Show WorkingRevision guideTiers
Foundation or Higher: which GCSE maths tier is right for you?
GCSE maths has two tiers. Foundation covers grades 1 to 5. Higher covers grades 4 to 9, with a grade 3 as a safety net. Your school usually decides which one you sit, but it helps to know what the choice means.
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01 / Side by sideAQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR
Foundation and Higher, compared
| What | Foundation | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Grades you can get | 1 to 5 | 4 to 9, or a 3 if you just miss a 4 |
| Best for pupils aiming at | A grade 4 or 5 | A grade 6 or above |
| What's in it | The core content | The core content, plus harder topics like surds and circle theorems |
| The papers | Three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes, one without a calculator | The same: three papers, one without a calculator |
| If it goes badly | A lower grade, down to 1 | Below the grade 3 safety net, a U (unclassified) |
| A grade 4 or 5 | The same grade, worth the same | The same grade, worth the same |
WJEC Eduqas sets two longer papers instead of three, one without a calculator. The tiers and grades work the same way.
02 / How to decideWith your teacher
Four questions to settle it
What are your mock grades?
If you're regularly getting 4s and 5s, Foundation can be the safer route to a strong pass. If you're getting 6s or close to it, Higher gives you room to go further.
What do you need next?
Some sixth forms ask for a 6 or 7 to study A level maths, and you can only get those on Higher. Most other courses ask for a 4 or 5, which you can get on either tier.
How big is the risk?
On Higher, falling below the grade 3 safety net means a U. On Foundation, the most you can get is a 5. Think about which risk matters more for you.
What does your teacher think?
Schools make the entries, and your teacher knows how you're doing across the whole course. Ask early, because exam entries have a deadline.
03 / TopicsWhat Higher adds
What's only on the Higher papers
Higher includes everything on Foundation, plus extra topics. Some of the main ones:
- Surds, fractional indices and recurring decimals to fractions
- The quadratic formula, completing the square, functions and iteration
- The sine and cosine rules, circle theorems and vector proofs
- Histograms, cumulative frequency, box plots and conditional probability
See the full GCSE maths topics list, with every Higher-only topic marked.
04 / Practise your tierSwitch any time
Practise at the right level
In Show Working you choose Foundation or Higher when you start, and you can switch whenever you like. Questions that are Higher only are marked on every topic page.
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05 / QuestionsAll questions
Tiers, answered
Is it for Foundation or Higher?
Both. You choose Foundation or Higher when you start and can switch at any time. Most kinds of question are on both tiers. A few, such as reverse percentages and calculating in standard form, are Higher only.
Can I pass GCSE maths on Foundation?
Yes. Foundation papers go up to grade 5, and a grade 4 on Foundation is exactly the same grade as a grade 4 on Higher.
Can I get a grade 6 on Foundation maths?
No. The highest grade on Foundation is a 5. To get a 6 or above you need to sit the Higher papers.
What happens if I do badly on Higher?
Higher has a safety net grade 3 for pupils who just miss a 4. Below that the result is a U, unclassified. That’s why pupils who are not sure of a 4 are often entered for Foundation.
Who decides whether I sit Foundation or Higher?
Your school enters you for a tier. If you’re not sure you’re on the right one, talk to your maths teacher early, because there is a deadline for exam entries.
Which GCSE maths formulas are Higher only?
The sine rule, the cosine rule, the area of a triangle using ½ab sin C, the quadratic formula and the equation of a circle are Higher only. The other formulas on our formulas page are on both tiers.
Which GCSE maths topics are Higher only?
Things like surds, circle theorems, the quadratic formula, the sine and cosine rules, functions, histograms and conditional probability. They’re marked Higher only in our topics checklist.
Foundation or Higher.
Practise the tier you're sitting.
Fresh questions at the right level, with the working shown. The first topic is free.
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