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Exam boardSpec 1MA1England (widely sat in Wales and Northern Ireland too)

Edexcel GCSE Maths

Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9–1) in Mathematics

A tiered, linear GCSE assessed by three equally weighted written papers — the most widely used Maths GCSE in UK schools and international centres.

Paper structure

Three 1 hour 30 minute papers, each worth 80 marks (240 total, 4½ hours of exam time). Paper 1 is non-calculator; Papers 2 and 3 allow a calculator. All sat in the same series at the same tier.

Tiers
  • Foundation:Grades 1–5
  • Higher:Grades 4–9 (with grade 3 allowed)

Official resources

Specification, papers, mark schemes and grade boundaries — straight from Edexcel.

Specification (web)Full specification PDFSample assessment materials (PDF)Past papers (filtered)GCSE grade boundaries
  • Past papers (filtered): Past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports are co-located on this filtered hub.
Formulae sheet

A formulae sheet ("Exam Aid") is inserted into every paper, reissued each series. Higher tier includes the quadratic formula, sine and cosine rules, ½ab sin C, compound interest, Pythagoras, circle and prism formulae, and the addition and conditional probability rules. The Foundation sheet is a subset (no quadratic formula or non-right trig).

Formulae sheet — A5 referenceHigher tier exam aid (June 2025)Foundation tier exam aid (June 2025)

Assessment objectives

How marks are split across the three things examiners look for.

AO1 — Use and apply standard techniques

Accurately recall facts, terminology and definitions; use and interpret notation correctly; carry out routine procedures or multi-step solutions.

Foundation: 50%Higher: 40%
AO2 — Reason, interpret and communicate mathematically

Make deductions and draw conclusions, construct chains of reasoning, interpret and communicate information accurately, present arguments and proofs, and critically evaluate methods.

Foundation: 25%Higher: 30%
AO3 — Solve problems within mathematics and in other contexts

Translate problems into mathematical processes, make connections between different parts of mathematics, interpret results in context, and evaluate methods and assumptions used.

Foundation: 25%Higher: 30%

What Edexcel tests

The Edexcel specification organises content into the sections below. Each one shows the GCSEwiz topics that practise material from that strand.

Number

Place value and four operations, primes / factors / multiples, powers, roots, indices and surds, standard form, fractions, decimals and percentages, and limits of accuracy.

Algebra

Notation, manipulating and factorising, graphs of linear, quadratic, cubic, reciprocal, exponential and trig functions, solving equations and inequalities, and arithmetic, quadratic and geometric sequences.

Ratio, proportion and rates of change

Ratio, scale and proportion, percentage change and reverse percentages, direct and inverse proportion, compound units, growth and decay, and gradient as rate of change.

Geometry and measures

Angle and polygon properties, congruence and similarity, transformations, constructions and loci, mensuration of 2D / 3D shapes, Pythagoras and trigonometry, circle theorems, and vectors.

Probability

Frequency, theoretical and experimental probability, sample spaces, Venn diagrams, tree diagrams, and independent / dependent combined events.

Statistics

Sampling, tables and charts, measures of central tendency and spread, scatter graphs and correlation, and comparing distributions.

Higher-tier-only highlights

Topics that appear on the Higher paper but not Foundation.

  • Surds and rationalising denominators
  • Recurring decimals to and from fractions
  • Quadratic formula, completing the square and turning points
  • Inverse and composite functions in formal notation
  • Equation of a circle and the tangent at a point
  • Sine rule, cosine rule and 3D trigonometry
  • Circle theorems (full set)
  • Iterative numerical solutions
  • Gradients and areas under non-linear graphs as instantaneous rate / total change

Worth knowing

Studying outside the UK?

Pearson also offer the Edexcel International GCSE in Mathematics (Specification A), code 4MA1, designed for international centres.

Open link
Per-series PDFs change each year

The exam-aid formulae sheet and past-paper PDFs are dated per series, so direct PDF links go out of date — the filtered past-papers hub above is the stable entry point.

Studying for a different board?

The core content overlaps heavily — pick another board to see the specifics.

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