Cant afford a tutor and I need help with Math

At the moment I'm in Year 11 and I'm studying for my GCSE's but lately I have been struggling with Math a lot. I have over 90 topics to cover and that freaks me out especially since I'v got mocks in December.

I have a CGP 9-1 OCR workbook and revision guide and they are excellent however I struggle to understand certain questions hence why a tutor would be great, however I can't afford one.

What do you suggest I do?
How did you revise for your Mocks?
How do you suggest I revise for my GCSE and mocks with these CGP books?

Many thanks!

Reply 1

M4cc4n4

Original post by Oneiropólos

Exam Technique is essential for maths, the good news is you will generally have enough time to do everything twice atleast that was my experience at GCSE.

Ask someone on TSR if they will take some time to tutor you they may be willing to spend some time to help you, you school may also offer peer mentors that can help you, anyway good luck and if I can help in anyway just ask

Reply 2

username3444162

Original post by M4cc4n4

Thanks!

Reply 3

Draconid

Ask your teacher for as much help as possible, go to them after school and ask them for a bit of time to help you with a topic you'd want to go over, I'm certain they won't refuse as long as you ask politely.

Reply 4

vityamins

The most important thing is that you understand each topic; you can work on figuring out what the question wants you to do from there. In my experience, that was the most difficult thing about the new GCSE.
If you need a tutor, I might be able to help a little. I got GCSE grade 9 and am currently doing maths and further maths at A Level, so I should be able to give you a couple pointers if you get stuck :h:

Reply 5

username3444162

Original post by vityamins

Great! Thanks so much

Reply 6

lottytibbs

As painful as it may sound: Exam papers!
I did the old GCSE and got a grade A on both papers because my teacher made us do one every week leading up to our exams, it got to the point that we had done every paper available and he was making them for us. When it came to the actual exam, I finished with 20 mins to spare because I knew what to expect. Hope that works the same for you

Reply 7

TheMathsTeacher

Original post by Oneiropólos

Hey,

Your financial circumstances should never stop you from being able to fulfil your potential in education. Having a tutor really isn't the be-all-and-end-all; especially when it comes to maths in my opinion. The biggest tip I would give is just to practice as many questions as possible.

I know there aren't exactly many past papers you have access to, but there are specimen papers. Plus, I would suggest looking at past papers from the previous specification. They might not be exactly what you need but they will help you develop your answers and, more importantly, they'll help you develop your technique.

If you do get really stuck on anything though, feel free to drop me a message and I'd be more than happy to help!

Good luck, and don't stress! :smile:

Reply 8

Notnek

Original post by Oneiropólos

Can't afford a tutor and need help with maths? Try the TSR maths forum. Free maths help whenever you like!

Reply 9

12ksmith

Original post by Oneiropólos

Try hegarty maths

Reply 10

alfie0101

Original post by Oneiropólos

I wouldn’t pay for a tutor...you have a teacher so use them!

Just practice maths questions and past papers!

I honestly don’t think revision books are that useful for math. All worksheets that you do in class - DO NOT write on them. These sheets are sooo useful to practice on. I have mocks in December too and we learned topics from the back (harder topics first then easier ones).

Reply 11

excelnonso

Do you still need help with math ?

Reply 12

username3585844

I know how you feel. I'm in sixth form and studying Chemistry and I felt like a needed a tutor because I just couldn't get through it. Instead, I decided to drop the subject and go forward with 3 subjects. However, I understand that it's a bit of a different situation with you because you aren't given the opportunity to drop Maths at GCSE, as it's compulsory.

Ask your teacher for help. No matter how many times you ask them, they are patient enough to do so for the sake of your exam and Maths qualification. If you have access to Internet, look up the definition of the parts you don't understand and then apply them to the question to gain a better understanding of what it's asking you.

I didn't find Maths as hard as you do at GCSE so I didn't revise thoroughly for it but still come out with a good grade. To reinforce what I said, asking the teacher what questions mean will ensure that you understand them because if you can't, answering them is going to be a struggle for you. Once you understand them, you can revise by practicing more and more questions and maybe making notes or writing the bits you don't understand over and over until it sticks in your brain. It worked for me so I don't see how it can't work for you.

The same principle applies to both GCSEs and mocks.

Hope that helps :smile: