With just 4 weeks to go before the May CIMA OCS exam window, many students are diving into their first full mock exam — and it’s a critical milestone.
At HTFT, our course students are attempting theirs this weekend, and we’ve already set the expectation: Mock 1 might not go well… and that’s perfectly okay.
Here’s why:
The first mock replicates real exam conditions —
4 sections, 45 minutes each, no pauses for a coffee break, no notes to help you.
Even with all the preparation so far on the pre seen, answer planning, demonstrating technical understanding and applying that to possible exam scenarios, bringing it all together under time pressure is a real challenge. It’s often the first time students realise just how much stamina, focus, and structure the full exam demands.
But this initial struggle?
It’s an essential part of the learning process.
Mock 1 reveals your blind spots.
Mock 2 helps you refine your technique.
Mock 3 shows just how far you’ve come.
Through marker feedback, learning from mistakes, and repeated practice, students begin to:
• Master time management
• Sharpen technical understanding
• Link blueprint knowledge to practical scenarios
• Build exam-day confidence
So if you’re a student preparing for OCS, don’t be discouraged by a rocky start. Embrace it. Learn from it. Improve.
It’s not about perfection in Mock 1 — it’s about progress before exam day.
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