With recent government policy advice, it’s looking likely that students will be taking maths as a subject up until the age of 18. This initiative is meant to combat innumeracy rates in the UK as well as better equipping people for the world of work.
However, if you are still yet to take your Maths GCSE, you might be wondering how to revise for GCSE Maths. In this guide, we will take you through all you need to know about your Maths GCSE exam and how best to prepare.
1. Find Out the List of Topics that Will Be on Your Exam
First things first you need to make sure you are familiar with your course content. There’s no point in learning mathematical equations and formulas with no structure or intention behind them. Especially if you end up spending great amounts of time focusing on topics that won’t be on your exam.
Find out from your teacher or school which exam board they use and then go onto the exam board website and download the syllabus. In the syllabus, you can find out exactly what topics will be on your exam and in how much detail you need to study them.
For example, the AQA GCSE Maths syllabus has the following topics:
· Number
· Algebra
· Ratio, proportion and rates of change
· Geometry and measures
· Probability
· Statistics
They even have a handy weighting guide for the topics and exam papers so you know the percentage of questions that will be on each topic.
Another important factor will be if you are doing the foundation tier or the higher tier exam paper, as they have different course content and questions.
2. Practice Maths in Your Everyday Life
The great thing about Maths and incorporating Maths revision is that Maths is used in everyday situations and scenarios. Make sure to get in the habit of adding up bills or working out the percentage off an item that is discounted.
This is an excellent way of subconsciously revising for Maths without even realising you’re doing it. Get your family or friends involved and designate yourself as the person that is working out general bills or life admin tasks.
It will also stand you in good stead when you’re older and you have to budget and manage a household by yourself.
3. Work with a Maths Tutor
If you feel as if you want that extra support in Maths, a private Maths tutor is an excellent route to build confidence and improve grades. Whether you want to have that additional guidance or need to focus on a particular subject, a private tutor can assist a student in a 1:1 setting that mainstream education can’t provide.
A private Maths tutor can cultivate a safe and inspirational learning environment where students can work on the topics they need to improve at a pace that suits them. Working with a private tutor can also help with boosting a student’s grade by one or two grades.
4. Learn Your Formulas Beforehand
A lot of GCSE Maths questions will rely on you knowing certain formulas or equations before you get into the exam room.
To get your top grades such as nines or eights will mean learning these formulas and equations by heart before you sit your GCSEs. It can even be handy to write down these formulas on your answer sheet so that you can refer to them during the exam.
Some of the main follows are as follows:
Compound Measures
Speed = distance
time
density = mass
volume
pressure = force
area
Area
Rectangle= length x width
Parallelogram = base x height
Triangle = ½ base x height
Circles
Circumference = π x diameter
Circumference = 2 x π x radius = 2πr
Area of a circle = π x radius squared
Pythagoras
Pythagoras Theorem
For a right-angled triangle = a2 + b2 = c2
5. Do Lots of Practice Exams
The best way for you to get used to doing Maths under timed conditions is to work through previous exam papers in a mock exam setting. It allows you to replicate the environment of the exam room as well as preparing you for the amount of time you’ll have in the exam.
This is where you can iron out any topics that you need to go over in more detail, as well as figuring out where the gaps in your knowledge are. This will also build your confidence and help you to be less nervous when it comes to taking the tests for real.
How to Revise for GCSE Maths With Sandeman Tutoring
We hope this blog has given you plenty of tips on how to revise for GCSE Maths and that you are able to put together a balanced revision schedule for the upcoming exam period.
If you need any help with your Maths GCSE, our expert tutors have years of classroom and tutor experience. We work with our students to help them achieve their best, in a safe and nurturing learning environment, either online or face-to-face.
Contact us via our contact page today and we will get right back to you with our tutoring packages.
