Your edexcel GCSE Maths Exam Explained with Deb Friis

Preparing for your Edexcel GCSE Maths exam be challenging, especially with three papers to tackle and a wide range of topics to cover. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Deb Friis, our trusted expert author at Oxford Revise, to guide you through exactly what to expect.

From understanding the structure of the Edexcel exam to mastering key techniques and avoiding common pitfalls, Deb shares practical advice to help you revise with confidence. Whether you’re aiming to improve your grades or just want to feel more prepared, this guide is your essential companion for navigating Papers 1-3.

Hello, my name is Deb Friis and I’m a secondary maths teacher with over 20 years experience teaching both GCSE and A level maths. I’m going to talk to you about your Edexcel GCSE maths exam.

Breaking down the Edexcel GCSE Maths exam questions

The exam consists of three papers. Paper One is a non calculated paper, this always comes first. Paper two and three allow you to use a calculator. Each paper is worth 80 marks, and the questions start off easy and get harder towards the end of the paper, any topic can appear anywhere in any three of the papers.

What to focus on when revising for your Edexcel GCSE Maths exam?

Knowledge

So I have two main tips for revision for your GCSE maths. Firstly is to learn your key facts and definitions. This is things like the words that could come up like factor multiple prime. Fraction decimal percentage equivalents and formulae for things like area and volume.

Retrieval

There are some ways you can do this. Use the retrieval practice questions in your revision guides to test yourself. Make flash cards, also get your friends and family to test your needs.

Learning these key facts helps you to free up your working memory. So that you can use that to answer more tricky exam questions.

Practice

So the second aspect of your revision should be practicing these questions. Start off by using your revision guide to look at the topic specific questions and make sure that you can do these techniques. Then, try exam questions where more than one technique may be combined at the same time.

Which revision strategies can help you prepare for your Edexcel GCSE Maths exam?

There are several strategies you can use to tackle these questions effectively. First, jot down anything on the question that might help guide your thinking – this can point you in the right direction. As you work through the problem, make sure to annotate any diagrams and write down useful notes to support your understanding.

To begin with, make sure your answers are reasonable within the context of the question. As you work through each problem, always write down the key steps you enter into your calculator – not just the final answer. Afterwards, go back and check that you’ve fully answered the question.

So have you answered to the correct number of decimal places? Have you simplified any fractions and have you answered exactly what it’s asked you to do?

So, what are my top 5 tips for Edexcel GCSE Maths revision?

So my top five tips for GCSE maths revision are;

1. To begin with revise little and often as much as possible, but only a little bit. At a time
2. Next, test yourself on key facts and make sure that you know these thoroughly.
3. Then, practice questions, mark them and then get help with anything you don’t understand.
4. After that, do as many questions as possible.
5. Finally, start to do exam papers closer to your exam under exam conditions so that you get used to being an stressful situation and you don’t find it so stressful when you get to your final exam.

If you found Deb Friis’s GCSE Maths revision tips and exam strategies helpful, then watch more from Deb on the Oxford Revise YouTube Channel.

GCSE Maths Revision Guides