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EDEXCEL FOUNDATION maths past papers and more

Below you will find all available past papers, mark schemes and grade boundaries for the EDEXCEL foundation examination. Also included is the course specification and other useful information, including the dates of your examinations this year.

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EDEXCEL foundation grade boundaries (5 - 1)
The maximum mark, totalled from all three papers, is 240. Edexcel's exam grade boundaries can change a little from year to year. Although Edexcel work hard to set exam papers with the same level of difficulty, small variations do occur. To compensate, grade boundaries fluxuate depending upon the difficulty of the paper.

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Edexcel foundation 5 4 3 2 1
June 2017 66% = 158 51% = 122 37.5% = 90 24% = 58 11% = 26
November 2017 60.5% = 145 47% = 113 34.5% = 83 22% = 53 9.5% = 23
June 2018 70.5% = 169 56.5% = 136 42% = 101 23.5% = 66 13% = 31
November 2018 69.5% = 167 55% = 132 40% = 96 25.5% = 61 11% = 26
June 2019 76.5% = 184 62% = 149 46.5% = 111 30.5% = 73 15% = 36
November 2019 69% = 166 59% = 142 43.5% = 104 28% = 67 12.5% = 30
Covid NOV 2020 69% = 165 56.5% = 136 41.5% = 99 26.5% = 63 11.25% = 27
Covid NOV 2021 69% = 166 56% = 134 41.5% = 100 27.5% = 66 13.5% = 32
June 2022 72% = 173 56% = 135 41.5% = 100 27.5% = 66 13.5% = 32
Novemeber 2022 72% = 173 56% = 135 41.5% = 100 27.5% = 66 13.5% = 32
June 2023

NOTE: percentages are rounded to nearest 0.5%

EDEXCEL FOUNDATION past papers & mark schemes


Practicing past papers should rank highly on any students list of prioritys. BUT THIS ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. It vital is that students mark their answers and then seek help/support from teachers/friends/family/a tutor etc, to work on "plugging" these gaps in knowledge and understanding.


  • Access and download a past paper.
  • Mark your answers using the mark scheme. 
  • Seek help to understand questions you are unable to answer, complete more revision on weak topic areas.


The impact of covid.  Summer 2020 = no exam took place. Instead, the summer 2020 papers are used for the autumn's 2020 examinations. Summer 2021 = no exam took place. Once again, the summer 2021 papers are transfered to the November 2021 examinations.


Unavailable papers. The most recent past papers are not available for public to use, as schools typically use the latest papers for student mock exams. Hence, you will not find the June 2022 and November 2022 papers on the internet.


This examination comprises of three papers.

Paper 1 is NO calculator = 1.5 hours, score 80.

Paper 2 uses a calculator = 1.5 hours, score 80.

Paper 3 uses a calculator = 1.5 hours, score 80.

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The dates of the next GCSE maths examinations: May & June 2024

Here are the dates of the summer examinations.

Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3
Thurs 16th May Monday 3rd June Monday 10th June

More about Edexcel's maths series 1MA1


Edexcel is an internal exam board owned by a company called Pearson. Pearson-Edexcel is a privately-owned board for UK syllabuses. Their name represents their key values – education and excellence. Questions on the Edexcel GCSE maths series 1MA1 can feel both wordy and challenging, as questions early on in its papers may call for a ‘problem-solving’ approach where a candidate may not ‘see' a way forward immediately. Despite this, this Edexcel exam is the UK's most popular maths examination containing three papers.

Foundation past papers from other exam boards

AQA: series 8300

AQA foundation

OCR: series J560

OCR foundation
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