Past papers and mark schemes MCP server

Which MCP servers are Past papers and mark schemes's own, from the official registry and from asking its own domain, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-11-03

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Whose server it is

Registry namenow.exam/past-papersverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under exam.now. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-11-03

Stateanswerschecked 2026-11-03
Tools11
Server calls itselfexam-now
Server version1.0.0
Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-11-03 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 910 ms.

Should an agent connect itNot proven either way yet

Whether its tools do the product's job has not been judged yet.
Checked on 2 of the 7 days it takes to judge reliability.

Once connected

Parameters are untyped or undescribed in 4 of 11 tools: check arguments before calling.

Said by rules from the measurements above. The likely first call is a model's pick from the tool list; read its description before relying on it.

Measured dailydaily checks: 2, the first on 2026-11-03

INITE MCP scoreafter a weeka score needs 7 daily checks: 2 so far
Answeredmeasuring2 of the 7 daily checks it takes to print a share
Median first answer577 ms
Space in an agent's context≈ 2,497 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (11), which an agent carries on every turn
Tool definitionsA · 94 of 100
Typed results0 of 11 toolsdeclared outputSchema: results come typed, read once

Parameters without a description: in 4 of 11

What an agent can do with it

not sure · search and download past papers and mark schemes
not sure · answer a past paper on screen
not sure · get photographed written answers marked against mark schemes

Each of the product's use cases, put to Jev against this server's tool list: can an agent do it with these tools?

Worth a look

None of the five warning signs in these definitions.

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The score weighs what was measured and nothing else: answering (25%), doing the product's job (25%), definitions (20%), context (10%), use (10%) and how readily a client connects (10%). A part that was not measured is left out, and a hidden instruction caps the score at 40. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers11 tools · read 2026-11-03

find_past_paper
Find Cambridge, AQA or Edexcel past papers on exam.now from a free-text query such as "0580 june 2024 paper 4" or from structured fields. Returns up to 10 papers with their exam.now paper_id, title, session, duration, total marks, whether…
get_question
The text of one question or part from an exam.now past paper: context, prompt, marks, figures (with alt text), the answer surface (response kinds, tools, whether a calculator is allowed), topic codes and a link to the part on exam.now…
get_mark_scheme
The official mark-scheme rows for one part of an exam.now past paper: each row's code (M1, A1, B1…), marks, answer, guidance and alternatives, the part's maximum marks, the paper's general marking principles, the mark-scheme PDF page and…
get_paper
An exam.now past paper as structured JSON (metadata, questions, parts, prompts, marks, answer kinds, figure URLs), a few questions at a time. Use next_from to get the next page. include_mark_scheme adds the mark-scheme rows for the same…
find_questions_by_topic
Past-paper questions on exam.now tagged with a syllabus topic, newest first. Pass the topic code (e.g. E2.5) or words (e.g. "simultaneous equations"). Returns question references with the start of each prompt, marks, whether it has a…
practise_question
Show one past-paper question as a practice card the student can answer, with its figures and answer surface. The model gets the full question so it can give hints without giving the answer away. Use mark_answer to mark the student's answer.
mark_answer
Mark a student's answer to one part against the official mark scheme with exam.now's marker. Returns marks awarded and available, the mark-scheme rows earned and missed, feedback and a common-mistake link, and saves the mark to the…
topic_progress
The linked student's own progress in one subject on exam.now: each syllabus topic's band (secure, getting there, not yet), the next three topics to work on and links to practise them.
exam_timetable
Cambridge exam dates for one or more syllabuses in the June or November 2026 series: component, date, morning or afternoon session and duration, with a link to the exam.now timetable. Zone defaults to the UK timetable.
common_mistakes
Up to 5 exam.now write-ups of common mistakes in a subject, drawn from Cambridge examiner reports, each with a short summary and a link. Narrow them with a topic code or words.
class_summary
For a teacher's own exam.now class: topic bands across the class with no pupil names, and how many pupils have started. Small groups are suppressed to protect pupils' privacy.

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "past-papers": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://exam.now/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add it

Claude Code, in a terminal

claude mcp add --transport http exam https://exam.now/mcp

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code

claude.ai, ChatGPT and other clients: add https://exam.now/mcp as a custom connector in the settings.

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.