Course leader: Mr M Johnston - mjohnston@tgschool.net
Examination Board: Pearson Edexcel
Examinations
- Paper 1 (Non-Calculator)
- Paper 2 (Calculator)
- Paper 3 (Calculator)
GCSE Maths is assessed via three 1 hr 30 min papers (one non-calculator paper and two calculator paper). Each paper is out of 80 marks. We use the exam board Edexcel.
You can see the dates of the next GCSE exams, and how long there is to go at mathsbot.com/gcse/countdown
Specialist equipment needed for examinations
Black Pen, Pencil, Eraser Ruler, Protractor, Compasses and Scientific calculator are all required.
Pens, pencils, rulers, erasers protractor and compasses can be purchased from maths teachers, or 103 before school or at lunch.
These are the recomended calculators:
- Casio fx-83GT CW (available in black, blue, grey or pink)
- Casio fx-85GT CW (same as 83GT but has solar panel and battery, in black or grey)
- Casio fx-991CW (if your child knows already that they will study A Level Mathematics, available in black or grey - this is slightly more expensive at £28 Amazon, £36 Casio but is then ready for A Level)
The fx-83GT can be purchased at Tescos (about £17), online at Amazon (about £12), or direct from Casio (RRP is £16.40 but there is usually a discount code) at Scientific Calculators - Standard Scientific Calculators | CASIO
Students can also purchase them from their maths teachers fpr £10. To do this either send your child with cash and they will receive a paper receipt and their calculator directly.
Or if you wish to pay electronically, email kbuckle@tgschool.net who can arrange an online payment from the Payment Gateway and then the calculator will be given to your child.
Note: The fx-85GT CW is the upgraded version of the Casio fx-85GT X, and contains additional features, including a high-definition display and improved menu navigation. The key features of these calculators are that they have natural display whcih means students can type expressions exactly as they appear in questions, and they can use the calculator to show the "prime factorisation" of numbers. Some recent Casio models can aslo do this, but not all, your teacher will be able to advise if your child needs a newer model.
Our Recommended Revision Bundle - Higher or Foundation
For all students this is our recommended revision bundle and is useful throughout Year 10 & Year 11.
When purchasing please check with your child's maths teacher which tier they recomend.
The bundle includes:
- Revision Guide - with an online book and interactive revision
- Revision Workbook - with clearest list of topics and easy to understand notes on each topic
- Practice Papers Plus - complete exam papers, with tips, worked solutions and links to videos
It can be purchaed from Amazon for around £18 or from your chiuld's maths teacher for £10.
In person targetted academic support
Most of our in person acaemic support takes place on a Wednesday after school from 3:15 to 4:15. This includes:
- Working towards level 4 maths in 110 with Mr Johnston
- Higher GCSE Maths grade 6+ in 103 with Mr Ryall
- Invited Students in 102 with Miss Barfield
Higher Tier GCSE Mathematics Masterclass
for all higher students
Tuesdays 4:30pm - 5:30pm
from 18 Nov 2025 to Thurs 24 March 2026
This is an excellent session, responsive to students questions, and provided online for the most flexibility.
It is delivered by Miss Johns, a highly experienced Edexcel examiner and Trust Lead for Secondary Maths who many of the students will have met in school.
Please note, due to online safeguarding we are not able to record these sessions. The only way to access this opportunity is to attend it live.
The session is delivered using Microsoft Teams. Students are encouraged to have their cameras on, but it si not required. They should have paper, pencil and their calculators with them.
They can install the Microsoft Teams app on to their own phone, tablet or laptop.
Download Micorosft Teams
Join the Tuesday 4:30 Maths Revision Session
To access the session they can use the link on this website, or from Go4Schools where it is set as a homework task for Higher tier students.
Alternatively they can use this information to login.
Meeting ID: 382 268 306 110 72
Passcode: Fn26nX7H
The topics planned for each week are:
18/11/25: Expanding and Simplifying Expressions
25/11/25: Factorising and Simplifying Expressions
02/12/25: Straight Line Graphs (y = mx + c)
09/12/25: Working with Percentages
16/12/25: Solving Problems with Ratio
Christmas
06/01/26: Working with Percentages
13/01/26: Solving Problems with Area and Perimeter
20/01/26: Solving Problems with Volume
27/01/26: Compound Measures
03/02/26: Indices (including Fractional and Negative)
10/02/26: Working with Surds
February Half Term
24/02/26: Quadratic Graphs and Completing the Square
03/03/26: Rearranging Equations and Formulae
10/03/26: Direct and Indirect Proportion
17/03/26: Sectors and Arcs
24/03/26: Algebraic Fractions
We strongly encourage pupils to attend these sessions to gain valuable insights and strategies for success in their GCSE exams.
How parents and carers can best support their child
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Ensure their child has created and is following a revision timetable. Use information from recent maths exams red, amber, green (RAG) sheets with have codes to activites on Sparx to help practise those skills.
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Buy a revision guide and workbook and check they also have all the equipment they need, including a notebokk to use for Sparx practise. Revision cards are also useful to make brief notes on the knowledge they need.
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Encourage the use of online and paper resources supplied by TGS Maths department.
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Ensure your child completes practice exam papers that are supplied and creates a list of topics they need to revise.
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Use extra resources and topic lists from the Padlet linked in the resources section on this page.
Websites
www.corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/gcse/ - 5 questions to complete each day at a targeted level
www..vle.mathswatch.com username is school username@tgschool password is Password1
www.mymaths.co.uk/online username is tgschool password is lemon
www.sparxmaths.uk is an excellent reosurce which tracks all their completed tasks, has tailored resources linked to each question students do on practise exams.