GCSE results: girls fare better than boys under more rigorous courses

Examination results

I think it is because boys tend to be more laid-back and don’t like to show their working. In recent years, with the introduction of the grades 1 – 9 to replace the letter grades, exams have become more rigorous to combat grade inflation.

More than one in four exam entries by girls aged 16 received top grades of A or 7 and above in this summer’s exams in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an improvement of half a percentage point to 25.3% compared with last year, while just 18.6% of entries by boys in Year 11 achieved the same grades.

Guardian Education 22nd August 2019

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GCSE maths resources

Many students going back to school in year 10 and 11 quickly realise that they are not prepared for the demands of the course – especially in mathematics. It is a demanding subject and requires discipline and a lot of practice, practice and more practice. It is essential to get into good habits early. I have some resources to recommend as well as some tips.

Don’t neglect to work on your arithmetic, both mental and written. An inability to work quickly and carefully with the basic operations of arithmetic trip up many students. They get muddled and trip up before they even start. To help, I recommend doing online practice wit a website such as www.arithmetic.zetamac.com.

Review the fundamentals before starting to try examination questions. There is no point trying examination questions until you understand the fundamentals. You will find two kinds of questions in your text book and on websites. There are ‘consolidation’ or ‘confidence-building’ exercises and actual exam type questions. If you find that your school provided text book might lack exercises in some topics. In which case, you will need to supplement your revision with some good online resources. Three of my favourite resources are below.

GCSE Maths takeaway

GCSE Higher Level Worksheets

Just Maths

Poor understanding of maths vocabulary can hinder learning. I recommend reviewing GCSE maths vocabulary as a part of revision.