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For parents

Helping your child with GCSE Maths

You don't need to be good at maths to help. Here's how the exam works and what makes the biggest difference.

How the exam works

Edexcel GCSE Maths is three papers, sat in May and June of Year 11. Each paper is 1 hour 30 minutes and worth 80 marks, so 240 in total. Paper 1 is non-calculator; Papers 2 and 3 allow a calculator. There is no coursework: the grade comes entirely from the three papers.

Students who don't reach grade 4 can resit in November of Year 12, or later.

What the grades mean

9–7

StrongRoughly the old A* to A

6–5

Good pass5 is a strong pass

4

Standard passRoughly the old C

3–1

Below a passMaths must be retaken

Grade 4 matters most: without it, students must keep studying maths after 16. Many sixth forms ask for a 6 or 7 to take A level Maths. The marks needed for each grade change every year; see past grade boundaries, turn a mock total into a grade with the grade calculator, or use the grade planners to see what moving up a grade takes.

Foundation or Higher?

Schools choose the tier. Foundation covers grades 1–5 and Higher covers grades 4–9 (a student who just misses a 4 on Higher can be awarded a 3, but below that is a U). A student on Foundation cannot get above a 5, but can secure a 4 or 5 with less risk. If your child is between tiers, ask their teacher which gives them the best chance at the grade they need.

How you can help

  • Find the gaps, don't revise everything. After a mock, go through which questions lost marks. Those topics are the priority.
  • Short and often beats long and rare. Three 30-minute sessions a week do more than one three-hour cram.
  • Use real exam questions. They show exactly how marks are given. Our topic pages put them in one place, with answers.
  • Ask them to explain it to you. If they can talk you through a method, they understand it.
  • Praise effort and progress, not just grades. Moving from a 3 to a 4 is a real achievement.

Seeing how your child is doing

Ask your child to take the free GCSE Maths Check-Up (about 25 minutes) and send you the link to their report. You'll see their score, a rough working-at grade, their strong and weak topics, and what to practise next. The link carries the results itself: nothing is stored on our servers and no account is needed.

From there they can practise their weak topics online, print a worksheet, or make a revision plan up to the exam.

If you'd like a teacher to help, our tutoring partner Richmond Tutoring offers 1-to-1 online GCSE Maths lessons. It's entirely optional: everything on this site is free.

Useful pages