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How to get a 9 in maths

Hi how would you recommend getting a 9 in maths.When did you start revising?What revision guide/ resources did you use eg what were the best past paper websites?How long did you spend revising?Did you make notes?How did you go about revising?Thanks
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 1
For maths, understand every single topic before you move on to the next one to give yourself much much less work to do at the end of Year 11. I can't stress the understanding bit enough, because rote learning will only get you so far in maths. Once you understand it, practise as much as you can with questions from the textbook. Leave most of the past papers until the end. I just used the ones from my exam board's website and found them to be sufficient.

Spending too long making rewriting notes for maths is a waste of time provided you already have decent examples. However, if a sentence or two helps you to understand a particular concept, then you should add it to your notes. Annotating your notes as you are being taught it is best. I found my annotations to be very useful near the end of the year as they helped me remember the topic better.

Practice is key.
Reply 2
If there are any facts that you need to remember (e.g. circle theorems) then flashcards are amazing, and trying to remember the answer is so much better than just reading it off a notes page.

Past papers are so so important, and just do as many as you can.

Here are a few good revision sites:
https://www.examsolutions.net/gcse-maths/
https://corbettmaths.com/more/gcse_practice_papers/

And if you ever do anything in a lesson that you don't understand, ask the teacher about it. Never leave a lesson having not understood the content you just covered. You will regret it when it comes to revision.

Other than that, just listen in class, put the effort in, do your homework, and you'll be fine!
Reply 3
Didn't get a 9, going to year 11 but I think i can help.

First thing, practice papers. - https://sites.google.com/site/littleheathmaths/year-11/year-11-exams-2017/section-b-using-practice-papers-effectively - you can use the spec papers and use previous ones, although they obviously will not contain paper 3. This is, by far and large, the best revision method.

Other methods include memorizing key info, such as sin, cos, tan values, which you are expected to know. Also using mymaths, youtube revision guides etc can help.
Reply 4
Going into Year 11, and got a mark significantly more than the grade 9 threshold in our Year 10 summer mocks - personally, to do well in Maths, you have to work - and work hard. In my school, we are doing three year GCSEs and we have basically finished the Maths specification in well under two years - in no other subject are we even close to finishing.

Strive to get full marks in everything - homework, classwork, mock exams et cetera; when you don't, find out why and ensure that you know exactly what went wrong and be sure to correct it.

And, finally, when revising, do not waste valuable time on things you are confident about - however, do not forget to skim these elements to ensure that you have not forget very small, yet important details.

Good luck.
Just understand everything. Don't revise for the exams, and get a 9 just like me.
Original post by lavenderlife
Hi how would you recommend getting a 9 in maths.When did you start revising?What revision guide/ resources did you use eg what were the best past paper websites?How long did you spend revising?Did you make notes?How did you go about revising?Thanks


For Maths, practice is very important. Try doing as many practice problems/questions as you can, and check your answers with solutions/teachers. It will be dull at times, but will help you a lot.

I don't find notes that helpful for Maths, it's just practice and understanding that will help you. Having said that, when you are first learning about a topic it could be helpful to make some brief notes about things you don't understand, or equations you need to remember etc.

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