Edexcel GCSE Maths Paper 1: how to prepare for the non-calculator paper

Paper 1 of Edexcel GCSE Maths (1MA1) is the non-calculator paper, and it's worth a third of the grade. Here's what to get students practising before mocks.

What Paper 1 is

There are three papers, each 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, and the Edexcel specification weights them equally, so each is worth 33.33% of the GCSE.

Foundation and Higher

Foundation and Higher are separate tiers with their own papers. A student sits three Foundation papers or three Higher papers, never a mix. The structure is the same (three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, with Paper 1 non-calculator), but the content isn't.

Five things to practise without a calculator

1. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions, including mixed numbers.
2. Percentage change and reverse percentages, using multipliers.
3. Calculations in standard form.
4. Long multiplication and division, including decimals.
5. The exact values of sin, cos and tan for 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° (tan 90° is undefined). On Higher tier, add surds: simplifying them and rationalising denominators.

Method marks and estimating

Method marks are awarded for correct working even when the final answer is wrong, so students should write down every step. Without a calculator, they should estimate the answer first by rounding the numbers, then check any final answer that's far from the estimate.

A plan for students

Two topics a night over five nights covers the list. For each topic, students:

• do five questions with no calculator, in about 20 minutes
• mark them straight away and redo any they got wrong.

For a revision plan that covers all three papers, see our GCSE Maths revision guide.

You can revise every topic, with exam-style questions, in our free Edexcel GCSE Maths courses: Foundation and Higher.