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GCSE maths past papers
England's three GCSE examination boards are AQA, Edexcel & OCR. Ensure you practice past papers from the correct exam board.
The dates of your GCSE maths exam 2023
In case you did not know, here are the dates of the GCSE maths examinations.
| SUMMER 2024 | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurs 16th May | Monday 3rd June | Monday 10th June |
| RETAKES NOV 2023 | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 8th November | Friday 10th November | Monday 13th November |
Are you practicing the correct past papers?
Do you know your UK exam board - AQA, Edexcel or OCR?
England's three GCSE
examination boards are
AQA, Edexcel & OCR. The maths department at your college or school decide which of these three
exam board to use. Each board offers the same maths
GCSE qualification and test the same mathematical content, which is decided by the Department of Education (DofE). However, each board has its own unique style of test questions. So, when comparing the papers from two different exam boards, the papers may "feel" different. Find out the name of your exam board for maths.
Do you know your tier of entry - foundation or higher?
Their are two tiers of entry, foundation and higher. Each tier has its own unique syllabus but the two teirs also have topics incommon. So typically, there is an overlap where the later end of any foundation paper contains the same questions as the start of its corresponding higher paper. The foundation tier is for those students targetting a single grade between 1 to 5. While the higher tier is for students aiming for a single grade between 4 to 9.
Is it okay to practice exam papers from a different exam board?
Yes, it's okay to practice exam papers from a different exam board, but first start by practicing past papers from your exam board of entry. This will enable you to become familiar with their unique questioning style. Only then would I recommend looking through and selecting some question to practice from other exam boards.
Practicing past papers should rank highly on any students list of revision tools. Importantly, don't just forget about a paper once you have marked your answers. Seek help and support to understand and learn more about the topics you are getting wrong.
- Access and download a past paper.
- Mark your answers using the mark schemes provide.
- Use grade boundaries to obtain a grade to see how well you are progressing.
How do the old (A*-G) GCSE grades compare to the new (9-1) grades?
The new GCSE 9-1 curriculum was first taught in classrooms to Year 10 students in September 2015, with these students sitting the examination in the summer of June 2017. As this new syllabus contained increased content, examinations are now tested over three separate exam papers, rather than the traditional two papers, with students required to remember more formulas than previously. Prior to 2017, exam grades of G-A* were awarded, with grade C being the bench mark pass grade. Now exam grades of 9-1 are awarded with grade 4 considered a pass and grace 5 considered a good pass. The new scales provides better differentiation between the individual achievements of students at the top end of the scale.
What are the syllabus changes in this new maths GCSE?
New topics introduced to both the foundation and higher tiers:
- Fibonacci, geometric and quadratic sequences.
- Gradients as rates of change.
- Know values for 30, 45, 60, 90 for sin & cos. Know value 30, 45, 60 for tan.
- Work with % greater than 100.
New topics on the higher only:
- Nth term of quadratic sequence.
- The equation of a tangent to a circle.
- Deduce turning point of a quadratic by completing the square.
- Iteration.
- Composite functions.
- Conditional probability from Venn Diagrams.
- Geometric progressions e.g. involving surds.
NOTE: these topics are no longer tested on the new (9-1) syllabus
- Trial & error, questionnaires.
