6 power moves for the maths GCSE

Three maths specialists share their top power moves to make a last-minute difference to year 11 before they go off on study leave.

This blog is based on a webinar that took place on 16/03/2023. Watch ‘6 power moves for the maths GCSE’. In the webinar, I spoke with two maths specialists, Jenna Sanderson and Nicola Whiston, about their experiences and tips for getting the most out of the remaining time with year 11.

There comes a time in the academic year when your options for making a last-minute difference are limited. Year 11 brace themselves for exam leave, and you want to squeeze out every last drop of their potential. What moves are you going to make?

Whether you’re a seasoned year 11 maths teacher looking for inspiration, or an ECT finding support, our blog aims to provide a list of practical actions you can take in the last few months you have with your students before the curtain falls.

1. Tactical curriculum coverage - to trig or not to trig?

Getting through the curriculum was already tight, even before the gaps caused by COVID. But now, it’s incredibly difficult to cover the whole curriculum in a meaningful, in-depth way for all students. Sad, but a reality for most.

By the time you get to March in any teaching year, for year 11, teaching time has pretty much run out with regards to covering the entire curriculum. So difficult decisions have to be made.

How have you found getting through the curriculum with your groups this year?

Jenna: My biggest problem area is with foundation students - the building blocks haven’t been there so it’s been important to work on those first. I’ve sacrificed Constructions to focus on topics that I know will come up and need to be answered well.

But my best tip is to use mock exams to inform teaching, and most importantly to not just focus on areas of weakness. Look for the strengths and bolster those.

Nicola: I am very lucky to have had my year 11s for two years and have used that to continuously repeat topics. Whilst I have covered the whole curriculum, there are some areas like Transformations and Constructions where I have spent much less time on them.

I also teach through the paper. We’ve been doing mocks since September and I take those as opportunities to teach where there are clear gaps.

In conclusion, if you have to make curriculum sacrifices, be savvy about that. Try to ensure students are secure on big players like percentages, fractions and ratio. You might also want to prioritise practice papers over teaching remaining parts of the curriculum for some students. A decision to not plough through the curriculum, but instead focus on embedding pupils' strengths can be a wise one.

2. Turning your back on the formulae sheet

One of the concessions brought in to help with the impact of covid is access to the formula sheet in the exam. This can be a bit of a double-edged sword in my experience. It can support those pupils who need an extra nudge in remembering the formula and take the pressure off having to commit to memory all of the different formulae they may need.

However, it can give some pupils a false sense of security - they are given the formulae in the exam so they think they don't need to revise them. What they don’t realise is that they still need to practice applying the formulae.

What are your thoughts on the formulae sheet?

Jenna: I haven’t mentioned the formulae sheet to my students for that exact reason. In fact, I have created my own Facts and Formulae Sheet that students fill in the gaps of once a fortnight as a way to practise these. They also do two formulae questions at the end of every lesson. Practise, practise, practise.

Nicola: I also ignore the formulae sheet from the exam boards. They are particularly unhelpful for foundation students. They get confused.

If pupils are relying on the formula sheet they are not fully prepared for the exam. Pupils need to recognise when and where they need to apply the formula - having the formula sheet won’t necessarily help with this. Regular practice of applying the formula is the way to go.

I have written some formulae practice resources specifically for this purpose which you can access to use front of class.

3. Exposure to practice papers

Arguably the most important thing that you can do to help prepare your pupils at this point is to expose them to past papers. This is good practice for a number of reasons:

Pupils know what to expect and have a plan of action.
The style of questioning becomes familiar.
Pupils have the opportunity to hone their timing.
Application of the content.

At what point do you like to use past papers regularly in class?

Jenna: From September, students begin with just answering the first 15 marks of the papers. Once they start to get all 15, we move onto half the paper, and so on. This structured way of introducing papers has helped with students' confidence and resilience.

Nicola: We do practice papers every two weeks from the beginning of September. Once it gets closer to the exam, we up that to one a week. It’s quite a lot of marking, but I combat by printing off the mark scheme for highers and they mark their own. There’s quite a lot they can learn from the mark scheme too so it’s win-win.

