Show WorkingMonday to Thursday
15 to 20 minutes of mixed questions on your shaky topics. Check every wrong answer against the working.
Revision guideFoundation and Higher
How to revise for GCSE maths, and actually remember it
Reading notes and watching videos feels like revision. But maths only sticks when you do questions, get some wrong, and work out exactly why. Here's a plan that works whether you have a year or a few weeks.
You can't revise maths by looking at it. You revise it by doing it.
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01 / The short versionIf you read nothing else
Five habits that do most of the work
- Find your gaps first. Revise the topics you can't do yet, not the ones you already like.
- Little and often. Twenty minutes most days beats three hours on a Sunday.
- Try before you look. Have a go at the question before you read any notes or answers.
- Learn from the working. When you get one wrong, go through the method line by line until you find the step you missed.
- Practise under exam rules. A timed paper every week or two near the end, with an honest score.
02 / Step by stepFrom first day to exam day
A revision plan, one step at a time
Know your tier and board
Ask your teacher whether you're entered for Foundation or Higher, and which exam board you're with. The maths is the same for every board, but the tier changes which questions you'll see. Not sure which tier suits you? Read Foundation or Higher.
Find your gaps
Go through a topics checklist and mark each one solid, shaky or not yet. Be honest: a topic you can only do with your notes open isn't solid yet.
Little and often
Short sessions spread across the week help maths stick far better than one long cram. Ten to twenty minutes a day is a good start, and you can build up as the exams get closer.
Questions, not notes
Try a question before you look anything up. Getting it wrong isn't wasted time. It shows you exactly what to fix.
Learn from the working
Don't just read the right answer. Cover the working, try again, then compare your method with the correct one line by line. That's where the learning happens.
Mix it up
Once a topic is going well, practise it mixed in with others. The exam won't tell you which topic a question is from, so you need to spot the method yourself.
Timed papers near the end
In the last couple of months, do a timed paper every week or two: no notes, and no calculator on the non-calculator paper. Mark it honestly and fix what went wrong. Where to find past papers.
Know your formulas
You get a formulae sheet in 2026 and 2027, but you still need to know which formula a question needs. See GCSE maths formulas.
Rest before the exam
Light practice the day before, then sleep. A tired brain makes silly slips on questions you can actually do.
03 / A normal weekAdjust it to your timetable
What a week of revision can look like
This is a starting point, not a rule. Fit it around school, work and everything else.
Friday
One topic in more depth: the one that keeps tripping you up. Try a few harder questions on it.
Weekend
A timed mock or past paper every other week, nearer the exams. The rest of the time, take a proper break.
04 / Short on time?A few weeks to go
If the exam is only weeks away
- Go for the nearly-there topics first. A topic you get half right is quicker to fix than one you've never seen.
- Practise the non-calculator skills. Fractions, percentages and written methods turn up all over the non-calculator paper.
- Do timed papers and fix the gaps they show. Then practise those topics before the next paper.
- Show your working every time. Method marks can save you when the final answer slips. More in How to pass GCSE maths.
05 / How Show Working helpsiPhone and iPad
The plan above, built into an app
- Today's ten minutes mixes something new with the topics you find tricky.
- Hints first, then the working, so you try before you look.
- Fresh questions every time, so you can't just remember the answers.
- Mock papers under exam rules, with an honest score you can track.
Coming soon to the App Store
06 / QuestionsAll questions
Revising GCSE maths, answered
How long should I revise GCSE maths each day?
There’s no magic number. For most pupils, 20 to 30 minutes of maths on most days works better than one long session a week, and you can do more as the exams get closer. What counts is doing questions, not the time spent.
Should I revise by topic or with past papers?
Both, in that order. Revise by topic first to fix your gaps, then move on to mixed questions and past papers, so you get used to spotting which method a question needs.
How do I revise for the non-calculator paper?
Practise the written methods: multiplying and dividing on paper, fractions, percentages without a calculator, and rounding to estimate. Do some of your daily practice with the calculator out of reach.
When should I start revising for GCSE maths?
The earlier the better, but a little and often from the start of Year 11 is plenty for most pupils. If your exams are only weeks away, start with the topics you nearly have right.
Little and often.
Start with ten minutes today.
Fresh GCSE maths questions, with the working shown for every answer. The first topic is free.
Coming soon to the App Store