According to the official circular released by CBSE, the CBSE Class 10 Science question paper 2026 will now be divided into three sections — Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; while CBSE Class 10 Social Science paper 2026 will have four sections covering History, Geography, Political Science, and Economics...
CBSE Class 10 Exam Pattern 2026 Revised! The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released a set of instructions for students preparing for CBSE Class 10 exams 2026. The changes have been made in CBSE Class 10 Science and Social Science exams. The circular shares an important section-wise answering structure that students must follow while answering Science & Social Science question papers. The aim behind introducing these changes is to improve evaluation quality after repeated instances of students mixing answers across subjects, making it difficult for examiners to identify and award marks.
According to the circular, the CBSE 10th Science question paper 2026 will now be divided into three sections — Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; while the CBSE 10th Social Science question paper 2026 will have four sections covering History, Geography, Political Science, and Economics. Students must follow the same structure in their answer books by stating clearly the sections before they begin writing.
Remember these points to get full marks in Science and Social Science
CBSE stated that answers must be written strictly within the space provided for each section, and no mixing of answers will be accepted. In case students write answers in the incorrect section, these will not be evaluated, and no marks will be awarded. It further added that these mistakes will also not be corrected during verification or revaluation, thus students must understand the revised pattern well in advance and follow the instructions to avoid losing any marks.
CBSE instructed schools to ensure that students practise this system before the final examinations. Thus, schools have integrated these rules into classroom activities and Pre-Board exams so that students do not risk losing marks due to avoidable structural errors.
CBSE Class 10 Sample Question Papers with revised pattern
CBSE released the CBSE Class 10 Sample question papers 2026, demonstrating the new section-wise layout on the official website. Students can download the same by clicking below:
| Particulars | Sample Question paper 2026 |
|---|---|
| CBSE 10th Science Sample Question Paper 2026 | Download PDF |
| CBSE 10th Social Science Sample Question Paper 2026 | Download PDF |
Students can find below a simplified breakdown of the new structure introduced for CBSE Class 10 Science and Social Science question papers 2026:
Revised section-wise pattern for CBSE Class 10 board exams 2026
| Subject | Section | Corresponding Area |
|---|---|---|
| Science | Section A |
Biology |
| Section B |
Chemistry |
|
| Section C |
Physics |
|
| Social Science | Section A |
History |
| Section B |
Geography |
|
| Section C |
Political Science |
|
| Section D |
Economics |
CBSE has stated that students must replicate this exact structure in their answer sheets, maintaining separation between sections throughout the exam. Any deviation, including writing answers of one subject area under another section, will lead to non-evaluation of those responses. To download the official circular, Click Here. CBSE will conduct the CBSE Class 10 exams 2026 between February 17 and March 10, 2026.
CBSE released the final CBSE Class 10 date sheet 2026 for Phase 1 and 2 exams in Oct 2025 on the official website. Students can click on the link provided to check the detailed date sheet.
The CBSE Class 10 exams 2026 Phase 1 shall be conducted between February 17 and March 10, 2026. Phase 2 of CBSE 10 class exams 2026 will be conducted between May 15 and June 1, 2026.
CBSE conducts the CBSE practical exams between January 1 and Feb 14 every year. There is no external examiner allotted to conduct practical exams for Class 10, while external examiners are called to conduct the CBSE 12th practical exams.
For winter-bound schools, CBSE practical exams 2026 were held between November 6 and December 6, 2026.
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CBSE will conduct the 10th, 12th board exams 2026 from February 17, 2026 in pen and paper format. The exams will conclude on April 9, 2026.
The board released the CBSE syllabus and exam pattern 2026 on the official website. Students must finish with their syllabus by January 2026 and start practising the CBSE sample papers and previous years question papers for better preparation of the exams.