What a concours is, and how it differs from the GCE
A concours is a competitive entrance examination. The GCE is a qualifying examination: pass the mark and you pass, however many others also pass. A concours ranks candidates against each other for a fixed number of places. You are not trying to reach a standard; you are trying to finish above the last person admitted.
That single difference changes how you prepare. Being comfortable is not enough, because comfortable is where most candidates already are. Speed, accuracy under pressure and finishing the paper matter more than they ever did at GCE.
Choosing which concours to sit
- Match the paper to your strengths, not the school to its reputation. An engineering concours is decided by mathematics and physics; a medical one by biology and chemistry; an administrative one by writing and general knowledge.
- Sit more than one where the calendar allows. Candidates who prepare for a single school and miss the list lose a year.
- Check places against applicants where the figures are published. The best-known school is not always the hardest to enter.
Dates, fees and the number of places are fixed each year by the relevant authority and change between sessions, so take them from the official notice rather than from any website — this one included. Our guide on verifying that a concours has opened explains how to confirm a notice is genuine, because convincing fakes circulate widely.
What the papers test
Most concours combine a subject component with general knowledge and a written or reasoning component. The subject part rarely goes beyond the Advanced Level syllabus — what changes is the time you are given and the proportion of candidates who finish. Working old papers against the clock is therefore worth more than studying new material.
The dossier decides more candidacies than the paper
Applications are rejected every year for an incomplete file, before anyone reads a single answer. The usual pieces, the handwritten application and the mistakes that cost a candidacy are set out in the concours dossier guide. Check that your names match exactly across your birth certificate and your certificates, and do it well before the deadline: a correction takes time you will not have.
Free past papers are on the concours past questions page, and the method for working them is in how to work a past paper.








