Maths GCSE Exam Tips
- Veronika Williams
- May 29
- 3 min read
The best way to “get good” at maths is to actually do maths. That means spending time practicing exam-style questions, letting your calculator help and use all the exam resources.
📃Past papers, past papers and more past papers!📃
You can find lots of 📃past papers 📃online — and the great thing is, they usually come with answers so you can check how you did. If you get a question wrong, don’t just move on. Look at the solution, try to understand it, and then have another go at the question.
You can also use AI tools to help you practice. Just copy and paste a question into the site and ask it to give you a similar question with a step-by-step answer. Keep practicing until you can solve the questions on your own.
🚀Top tip🚀:
Just reading the answers or watching videos isn’t enough. To really learn maths, you need to sit down and try the questions yourself. That’s how things start to click!
Get to Know Your 🧮Calculator 🧮– it’s Your Secret Weapon!
Your calculator can be a huge help in your maths exam — if used properly. The more familiar you are with your calculator, the faster and more confident you’ll be in the exam. So, practice using it!
🚀Top tips🚀:
Check your settings – Make sure your calculator is in the right mode. An easy way to test this is by typing in sin(30). If it gives you 0.5, you’re good to go!
Fractions and mixed numbers – Learn how to use the fraction button. On most calculators, pressing Shift and the fraction button lets you type in mixed numbers (like 1¾).
Working with time – If a question involves hours and minutes, use the time button. On older Casio calculators, it looks like this: ° ' ''. On newer ones, it’s just above the + button. To enter 2 hours 25 minutes, type: 2, then the time button, 25, then the time button again. To enter just minutes, start with 0 hours. For example, 0, time button, 45, time button.
Prime factorising – If you have the Casio fx83GTCW, the Format button can help you break numbers into prime factors. This is really useful for questions on highest common factor (HCF) and lowest common multiple (LCM).
Plotting graphs – Use the Table function to quickly fill in y-values for equations. It saves time and helps you get your graph points right.
Use the 📄Formula Sheet 📄to Your Advantage!
Good news — you don’t have to remember every single maths formula for your exam!
Save time and stress by knowing what’s on the formula sheet — and help you focus on solving the actual problems.
Here’s what’s included:
If you’re doing the Foundation tier, you’ll get formulas for: area of a trapezium, area and circumference of circles, volume of prisms, Pythagoras’ Theorem, basic trigonometry (sine, cosine, tangent), compound interest, how to work out the probability of A and B happening
If you’re doing the Higher tier, you get everything listed above plus the quadratic formula, Sine rule and Cosine rule, Trigonometric formula for the area of a triangle, a formula for the probability of A or B happening.
🚀Top tips🚀:
Don’t wait until exam day to look at the formula sheet. Practice using it now so you know what’s there — and what isn’t. That way, you won’t waste time memorising things you’ll already be given, and you’ll be confident using the formulas when it counts.
Topics covered in paper 1 are less likely to appear again, so focus on topics that are more likely to appear in the calculator papers.
🚀Final tip🚀: Sign up for some 1:1 revision sessions with one of our Maths specialists here.
Good luck
These websites can support your revision
- https://corbettmaths.com/2025/05/16/gcse-maths-summer-2025/ - here you will find topics lists for different exam boards.
- https://www.1stclassmaths.com/ - here you can find two sets of predicted practice papers (one by 1st class maths and one by Hannah Kettle) with video solutions and key topics for paper 2 and 3.
- https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/predictedpapers.php - another site with predictions of the upcoming papers.
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