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.
AUTUMN 2024 | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
---|---|---|---|
NOVEMBER | Wed 6th November | Friday 8th November | Monday 11th November |
SUMMER 2025 | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
---|---|---|---|
MAY/JUNE | Thursday 15th May | Wednesday 4th June | Wednesday 11th June |
This examination comprises of three test papers.
Paper 1 is a non-calculator test
Duration 1.5 hours and maximum score of 80.
Paper 2 uses a calculator
Duration 1.5 hours, and maximum score of 80.
Paper 3 uses a calculator
Duration 1.5 hours and maximum score of 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.
Edexcel foundation | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2017 | 66.0% = 158 | 51.0% = 122 | 37.5% = 90 | 24.0% = 58 | 11.0% = 26 |
November 2017 | 60.4% = 145 | 47.0% = 113 | 34.6% = 83 | 22.0% = 53 | 9.5% = 23 |
June 2018 | 70.4% = 169 | 56.6% = 136 | 42.0% = 101 | 23.5% = 66 | 13.0% = 31 |
November 2018 | 69.6% = 167 | 55.0% = 132 | 40.0% = 96 | 25.4% = 61 | 11.0% = 26 |
June 2019 | 76.6% = 184 | 62.0% = 149 | 46.3% = 111 | 30.4% = 73 | 15.0% = 36 |
November 2019 | 69.0% = 166 | 59.0% = 142 | 43.3% = 104 | 28.0% = 67 | 12.5% = 30 |
Covid NOV 2020 | 69.0% = 165 | 56.6% = 136 | 41.3% = 99 | 26.3% = 63 | 11.3% = 27 |
Covid NOV 2021 | 69.0% = 166 | 56.0% = 134 | 41.6% = 100 | 27.5% = 66 | 13.3% = 32 |
June 2022 | 72.0% = 173 | 56.0% = 135 | 41.6% = 100 | 27.5% = 66 | 13.3% = 32 |
November 2022 | 72.0% = 173 | 56.0% = 135 | 41.6% = 100 | 27.5% = 66 | 13.3% = 32 |
June 2023 | 76.0% = 182 | 61.3% = 147 | 45.4% = 109 | 29.6% = 71 | 13.8% = 33 |
November 2023 | 72.9% = 175 | 58.3% = 140 | 43.3% = 104 | 28.3% = 68 | 13.8% = 33 |
June 2024 | 72.9% = 175 | 59.2% = 142 | 42.9% = 103 | 27.1% = 65 | 11.3% = 27 |
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 Edexcel 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.
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.
The impact of covid
Summer 2020 = no formal examinations took place.
Summer 2021 = no formal examinations took place.
Unavailable papers. The most recent past papers are not available for public to use, as schools typically use the latest papers for student mock exams. Hence, you will not find the November 2023 and June 2024 papers on the internet.
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.
Edexcel is an internal exam board owned by a company called Pearson. Pearson-Edexcel is a privately-owned board for UK syllabuses. Their name represents their key values – education and excellence. Questions on the Edexcel GCSE maths series 1MA1 can feel both wordy and challenging, as questions early on in its papers may call for a ‘problem-solving’ approach where a candidate may not ‘see' a way forward immediately. Despite this, this Edexcel exam is the UK's most popular maths examination containing three papers.
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.