Is the maths GCSE november exam easier than june?

I'm gonna be resitting my maths GCSE in november from a C grade (1 mark off B). I'm wondering is the november exam easier? The nov 2012 especially was the easiest maths exam i've ever done whereas i find the june ones a bit more difficult. What do you think?

Also do you guys have any tips for me to achieve a B grade? I was working on that level in class and achieved that in previous mock exams, but i really struggled with the summer exam :/. I have a cgp maths CD, should i just watch all the videos and do past papers or do you guys recommend anything else? Thank you :biggrin:

Reply 1

Chlorophile

20

Original post by tshombe123

I'm gonna be resitting my maths GCSE in november from a C grade (1 mark off B). I'm wondering is the november exam easier? The nov 2012 especially was the easiest maths exam i've ever done whereas i find the june ones a bit more difficult. What do you think?

Also do you guys have any tips for me to achieve a B grade? I was working on that level in class and achieved that in previous mock exams, but i really struggled with the summer exam :/. I have a cgp maths CD, should i just watch all the videos and do past papers or do you guys recommend anything else? Thank you :biggrin:

No. If an exam is easier than normal, the grade boundaries will be higher so you'll need more marks to get a certain grade.

Reply 2

Vampire1!

OP

12

Original post by Chlorophile

No. If an exam is easier than normal, the grade boundaries will be higher so you'll need more marks to get a certain grade.

The nov 2013 exam was pretty easy too... Idk i guess it's just me. Hopefully i'll find this year's easy aswell

Reply 3

crashMATHS

16

Original post by tshombe123

I'm gonna be resitting my maths GCSE in november from a C grade (1 mark off B). I'm wondering is the november exam easier? The nov 2012 especially was the easiest maths exam i've ever done whereas i find the june ones a bit more difficult. What do you think?

Also do you guys have any tips for me to achieve a B grade? I was working on that level in class and achieved that in previous mock exams, but i really struggled with the summer exam :/. I have a cgp maths CD, should i just watch all the videos and do past papers or do you guys recommend anything else? Thank you :biggrin:

Nobody knows if it's going to be 'easier' - it depends on the paper your exam board set. They most certainly don't say, 'let's make an easy paper every November and a super hard one in June!' - or else I hope, anyways!

The reason why some teachers may say that it is 'easier' in November is because you don't have the stress of other exams and can just focus on Maths revision. Hence, the exam can be found to be 'easier'.

If you want a B, you really want to make sure you consolidate some basic mathematical concepts, like fractions, working with decimals, percentages, long multiplication and division, as these are some topics that even the higher-scoring candidates make mistakes on. Once you've mastered these, you could just try working through the specification or a topic-by-grade list, so you can cover all the necessary topics.

One method that I encourage some of my tutees to use is that I get them to learn, say, all the C grade topics and then do a past paper and see if they can get a Grade C. As well as this, there are many Grade C worksheets online that you can find and see if you fully understand. This way, you would know that are fully competent with the topics for that particular grade and are able to progress onto topics in the next grade. Another thing you ought to remember is that you need mathematical understanding not just memory. You want to be able to know why we do things and what particular formulae are used for, so that you can apply your knowledge in the exam (something which many candidates didn't do aptly this series).

I find videos useful too. I think having someone explain something is useful when I don't understand something. You can also use my Maths YouTube channel, crashMATHS (website below), though there isn't much content on there at the moment (it's just A Level and past papers).

Examiners Reports can also be useful after you've done a past paper, so you can read about common mistakes other students made and (hopefully) not make them yourself.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck with the resit!

Website: www.crashmaths.tk

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(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 4