Which Exam Board is Best for GCSE Maths?

The Edexcel Pearson Edexcel exam board is renowned for its excellent mathematics teaching and resources, designed to help students become successful and self-confident mathematicians. With a wide range of information, support and resources available, Edexcel Pearson Edexcel is the most difficult exam board, particularly in its IGCSE branch. Compared to AQA, there are fewer papers to be sat but the allotted time is shorter. When it comes to Mathematics, Pearson Edexcel is the most popular exam board.

However, some students have noted that AQA exams may be easier as they involve less problem solving to find a final solution. The questions also have a different structure, with several parts in each question providing candidates with more clues as to the technique needed to find a final answer, resulting in more grades being awarded. Some subjects will retain coursework without evaluation, such as certain experiments in scientific subjects being assumed in the exams, and the teacher's report on participation in the spoken language for the English GCSEs as a separate report. Pearson Edexcel publishes more than 500 new GCSE articles each summer with the goal of “promoting educational excellence and high-quality learning”.

In the past, many GCSE scores used a modular system, in which some assessment (up to 60% according to the “terminal rule”) could be submitted before the final exam series. This system was met with criticism from students who complained about the burden of memorization, the need to write continuously for long hours, how their social life had been affected, and the need for sleeping pills and pain relievers. You can find past work from your particular board on their website or you can buy a book that contains past items from all previous years. This means that after a student takes an exam, examiners download the scanned exams and mark them on their screens.

This will help you familiarize yourself with the paper pattern and grading criteria, and save you time during the actual exam. If you prepare yourself according to the content of the previous exams, you are preparing for a very bad grade. To decide which exam board is best for you, try to get sample papers from all the exam boards you are considering. Bulleted answers in a simple structure can allow you to get all the grades very quickly and if you are someone who learns well by answering exam-style questions, then Edexcel is for you as it provides loads of past papers and exam questions for you to try - unlike AQA who recently locked up their papers.

Most universities require their candidates to have achieved grades of C or 4 or higher in English and mathematics from their GCSEs - these two levels roughly correspond to basic and higher level in tiered GCSE ratings. The boards with the most difficult scientific questions are AQA and Edexcel, although there are few schools in the UK that register students for Edexcel courses. The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic degree in a particular subject taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Shahid Lakha
Shahid Lakha

Shahid Lakha is a seasoned educational consultant with a rich history in the independent education sector and EdTech. With a solid background in Physics, Shahid has cultivated a career that spans tutoring, consulting, and entrepreneurship. As an Educational Consultant at Spires Online Tutoring since October 2016, he has been instrumental in fostering educational excellence in the online tutoring space. Shahid is also the founder and director of Specialist Science Tutors, a tutoring agency based in West London, where he has successfully managed various facets of the business, including marketing, web design, and client relationships. His dedication to education is further evidenced by his role as a self-employed tutor, where he has been teaching Maths, Physics, and Engineering to students up to university level since September 2011. Shahid holds a Master of Science in Photon Science from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Bath.