There are 3 sets of practice papers on the Learning by Questions platform that have been inspired by past papers from the exam boards. Using LbQ to administer practice papers means you get a QLA to use immediately, in the lesson if you choose. And you have no marking to take home either. Take a look at one of the higher and one of the foundation practice papers. Sign up to a 6-week free trial of Learning by Questions and take your evenings back!

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4. Maths GCSE exam technique

This kind of goes hand in hand with the exposure to past exam papers. The more papers that pupils complete, the more familiar they become with the most effective way that they can complete the exam. Their exam technique should be personal to them, focusing on their strengths and weaknesses in order to maximise their chances of feeling confident and performing to the best of their ability.

What is your top tip for exam technique?

Jenna: My best tip for exam technique is a bit of a corny one. Have you ever seen ‘Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old’? We encourage our students to hone their 10-year-old self - when they had no concerns about whether they could do a question, they just went ahead and did it. Going back to basics is key here.

Nicola: For foundation, I encourage them to focus on everything before the staples. For higher, I encourage students to look to get at least one mark in every single question. There’s so much that can be gained for just having a go at every question.

Most pupils should aim for a solid performance on the first part of the paper, and look to pick up some marks on the second half of the paper. Most importantly, they should have a go, consider the diagrams, and find some maths that they can do.

5. Revision: do some!

As an adult, it seems quite alien to me that anyone would go to an exam, interview, or an important meeting without preparing for it. That may well be down to my nature, and revising for an exam would be a given for me - I call it looking after my future self. If present Sue can put something in place that will make life easier for future Sue, why wouldn’t she? This is all about consequences for your actions, and for conscientious students, that’s great.

But what about those pupils who aren’t conscientious, or certainly don’t want to appear to be? With these pupils I still try to convince them of the importance of being prepared and give them the tools to do this…they just don’t need to tell anyone about it!

How do you get your pupils to recognise the importance of revision?

Jenna: As a school, we have found this to be an area of weakness, but we’ve looked to improve things lower down the school to prep for when they are in year 11. We have triple topic tests, ie. every topic is assessed three times. It’s a lot, but now KS3 are more able to articulate what revision is about, setting them up perfectly for the GCSEs.

Nicola: I force revision through homework and the behaviour management policy at the school, simple as. My year 11s get two lots of maths homework a week, which I try to make low stakes and small. But my mantra to the kids is that the only way to revise maths is to do maths.

Making revision a habit lower down the school can help impress upon pupils the importance of revision. But, once you get to year 11, forcing the issue with regard to homework may have to be one of the tools that you use. Pupils are often unsure of how to revise maths and the message should be that ‘you need to do maths to revise maths’. Answering a wide variety of maths questions is the most effective way to revise. No one needs to shout from the rooftops what they are doing to prepare for an exam if it is not deemed cool… but they still need to look after their future selves.

6. Be the voice your class needs to hear: are you Good Cop or Bad Cop?

We all need to hear a reassuring voice every now and then. Equally, we may sometimes respond to tough love or need a push in the right direction. You know your classes and pupils the best, use this knowledge to provide them with the messages that they need to hear. For some pupils it will be, you’ve got this - go and show the examiner just what you are capable of. For others, it will be more about calming nerves and anxious thoughts, and hearing the message that getting some of the marks on the latter questions on the paper is going to be good enough.

Are you Good Cop or Bad Cop?

Jenna: It’s difficult - with some they need to understand that they’re at risk and, for others, I just want to tell them to go home and have some cake. To combat this, and to ensure my messages are personalised, I split the class up into groups to go through practice paper marking. Two groups will get a recording of me going verbally through the paper - they tend to be the more able. The other group, I’ll go through it with them in class. That way, I can go round each group and personalise the message they all get.

Nicola: My students have no idea who they’re going to get from minute to minute! Sometimes I don’t even know. It’s good to keep them on their toes. With competitive students, I’ll make sure to play them against each other, but generally I am very inconsistent with my voice and message. After Easter though, I am a bit more encouraging. They need it at that point.

As harsh as it sounds, some pupils need to be told how close they are to failing, while others only want or need to hear that reassuring voice. Try to individualise the message as much as possible, Jenna’s recorded exam paper trick is gold dust! It’s about knowing your pupils and thinking about the lasting message you give them.