Aim for a grade 3 in GCSE Maths Foundation (Edexcel)
This plan is for Pearson Edexcel GCSE Mathematics Foundation. A grade depends on your total across three papers; no fixed practice score guarantees it. Start with the skills you find difficult and check your improvement each week.
Start with a short check
- Make a short Foundation paper using Easy questions. Try it without notes, then mark it.
- Choose two topics where you lost marks because you did not know the method. Keep a separate list of slips such as units or negative signs.
Weeks 1 and 2: number skills
- Practise place value, ordering, the four operations and negative numbers. Show a written method before checking with a calculator.
- Link common fractions, decimals and percentages. Find a fraction of an amount and 10%, 5% or 1% of an amount.
- Spend 15 to 20 minutes on four days each week: read one worked example, try five questions, then correct every mistake.
Weeks 3 and 4: algebra and measures
- Substitute into expressions, collect like terms and solve one-step and two-step linear equations. Check solutions by substitution.
- Practise reading scales, converting common metric units, perimeter, rectangle and triangle area, and simple angle facts.
- Once a week, mix questions from earlier topics so that you still remember them.
Weeks 5 and 6: using the skills
- Practise simple ratio, unit prices, tables, charts, mean and range, and probability written as a fraction.
- Try short worded problems. Underline what the final answer must give, write each calculation on a new line and include units.
- Use Daily 5 for mixed recall. Use a topic quiz after revising, then retry the questions you got wrong the next day.
Check progress each week
- Mark a short mixed paper and compare it with your previous attempt: which mistakes have stopped happening?
- Choose the next two weak topics from the marked work. Use Notes and worked examples, then do fresh questions before a retest.
- Ask your teacher about questions you still cannot explain after reading the solution. Bring your working, not just the final answer.
Practise the exam routine
- Build towards a complete 80-mark Foundation paper in 90 minutes. Practise both calculator and non-calculator papers.
- Start with questions you can do. If stuck, write a useful first step, mark the question and return later.
- Keep time to check signs, units, missing answers and rounding. Show working so that a correct method can earn marks even if the final answer is wrong.
Stuck? Get 1-to-1 help.
Chhetri Academy tutors GCSE and A level Maths and Science online, with a free 30-minute trial lesson.