case Study exam, from initial AI analysis through to typing your report on exam day. 

The  next class is an exhibit by exhibit walk-through of the November 2024 AI, clearly demonstrating how each piece of information should be used in the exam. This enables you to understand the AI in an exam focused way.

The following classes  debrief our November 2024 mock exams where Kieran teaches you exactly how you should have read and interpreted the exam as well as how you should have typed your answer, with reference to his prize-winning model answer.​  The classes provide detailed advice as to how you should work through each requirement. This enables you to fully understand how to apply the prize-winning technique to your particular Case Study business and the type of points you should include in your report. 

Classes which are based on the November 2024 AI will be added to the course after the AI has been released. T he release dates for the classes can be found on the course structure document below. 

PAYMENT AND ACCESS

You can subscribe to all the classes for £395 and enjoy a viewing period of 12 months.

Please click  HERE  to purchase. Once payment has been made, you can view the full course  HERE . ​

Please note that our November  2024  PDF materials are sold separately from the video course .

​ ​ PASS GUARANTEE 

In the unlikely event that you fail your exam, we will extend your access until you pass your exam. This includes access to any additional content we upload in relation to subsequent Case Study businesses.  There will be no extra cost to you. This reflects our commitment to getting you qualified, as well as the confidence we have in Kieran's track record. 

AI ANALYSIS AND PROFORMA REPORT

Our prize-winning Case Study tutor Kieran Doe has developed our Proforma Report and AI Analysis. ​

This includes:

Comprehensive AI analysis which identifies all the key facts and figures, showing where they are likely to appear in the exam.

A proforma report to use in the exam with reminders of the points to include in each section.

A list of probable exam scenarios and a reminder of the key points to include. 

PAYMENT AND DELIVERY

The price of our  AI Analysis and Proforma Report PDF d ocument is £75. You can purchase using a credit or debit card below.

You will receive an email containing a link to download the PDF document within 5 minutes of placing your order. You may print the document for your sole use.

Please ensure that you check your junk mail in case your email settings divert our emails to junk. 

OUR PRIZE -WINNING TECHNIQUE

The course begins by teaching you the methodology for tackling the exam, as well as passing on prize-winning tricks and tips. Kieran provides a detailed walk-through of how you should tackle the Case Study exam, from initial AI analysis through to typing your report on exam day.

You are then given the opportunity to put these skills to the test with a series of mock exams based on the November 2024 AI. You will be required to complete the exam in your own time using the ICAEW CBE software and submit this before class. Your tutor will perform a detailed review of your attempt so that class time can be spent coaching you on the specific areas where your report requires improvement. In addition, Kieran will explain exactly how the exam should have been tackled and demonstrate this with his prize-winning model answer. 

The key difference between the Video Course and the Live Course is that the Live Course includes three live classes where your tutor will give you detailed feedback on how and where you need to improve to score a higher mark. 

TUTION FEES AND BOOKING

The tuition fee is £1,100 plus VAT .  This includes: ​

Proforma reports to use in the exam with reminders of the points to include for each section.

AI  analysis document which identifies all the key facts and figures, showing where they are likely to appear in the exam.

A list of probable exam scenarios and a reminder of the key points to include.

Mock exams, marking grids and model answers which demonstrate exactly how you should write your points in the exam.

Access to all our Case Study video classes which are used as a preparatory and revision tool.

Please contact us HERE  for availability and course dates.

In the unlikely event that you fail your exam (we had a 100% pass rate in most recent exams), we will automatically enrol you on subsequent courses until you pass your exam. There will be no extra cost to you. This reflects our commitment to getting you qualified, as well as the confidence we have in our track record. In order for the pass guarantee to apply, you must attend all classes and complete all required work. 

MOCK EXAMS, MARKING KEYS AND MODEL ANSWERS

Our prize-winning Case Study tutor Kieran Doe has created our mock exams, marking keys and model answers.​

MOCK EXAM 1  1

Mock exam 1 and marking key

Prize-winning model answer which demonstrates exactly how you should structure your report and the points to include​

A sample is included below. 

The price of our  Mock Exam 1 PDF pack is £50 . You can purchase using a credit or debit card below . 

You will receive an email containing a link to download the PDF document within 5 minutes of placing your order. 

MOCK EXAM 2  2

Mock exam 2  and marking key

A sample from mock exam 1 is above. All our mock exams are in the same format but have different questions/scenarios. 

The price of our  Mock Exam 2  PDF pack is £50 . You can purchase using a credit or debit card below . 

MOCK EXAM 3  2

Mock exam 3  and marking key

The price of our  Mock Exam 3 PDF pack is £50 . You can purchase using a credit or debit card below.

Having failed Case Study TWICE, I had seen this course pop up on YouTube whilst I tried to figure out where I was going wrong. Took the plunge to change resource providers and honestly, there are NO words to express how grateful I am! Kieran and the team guide you with a CLEAR and CONCISE approach which really helped me focus on what I needed to improve on and what I was previously doing wrong.

From past failures of 48 & 36 previously, to now a gratifying pass of 74, I am honestly on TOP of the world!!! Don't hesitate - book before its too late, honestly you won't regret it!!!

(Case Study resit student who passed first time with us)

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