Preparing for STEP/university mathematics from GCSE level

Hello,
I note that many who do STEP and similar Maths exams for entry to university struggle due to the problem-solving needs and lack of calculators. No idea what I want to do in the future, but I thought it would be useful to gain some knowledge of problem solving and such (currently about GCSE level).

The STEP info and such seems to generally be for students with A-level knowledge. Are there any videos/books/websites that anyone would recommend that could build up problem solving capabilities and such for those around GCSE level? Thank you!

Hello,
I note that many who do STEP and similar Maths exams for entry to university struggle due to the problem-solving needs and lack of calculators. No idea what I want to do in the future, but I thought it would be useful to gain some knowledge of problem solving and such (currently about GCSE level).

The STEP info and such seems to generally be for students with A-level knowledge. Are there any videos/books/websites that anyone would recommend that could build up problem solving capabilities and such for those around GCSE level? Thank you!

Hello,
I note that many who do STEP and similar Maths exams for entry to university struggle due to the problem-solving needs and lack of calculators. No idea what I want to do in the future, but I thought it would be useful to gain some knowledge of problem solving and such (currently about GCSE level).

The STEP info and such seems to generally be for students with A-level knowledge. Are there any videos/books/websites that anyone would recommend that could build up problem solving capabilities and such for those around GCSE level? Thank you!

Students struggle with STEP when coming from A-Level, so I wouldn't jump onto it from GCSE. It's not meant for this.

Complete A-Level Maths and Further Maths then think about STEP.

To be fair, the first couple STEP Support Program modules can be completed from GCSE. I've managed to complete the 1st module with only GCSE knowledge anyway.

Yeah I suppose only a small chunk is accessible with GCSE. OP needs A-Level for the full thing.

They’re better off with competition stuff for problem solving at GCSE.

For problem solving at y10/11 level, the ukmt stuff (intermediate challenge/kangaroo/olympiad) is pretty good. The senior ukmt stuff (roughly a harder intermediate) has a different "syllabus" from A level (non calculus, trig light, geometry heavy), so it shouldnt be regarded as a preparation for step, though it does stretch you in geometry, algebra, problem solving, counting, functions ... which is relevant. At around y10/11, I like
https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0168 (free)
https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/9478#t=aboutBook
https://parallel.org.uk/ (level 5/6 stuff)
Though doing some nrich problems, reading a few pop maths books, .... are useful as well.

Good, although Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/ is actually good for mathematics, problem-solving wise. And does go into applied mathematics (mechanics)

It is, and there is ton of stuff on aops and .... Problem solving shouldn't really be about learning new maths topics (yet another book/website/...), rather its about doing harder/unusual questions using the standard knowledge and treating maths less as an algorithm which is applied "iwithout thinking". So simplifying, sketching, considering extreme values, transforming, working backwards, stick numbers in, intelligent guessing, ... Hence why the ukmt syllabus is limited, gardiners book is heavily problem based, parallel is about working with people, ...