From Jonny Griffiths, a major update to his Carom Maths Activities, designed to bridge the gap from A Level to University Maths.
The Carom 2026 PDF eBook contains further details Also available are PowerPoints, and computer files (Excel, Autograph, GeoGebra and PDF files) to support the activities, these files are linked to from the eBook (see page 15 of the eBook for a complete list). A free eBook download is here.
As a backup, Jonny has also placed the eBook onto Payhip, where it can be downloaded for free. Carom 2026 PDF eBook – Payhip
It’s the time of year where regular updates are being made to my revision resource collections.
See the GCSE, IGCSE, and A Level pages, to which any new resources will be added when they are available.Note the right-hand menu for easy access to these pages.
The most recent updates to the GCSE collection include ‘predicted’ papers from Physics and Maths Tutor.
Note also the additional resources on some sites; for example, on Bennett Maths, which helpfully has resources for AQA as well as Edexcel, we have Third in 30 papers. We see half papers around for Edexcel Maths, but here we have a shorter set of questions for either AQA or Edexcel.
On the subject of half papers, remember Lucky Maths, highlighted in a recent post, has half papers, but not half exam board published papers – these are all new questions!
Mrs D Maths – Functions and Graphs
Knowledge Organisers may provide useful revision, particularly where clear examples are given. Perhaps study a knowledge organiser, then find questions on those topics. There are many examples of sites with questions by topic on my revision pages.
Several updates have been made to my revision resource collections. See the GCSE and IGCSE pages, to which any new resources will be added when they are available.
Note the right-hand menu for easy access to these pages. I have also been updating the A Level revision page.
Many revision resources are available for GCSE revision; see the GCSE collection.
For GCSE, a notable update comes from Lucky Maths.
Lucky Maths – Best Guess Paper Edexcel
From Albert Luck and Brad James on Lucky Maths, under Practice Papers, we see Foundation Half Practice Papers, and scrolling further down the page, you will find full practice papers, and a Best Guess papers section.
The authors have written all the questions themselves, including those for the half-papers and full practice papers, making these valuable resources with previously unseen questions for students. All resources can be downloaded directly from the website.
A significant update includes the Maths Room from Maths teacher Peter Browne at https://igcsemathstutor.com/. The site provides explanations and worked examples for Pearson Edexcel International IGCSE Mathematics. Students are provided with an unlimited number of questions to practice skills by topic, with random, auto-marked questions available at four levels: Starter, Builder, Challenger, and Master.
The Maths Room, Calculus – Peter BrowneThe Maths Room, Calculus – Peter Browne
There is a great deal of overlap between GCSE and IGCSE, but it’s great to see excellent resources for IGCSE topics not on the GCSE syllabus. See, for example:
I have been updating the GCSE Maths revision resources page; this collection is available via the menu on the right-hand side for easy access. I will keep this updated as new resources become available.
It is so important that students check answers for reasonableness, yet they frequently don’t. Examiners frequently report that students lose “easy” marks by providing answers that are physically or mathematically impossible. Checking answers can make a difference in students’ grades.
For example, always sanity-check real-world results. I once had a student calculate an individual’s height as 4 cm. It wasn’t until I asked her to check that distance on a physical ruler that she realised her ‘maths’ failed the common-sense check.
Examiners frequently recommend estimation to verify the reasonableness of an answer, yet I find many students fail to do this as a matter of course. Instead, there is a tendency to rely solely on their calculators, trusting whatever figure appears on the screen without a second thought.
Visualising the maths is just as vital as the calculation itself. For instance, when finding the gradient of a straight line, students only need to look at the graph—or produce a quick sketch of two known points—to confirm whether the gradient should be positive or negative. This simple ‘directional check’ prevents a very common sign error in coordinate geometry.
We need to talk about checking answers, something I do a lot. I was delighted to find a recent resource from a favourite resource author, Andy Lutwyche, titled Checking Techniques, available on TES Resources. This is a set of over 50 questions that have been answered incorrectly. Students can discuss why the given answer cannot be correct. Such a useful collection, it covers topics from Number, Algebra, Geometry and Statistics. A detailed menu helps to navigate the questions.
Andy Lutwyche – Checking TechniquesAndy Lutwyche – Checking Techniques
Written while teaching the Year 12 A Level course, Andy devised the resource to pinpoint any gaps in GCSE knowledge. The examples are in various sections and include solving quadratic equations by factorisation, completing the square, and using the quadratic formula. The final section is on hidden quadratics.
For more on Hidden quadratic equations, refer to this post, which includes several resources.
Dr Austin Maths – A Level, Hidden QuadraticsDr Austin Maths
Using the example from Dr Austin Maths, leads to the next item. Note what’s new, including A Level Revision. I have often used Dr Austin’s GCSE Revision Grids (use the Revision tab), happily, she has now started a set for A Level.
On the subject of new resources, take a look at some great new resources on MathsBot. Try, for example, this Keyword Starter, or your choice of topic for a GCSE Maths Workout.
The GCSE Workouts cover Number, Algebra, Geometry and Statistics. I can see a total of 149 choices!
Currency Conversions
(The exchange rate is given on the workout)
I like the latest organisation of Craig Barton’s website,with so many brilliant resources, including his latest Plenty in Twenty numeracy practice questions, available from Primary through to Year 11 and providing unlimited practice on Numeracy basics. These can be used online, and/or a worksheet can be created.
I have written on Oak Academy Lessons before. Did you know there is a unit on using calculators available? Lessons include the use of the fx-83/85GT CW, fx-991CW, and fx-CG50 aimed at Year 9. Oak Academy – Calculator Functionality – Year 9
❤️ Love this ❤️@mathforge.org has done what I’ve never been organised enough to do myself, and catalogued every #geometrypuzzle I’ve ever posted on social media. It looks amazing!
