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gcse maths higher

how to get better at maths?
Practice is key and understanding how the maths works not just that it works can help approach problems. Id recommend using Corbett maths 5-a-day for consistent practice, using 1st class maths and Corbett for videos and doing as many past papers as you can (i did one every week in year 11). Best of luck :smile:
Four pieces of advice I can give that really helped me improve through year 11:

1.

Try and find out what will be on your formula sheet in the exam. I'm not sure if it's the same for all exam boards, but I think this usually includes trigonometry (pythagoras, sohcahtoa, sine and cosine rule), some general geometry (prism volume, circle area + circumference, etc - and things like volume of a cone or pressure are often printed with the questions), the quadratic formula, compound interest, and some probability.
Once you know the formulae that will be provided, try not to put too much effort into memorising them. Memorising them wouldn't hurt - after all, every second is valuable in an exam - and I would definitely recommend some practice just so you're familiar with them, but at the end of the day your energy will be better directed elsewhere. So many of my classmates dedicated as much as half of their maths revision time to sine and cosine rules, only to realise they're on the formula sheet.

2.

Wherever possible, use practice paper questions to revise. For the higher mark questions especially, a lot of the difficulty is from trying to understand the question, and figuring out how to approach it - as you solve more questions, and look through the mark schemes, you'll become far more familiar with the way the examiners want you to think. You'll find it easier to think of more creative (and less obvious) solutions - something I think is necessary.
Ideally, do a few full practice papers every now and then, with self-imposed time limits and exam conditions if possible - this will help you with time management and
hopefully reduce some stress.

3.

Get comfortable with using all the different features on your calculator. Some calculators can do things like solving quadratics, but even for more standard calculators it's important to be able to quickly and confidently use it correctly, so as to save time on the calculator exams.

4.

Please, please, please show any method you can. Even if you have absolutely no idea how to solve the question, scribble down something that makes sense - maybe you can calculate the length of a line that doesn't seem to be important, or maybe it feels like a good idea to multiply some numbers together. ANYTHING. Because it's better than nothing, you might even earn some method marks, and it's not like you can lose marks for it. Even on questions you feel confident about, still show how you got there - losing 1 mark is way better than losing 4.


Other than that, teachers are usually a great way to improve. If there's a teacher you find particularly helpful, ask them for advice after class (whenever you can, really). If you know someone in sixth form who did well in their maths gcse, that's an option too.

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