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AQA maths past papers and more: FOUNDATION TIER
Below you will find all the available past papers, mark schemes and grade boundaries for the AQA GCSE foundation examination. Also included on this page are the course's specification and other useful information, including the dates of the next examination.
The dates of the next AQA GCSE maths examinations 2025.
In a 12 month window, there are two opportunities for students to sit their GCSE maths examination, May/June and November. The majority of students sit their GCSE at school in the May/June of the Summer term at the end of Year 11. Those that fail this summer exam are able to resit their GCSE examination a few months later, at college or sixth form in November during the Autumn term of Year 12.
| SUMMER | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 15th May 2025 | Wednesday 4th June 2025 | Wednesday 11th June 2025 |
| AUTUMN | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 5th November 2025 | Friday 7th November 2025 | Monday 10th November 2025 |
AQA FOUNDATION
grade boundaries
(5 - 1)
This examination comprises of three test papers, sat on different days.
Paper 1 is a non-calculator test, duration 1.5 hours, and maximum score 80.
Paper 2 uses a calculator, duration 1.5 hours, and maximum score 80.
Paper 3 uses a calculator, duration 1.5 hours, and maximum score 80.
The scores from each paper are combined to give the students examination total score.
A maximum of 240 marks is possible. So for example in June 2017, a student with a total score of 120 which equates to 120/240 = 50%, would have been awarded a grade 3.
| AQA foundation | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2017 | 65.0% = 156 | 52.0% = 124 | 38.0% = 91 | 24.6% = 59 | 11.3% = 27 |
| November 2017 | 65.4% = 157 | 53.0% = 127 | 39.0% = 93 | 24.6% = 59 | 10.4% = 25 |
| June 2018 | 67.0% = 161 | 52.0% = 125 | 38.3% = 92 | 24.6% = 59 | 11.3% = 27 |
| November 2018 | 64.0% = 153 | 50.4% = 121 | 36.7% = 88 | 23.3% = 56 | 10.0% = 24 |
| June 2019 | 65.4% = 157 | 51.0% = 122 | 37.0% = 89 | 24.0% = 57 | 10.4% = 25 |
| November 2019 | 67.5% = 162 | 56.0% = 134 | 41.0% = 98 | 26.0% = 62 | 11.3% = 27 |
| covid = NOV 2020 | 61.0% = 146 | 48.0% = 116 | 36.0% = 86 | 23.3% = 56 | 11.0% = 26 |
| covid = NOV 2021 | 60.4% = 145 | 45.0% = 108 | 33.0% = 79 | 21.5% = 51 | 09.6% = 23 |
| June 2022 | 72.0% = 172 | 57.0% = 135 | 42.0% = 101 | 28.0% = 67 | 13.8% = 33 |
| November 2022 | 69.6% = 167 | 54.0% = 130 | 40.4% = 97 | 26.7% = 64 | 13.0% = 31 |
| June 2023 | 78.8% = 189 | 65.8% = 158 | 48.8% = 117 | 31.7% = 76 | 14.6% = 35 |
| November 2023 | 69.2% = 166 | 56.3% = 135 | 42.1% = 101 | 27.9% = 67 | 13.8% = 33 |
| June 2024 | 77.5% = 186 | 65.4% = 157 | 48.8% = 117 | 32.1% = 77 | 15.4% = 37 |
| November 2024 |
NOTE: percentages are rounded to nearest 1 d.p.
Grade boundaries can change a little from year to year, as you will see in the table above. Although AQA work hard to produce exam papers that are of the same level of difficulty each year, small variations do occur. To compensate for this the exam board adjusts the grade boundaries.
AQA FOUNDATION past papers & mark schemes
Practicing past papers should rank highly on any students list of prioritys. But practice alone, is not enough to ensure improvement and success. It vital is that the student also marks their answers and then seeks help/support to "plug" the gaps in their knowledge and understanding . This support can come from teachers/friends/family or a private tutor. Just be aware, that seeking help from too many different people, can become a hinderence to the learner. Since, different people may have differerent teaching styles and different ways of solving problems which could potentially become confusing for the learner.
- Access and download a past paper.
- Mark your answers using the mark scheme.
- Seek help to understand questions you are unable to answer, complete more revision on weak topic areas.
The impact of covid.
Summer 2020 = no formal examinations took place.
Summer 2021 = no formal examinations took place.
Unavailable papers. The two most recent set of past papers are not available for public viewing, so you will not find them listed on the internet. This is because typically, schools will use the most recent past papers for their year 11 mock examinations.
Summer 2021 = no examinations took place.
Instead, the summer 2021 papers were transfered to/used for the November 2021 examinations in Autumn.
Summer 2020 = no examinations took place.
Instead, the summer 2020 papers were transfered to/used for the November 2020 examinations in Autumn.
More about AQA GCSE maths series 8300
AQA is an independent education charity, so their income is reinvested back into charitable activities and funds research. Their principle aim is to support young people facing challenges in life realise their potential. The AQA GCSE series 8300 maths exams are less wordy than Edexcel but can feel more abstract in nature. These AQA papers are the only examination series to contain multiple choice questions (MCQ), worth approximately 10% of the paper. Initially spread throughout a paper, for the summer of 2023 and beyond, AQA decided to remove multi-choice questions from the start of their papers, as such questions can be poorly answered. And instead replace them with simply worded and easy to answer questions, purposed to settle a student into the paper and improve accessibility for students. Also, where previous MCQs might require multiple steps of working out, in 2023 this changed to ensure the working out needed, would only warrent 1 mark.
Learners/parents may find useful to download the course specification and AQA's maths formula sheet from the links provided.
Foundation past papers from other exam boards
Edexcel: 1MA1 spec A
OCR: series J560
Disclaimer: Sharon works hard to ensure that she delivers her very best teaching to all of her tutees. However, examination results and success cannot be guaranteed as they are dependent on multiple factors.
